I decided that I wanted to read the book "Karayellam Shenbaga poo" written by one of the greatest writers in Tamil - Sujatha. And I was taken away into another world that only this man could do!
The back ground to this eye opening piece of fiction was this. I had watched the Malayalam movie Drishyam and my mind was craving for more fare of the same genre - mystery. I asked friends and family for recommendations and a dear friend suggested this book for its mystery. I got a copy of the book from my mom who got it from her uncle and started off immediately - the only small issue being I had never read a full Tamil book before. I was still in the stages of stringing alphabets and reading and was practicing by reading sign boards, but when will I start I asked my self and started anyway.
In the first few pages of the book I am transported to a small Tamil village and in the authors description and my minds vivid imagination I am in a green village surrounded by paddy fields and coconut groves. This place in my minds eye is somewhere in Tirunelveli or Madurai - the author does not state this, but characters are oozing out qualities and characteristics that are trade marks of this area - the authors brilliance is proved here.
The character build up; this is truly where Sujatha sir excels. The characters ranging from the pure bred village belle with the Madurai accent, to the city bred protagonist Brahmin young man, to the ultra modern way ahead of times girl from the city - every character leaves am impression in your mind that is hard to forget. Each character even has their slang that continues in the same tone throughout the entire book!
The plot is so mysterious that I started to feel a little scared at one scene when I was reading it alone in the night. The writer draws you so deep into the plot that one begins to live the plot as it goes on. It puts the protagonist in a corner where you are sure there is no escape and yet he escapes. You reach a conclusion that this is what has happened and rejoice thinking you have outdone the mystery - you will for sure be mistaken! Th author takes the plot through twists that you wouldn't ordinarily expect. He builds all these events that are loosely connected and when they all come together in the climax - bam, you are now officially a Sujatha sirs fan!
It is a small novel and for a person who knows to read Tamil, it should not take more than a day or two to finish. I with my stringing characters ability finished the book in about five days. I believe a movie in the same name has come about - but fellow readers of the book and who have seen the movie have stated that it is nothing compared to the authors words.
I highly recommend this book to all fiction lovers.You will not regret it. If you do regret it, I will start having doubts about your tastes in life. :p
The back ground to this eye opening piece of fiction was this. I had watched the Malayalam movie Drishyam and my mind was craving for more fare of the same genre - mystery. I asked friends and family for recommendations and a dear friend suggested this book for its mystery. I got a copy of the book from my mom who got it from her uncle and started off immediately - the only small issue being I had never read a full Tamil book before. I was still in the stages of stringing alphabets and reading and was practicing by reading sign boards, but when will I start I asked my self and started anyway.
In the first few pages of the book I am transported to a small Tamil village and in the authors description and my minds vivid imagination I am in a green village surrounded by paddy fields and coconut groves. This place in my minds eye is somewhere in Tirunelveli or Madurai - the author does not state this, but characters are oozing out qualities and characteristics that are trade marks of this area - the authors brilliance is proved here.
The character build up; this is truly where Sujatha sir excels. The characters ranging from the pure bred village belle with the Madurai accent, to the city bred protagonist Brahmin young man, to the ultra modern way ahead of times girl from the city - every character leaves am impression in your mind that is hard to forget. Each character even has their slang that continues in the same tone throughout the entire book!
The plot is so mysterious that I started to feel a little scared at one scene when I was reading it alone in the night. The writer draws you so deep into the plot that one begins to live the plot as it goes on. It puts the protagonist in a corner where you are sure there is no escape and yet he escapes. You reach a conclusion that this is what has happened and rejoice thinking you have outdone the mystery - you will for sure be mistaken! Th author takes the plot through twists that you wouldn't ordinarily expect. He builds all these events that are loosely connected and when they all come together in the climax - bam, you are now officially a Sujatha sirs fan!
It is a small novel and for a person who knows to read Tamil, it should not take more than a day or two to finish. I with my stringing characters ability finished the book in about five days. I believe a movie in the same name has come about - but fellow readers of the book and who have seen the movie have stated that it is nothing compared to the authors words.
I highly recommend this book to all fiction lovers.You will not regret it. If you do regret it, I will start having doubts about your tastes in life. :p
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