“A powerful fable of star-crossed lovers and societal intolerance . . . Murugan describes rural life in piercing detail . . . The simple, elegant prose of Vasudevan’s translation ranges from poetic to suspenseful . . . Murugan deserves worldwide recognition.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“With exquisitely honed details, Murugan vividly exposes society’s blind adherence to draconian traditions.”—Booklist
Praise for Perumal Murugan:
Twice Longlisted for the National Book Award for Translated Literature
Murugan works his themes with a light hand; they always emanate from his characters, who are endowed with enough contradiction and mystery to keep from devolving into mouthpieces . . . It s not just the physical world Murugan describes so vividly—the way a cow clears its throat, for example—but the rural community, a village of 20 huts and a thousand ancient resentments, where there is no privacy and your neighbor s suffering can serve as your evening s entertainment . . . I m hoping for a whole shelf of books from this writer.  —Parul Sehgal, New York Times, on One Part Woman
The Story of a Goat, translated from Tamil by N. Kalyan Raman, jumps nimbly from fantasy to realism to parable . . . The effect is not so much escapist fantasy as existential reflection . . . The elegance of Murugan s simple tone will lull you deeper into his story . . . The early scenes of tiny Poonachi wandering in the field and cavorting with other goats are as soft as cashmere . . . Woven through this slim novel is an acidic satire.  —Ron Charles, Washington Post
A major Indian writer . . . Dark currents run through One Part Woman . . . Kali and Ponna, a couple who are erotically wrapped up in each other, withstand waves of derision because they have not conceived a child after a decade of marriage . . . When describing the farming communities of South India, Mr. Murugan is neither sentimental nor harsh.  —New York Times (profile)
Intimate and affecting . . . Throughout the novel, Murugan pits the individual against the group. How far you willing to go, he asks, in order to belong? . . . Murugan s descriptions of village life are evocative, but the true pleasure of this book lies in his adept explorations of male and female relationships, and in his unmistakable affection for people who find themselves pitted against the world.  —Laila Lalami, New York Times Book Review, on One Part Woman
This fable of society, bureaucracy, and rural life centers on a Tamil farming couple in South India and the female goat they receive from a mysterious man. The boundaries between human and animal consciousness are blurred as the frail foundling mature

EAN: 9780802159335