RaveThe Indian Express (IND)The prose is deceptively simple and sparse. And yet it has the effect of hitting you hard like the blazing sun, the parched land, the rock, and the thorny karuvelum shrubs ... Perumal Murugan, a poet and a scholar, knows how to handle masterful imagery and human emotions. Especially when he delves into the emotional space of his women characters, be it a coarse, unloving mother-in-law or the soft, sparrow-like, bewildered new bride ... It is a sensitive translation done with great care. There is not a single word that jars and the narrative is more tightly woven ... It will haunt the reader for a long time.
