This ambitious novel, teeming with characters, focuses on the family of Srinivasa Aiyar or SRS, who moves from his ancestral house in Alapuzhai in Kerala, to the more modern Kottayam, before returning to his wife Lakshmi’s home in Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu. Set in the late 1930s and reflecting the political and social turmoil of the pre-war years, it chronicles the psychological conflict between SRS and his nine-year-old son, Balu, the moral struggle of a young widow, Anandam, as she considers remarriage and the political journey of Sridaran, who chooses to break off his studies in England in order to join nationalist activities at home.
Review
‘Ever a stylist, employing a language consciously crafted, Ramaswamy’s enquiring perspective marks him out distinctly’ – The Hindu
About the Author
One of the most versatile and innovative of Tamil writers, a great modernist and a dazzling stylist, Sundara Ramaswamy (1931– 2005) wrote in many genres – poetry, novel, short story, play, personal essay and literary criticism – making real interventions in Tamil writing. Each of his three novels is recognized as path-breaking and he also edited and published a notable literary magazine, Kalachuvadu, which became a forum for new writing and literary debate. Lakshmi Holmstrom is a writer, literary critic and award-winning translator. She has translated the works of writers such as Sundara Ramaswamy, Pudumaippittan, Ashokamitran, Bama and Cheran.
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