Book Review: The Goat Thief by Perumal Murugan

perumal-825
Name: The Goat Thief
Author: Perumal Murugan
Translator: N. Kalyan Raman
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 205
A lot of interest gets generated when a celebrated author comes under intense scrutiny for his ideas offered in the public arena. Media hyperventilated on the issue of Perumal Murugan's offering, One Part Woman, hurting the sentiments of a particular community.
Perumal Murugan's latest offering, The Goat Thief, translated by N. Kalyan Raman, and published by Juggernaut, is a collection of short stories. Each story is similar to a different emotion in the bouquet called life. A master storyteller, Perumal Murugan, has woven tales around household objects like a salt shaker, the rice vat, the toilet pot, and so on and engaged the reader with the finesse of a magician.
Each story is unique in presentation and relates to the mundaneness of our daily lives. Readers can relate very well to one or most stories. Like a master craftsman wielding his instrument, Perumal Murugan has beautifully crafted each piece, with care. Most of us are capable of allotting multiple  facets to our lives and he has ably captured this in his stories. Be it The Well, The Wailing of a Toilet Bowl, or Shit, the mundane and often ignored objects are highlighted and accorded almost a fantasy-like state.

There are 10 short stories in this compilation called 'The Goat Thief'. N. Kalyan Raman, has done a fine job of translating the stories. Somewhere, I believe, the original language in which an author pens his thoughts and weaves a story is what often retains the core essence of the tale. In The Goat Thief, the translation effort, I feel, has somehow imbued the thoughts of the translator or even the pressures of using certain terminologies, thereby, diluting the impact of the words that the original Tamil words might have had on the readers' psyche. Though a fine product, retaining the simplicity with which Perumal Murugan originally writes without falling prey to the use of heavy English words would infuse more life into a few stories. Some words, I feel, would have had a different impact on the reader if delivered in Tamil, as compared to when read in English. I agree that English has a wider reach and translated works help carry the words of a writer to different audiences.

Overall, I feel, The Goat Thief, is a great effort. The nuances of the characters in each story has come out beautifully like a well-cooked meal, which retains the flavor of each ingredient yet fulfills the soul's hunger.   

My verdict: A must read
Rating: ****

Thank you Juggernaut for sending me this book in return for an honest review.

Comments

  1. Dhiji Vijayan Kottikkal3:23 AM

    I had only read one part woman but the impact was heart wrenching. The feelings didnt left me even after says. A great author .

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Defining LOVE for the Chennai audience :)

Love - An oft misquoted term, which simply means a plethora of misplaced hormones going into overdrive. A strong feeling of magnetism that tries to pull two confused beings into a bubble, which tricks them into a false sense of joy and serenity. Love, is a shortlived emotion. Let it rest! Love, that springs from the bottom of the heart when a week-old baby gurgles at you, has a longer life than the hormonal surge. I am not talking about honey-sweet emotions connected with mothers, siblings and flowers, puppies etc. I am not even talking about the babies sleeping on bathtowels, like those in a Anne Geddes card. I am talking about the bonding between two unsuspecting people, who are unable to behave rationally once they are "bitten" by the love bug. Why I chose to call it a bug, is that once you are bitten, you become devoid of rational thought and behaviour. You tend to forget things, as your hard disk is on an overdrive trying to store images of your beloved! If only you coul
Read more

Nithya Suresh Kaun Hai?

Nithya Suresh Kaun Hai? Well, this would be the case a few hours ago. But now, 1 hour later, its a fact. A simple yeah, has completed my journey. Maybe I am crazy to say yes, without even thinking. But I had already decided to say yes even without meeting the guy. The Groom, to be exact. Suresh alias Subramanian, would have been my Prince Charming. A would be husband. But destiny had other plans in store. Suresh, withered away without even a trace. My beloved parents spurned him. He was shooed away, because, he turned out to be something else that he originally wasn't. His lies, had turned him into a non-performing asset. NPA. Suresh had to go. He had not completed the formalities. He had lied about his qualifications and job. He had to be stopped from starting the engagement formalities. A phone call took care of that. And an e-mail did the trick. I was relieved. Woudn't I?
Read more

Being All Parts

Have you ever wondered if you were living all parts of your body totally and completely? Have you ever wondered how it would feel to feel and live with all the parts of your body? Do you know that people only accept certain parts of you. Rest, they simply reject. Maybe, because they aren't so comfortable with the parts. Leave alone other people, have you, as an individual, accepted your wholeness with all its flaws. Do you have the courage to face yourself?
Read more