The Forest
Book Details
Author(s)Jeyamohan
PublisherIndian Writing
ISBN / ASINB00IGHAUCM
ISBN-13978B00IGHAUC2
Sales Rank1,337,355
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
This is the English translation of Jeyamohan's Tamil novel 'Kaadu'.
Ancient Tamil poetry divides the environment where the poetic muse thrives as Kurinji (green, hilly regions), Paalai (desert), Thinai (fertile farm land) and Neidhal (sea shore). Urban landscapes hardly ever feature in this selection, as these obviously spell the death of poetry.
The Forest is set against the green slopes of the hills of the southernmost part of the Western Ghats – the finest kurinji landscape. It is the perfect environment for peotry and youthful romance. but in nature, everything is balanced by its opposite. Just as the lushness of the hills indicates the desert thta lies outside its periphery, so also, the protagonst, Giridharan's memorable first love is contrasted by the lovelessness and deprivation that mark the rest of his life.
This is a novel that captures, through lyrical prose (effervescent with rustic humour) and unforgettable characters, the myriad shades of man-woman relationships – love, lust, hate and the tragedy of loss. It is a book that the reader is tempted to return to again and again as each reading yields newer and richer meanings.
About the Author
One of the most significant voices to be heard in contemporary Tamil literature, Jeyamohan stands out for his in depth portrayals of the complexities of the human condition. From his first novel, Rubber (1991) to Kaadu, his fifth, Jeyamohan takes great enjoyment in juxtaposing Nature and Man: their joyful harmony; their cruel hostility; their inescapable need for each other.
Against this backdrop, each of Jeyamohan's novels weave stories that highlight the intricate patterns of individual emotions and thoughts and the tangled skeins of human relationships. His stories are often set in the region that lies in the border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala and he uses to great effect the special kind of colloquial Tamil spoken here.
Jeyamohan's best known novels, to date, are Rubber, Pin Thodarum Nizhalin Kural, Ezhaam Ulagam, the greatly acclaimed Vishnupuram, and Kaadu. He has also authored several novellas, short stories, articles and critical essays and has recently begun penning dialogues for select Tamil films.
Jeyamohan works for the public sector firm, BSNL, and lives in Nagar Kovil with his wife and two children.
About the translator
This book has been translated from Tamil into English by Janaki Venkataraman.
Janaki Venkataraman is a Chennai-based freelance writer and journalist whose contribution to the city magazine aside as its editor made her a household name in the 1980s. She writes in both English and Tamil and has translated fiction and non-fiction in both languages.
Ancient Tamil poetry divides the environment where the poetic muse thrives as Kurinji (green, hilly regions), Paalai (desert), Thinai (fertile farm land) and Neidhal (sea shore). Urban landscapes hardly ever feature in this selection, as these obviously spell the death of poetry.
The Forest is set against the green slopes of the hills of the southernmost part of the Western Ghats – the finest kurinji landscape. It is the perfect environment for peotry and youthful romance. but in nature, everything is balanced by its opposite. Just as the lushness of the hills indicates the desert thta lies outside its periphery, so also, the protagonst, Giridharan's memorable first love is contrasted by the lovelessness and deprivation that mark the rest of his life.
This is a novel that captures, through lyrical prose (effervescent with rustic humour) and unforgettable characters, the myriad shades of man-woman relationships – love, lust, hate and the tragedy of loss. It is a book that the reader is tempted to return to again and again as each reading yields newer and richer meanings.
About the Author
One of the most significant voices to be heard in contemporary Tamil literature, Jeyamohan stands out for his in depth portrayals of the complexities of the human condition. From his first novel, Rubber (1991) to Kaadu, his fifth, Jeyamohan takes great enjoyment in juxtaposing Nature and Man: their joyful harmony; their cruel hostility; their inescapable need for each other.
Against this backdrop, each of Jeyamohan's novels weave stories that highlight the intricate patterns of individual emotions and thoughts and the tangled skeins of human relationships. His stories are often set in the region that lies in the border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala and he uses to great effect the special kind of colloquial Tamil spoken here.
Jeyamohan's best known novels, to date, are Rubber, Pin Thodarum Nizhalin Kural, Ezhaam Ulagam, the greatly acclaimed Vishnupuram, and Kaadu. He has also authored several novellas, short stories, articles and critical essays and has recently begun penning dialogues for select Tamil films.
Jeyamohan works for the public sector firm, BSNL, and lives in Nagar Kovil with his wife and two children.
About the translator
This book has been translated from Tamil into English by Janaki Venkataraman.
Janaki Venkataraman is a Chennai-based freelance writer and journalist whose contribution to the city magazine aside as its editor made her a household name in the 1980s. She writes in both English and Tamil and has translated fiction and non-fiction in both languages.
