Book Review Of One Part Woman By Perumal Murugan

This article presents a spoiler-free summary and review of the book One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan.

One Part Woman explores how gender essentialism affects women in India as a result of patriarchal traditions. The book explores the issues of ritual and tradition, as well as their influence on relationships, society, and the self. The story examines how a group of people’s unhealthy obsessions alienate a loving couple and causes them to divorce.

About The Book

One Part Woman By Perumal Murugan- book review — *One Part Woman By*
*Perumal Murugan*

Title: One Part Woman

Author: Perumal Murugan; Aniruddhan Vasudevan (Translator)

Genre: Historical Fiction, Domestic Fiction

Publisher: Kalachuvadu Publications (Tamil), Penguin Books (English)

Type: Book 1 in a trilogy

Pages: 240

Goodreads rating: 3.79/5

Kali and Ponna’s attempts to produce a child have failed, including their prayers, penance, potions, and pilgrimages. Though they are in a loving and sexually satisfying relationship, the comments and insinuations of those around them continually harass them.

All of their concerns and hopes ultimately focus on the chariot festival held in the temple of the half-female god Ardhanareeswara and the festivities surrounding it. Everything depends on the one night the laws are lifted, and homosexual unions of any gender are accepted. The couple’s anguish and humiliation may come to an end this evening. Yet it will also be the ultimate test of their marriage.

One Part Woman is a sharply observed book that bares all in an intimate and frightening depiction of marriage, love, and sex, stuck between the rules of societal convention and the pull of inner worries.

Book Review of One Part Woman

The characters are complex and layered. Ponna is the most expertly developed female character created by a male author out of all the books I’ve read. She is a complete person, not just a character in the book. She recognises her brief window of freedom in the middle of her dread and seizes it. Ponna represents people who are constantly irritated by what is said to be the female intellect yet are too exhausted to respond to every implication.

The miserable pair in this book, Kali and Ponna, are compelled to act in extreme ways to fulfil their desires, mostly to avoid the taunting that they encounter daily. The author beautifully summarised the beliefs, practices, traditions, manner of life, descriptions of the festivals and temples, and the lives of Tamilian agricultural people. The bare humanity, the rudeness and crudeness, and the almost cruel practices will shock the unsuspecting reader. One can understand the suffering of the couple who must adhere to social norms but are cast out on the periphery and made to feel unworthy due to circumstances beyond their control. Page after page, great detail after incredible detail, it was a single reading experience that was both joyful and terrible.

It is impossible to get enough of Perumal Murugan’s writing. His handling of a delicate subject matter was courageous, but so was his rambling narrative style, peppered with many tales and temporal jumps that would turn off some readers. His depiction of the level of chemistry, passion, and love that unites the main characters elicits a feeling between awe and jealousy.

Conclusion

Rating: 5 / 5

Recommendation: I recommend this book to readers looking for an intriguing and fascinating read.

To buy One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan now:

About the Author

Perumal Murugan- One Part Woman book review — *Perumal Murugan*

Perumal Murugan is a Tamil-language author, academic, and literary historian from India. He has authored ten novels, five anthologies of short stories, and four poetry collections. Five of his books have been translated into English: Seasons of the Palm, which was nominated for the Kiriyama Award in 2005; Current Show; Poonachi or the Tale of a Goat; One Part Woman; and Pookkuzhi (Pyre). He was a Tamil lecturer at Salem Attur’s Government Arts College.

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