Pyre
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
FROM ONE OF INDIA'S MOST RESPECTED AND BESTSELLING WRITERS COMES A SEARING AND POIGNANT NOVEL ABOUT LOVE AND INTOLERANCE IN A SMALL VILLAGE
TWICE LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
'With tender rage, one of India's most powerful living writers breathes life into an age-old tale of forbidden passion' Nilanjana Roy
'Pyre is extraordinary. Rarely does literature reveal so much with so little' Nayomi Munaweera
'A major India writer' New York Times
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Saroja and Kumaresan are young, in love and in danger. They meet in a small southern Indian town, where Kumaresan works in a soda bottling shop, and quickly marry before returning to Kumaresan's family village. But they are harbouring a dangerous secret: they belong to different castes, and if the villagers find out they will both be in grave peril.
Faced with venom from her mother-in-law, and pointed new questions from her new neighbours, Saroja struggles to adjust to a lonely and uncomfortable life. Kumaresan throws himself into building a new soda business, hoping to scrape together enough money for them to start over somewhere new. But as vicious whispers encircle the couple, will their love be enough to keep them safe?
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PRAISE FOR PYRE
'So tense it leaves you gasping for air' Ellen Barry, New York Times
'Pyre glows with power… and adds immeasurable value to contemporary Indian literature… a hard and glittering gem of a story' The Hindu
'A haunting story of forbidden love set in Southern India that illustrates the cruel consequences of societal intolerance' Kirkus Reviews, starred review
'Piercing detail… The simple, elegant prose of Vasudevan's translation ranges from poetic to suspenseful… Murugan deserves worldwide recognition' Publishers Weekly, starred review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Murugan (The Story of a Goat) delivers a powerful fable of star-crossed lovers and societal intolerance. Kumaresan, a young man from an isolated village in southern India, works as a deliveryman in a larger town, where he meets and marries Saroja, a leather worker's daughter. After he brings her to his village, his widowed mother and the rest of the community are outraged that the bride is of a different caste and complexion. Hounded mercilessly, Saroja cowers in her hut and discovers she's pregnant just as the village council decides to excommunicate the family unless her caste is revealed. Murugan describes rural life in piercing detail, making the everyday toil and inner lives of humble people the backdrop to the unfolding drama of escalating threats from Kumaresan's relatives and neighbors. The simple, elegant prose of Vasudevan's translation ranges from poetic ("The day slowly leaned over and fell to the west") to suspenseful as the hopeful innocence of young love bristles against tradition and Saroja faces increasing danger from the villagers. The author himself was censored in 2014 by government-affiliated activists in India and briefly gave up writing; thankfully, he has returned. Murugan deserves worldwide recognition.
