Book Review: The Goat Thief by Perumal Murugan

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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

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