A good book speaks for itself. Anyway, DD can't post posthumously. She loved books, always. And a bunch of them are her only savings.

The Legend of Khasak - O V Vijayan

This is a Malayam Novel, the one that revolutionalised Malayam literature in the early 70s. It is said that it took the visionary author 12 years to come out with the book. No wonder, it is a true legend !!!!

O V Vijayan is a legendery Novelist, Political Columnist, Cartoonist and Short Story writer. A stunningly brilliant author. He was one of those very rare Indaina authors who were considered to have a fare chance for the Nobel Prize!!!!!!!!

Thankfully I could get the Malayalam version, the origial one, to read _ Khasakinte Ithihasam. I remember having read somewhere that he is a Malayali parallel to Marquez. No doubt, he is. This is the story of Khasak, through the eyes of Ravi who comes to Khasak as a teacher in the one-teacher village school. Ravi lives at two levels of mental being. One is that of a guilty young man who had an afair with his own step mom while his aged father was on his death bed and who had committed a sin with a yogini in an ashram he was staying. The second level that of a philosopher trying to mix meta physics and upanishads.

Every other character in the book is brilliantly narratted by the author. Appukkili, Madhavan Nair, Maimoona, Maulavi .. everyone.

It is the extraordinary genius of the author that transforms a third rate Page-3 theme to the spiritual level of literature. Amazing, I must say.

I guess, I am getting addicted to existentialism ;))

The Outsider - Albert Camus

A background understanding of the philosophy of Absurdism helps, at times. Atleast when you read this book.

Camus is a philosopher French Author, a contemporary of Jean-Paul Sartre, the famous Existentialist. Having never heard of Camus, what prompted me to read the book is its back cover page which says he is a Nobel Laureate.

Meursault, the protagonist, is like any other young man of an average existence. The book opens with descriptions of his Mother's funeral. The very first page suggests the character of Meursault.

He doesn't fit into the usual frame of a social being. The snobbish and phony people. He is deadly indifferent, even towards his own life and death. Meursault views everything as an outsider. His mother's death, the unintentional murder he committed and his own death penalty.

Even though he is happy with his girl friend, Marie, and he is willing to marry her 'cos she wants to, he plainly tells he doesn't love her 'cos he simply doesnn't feel any love. Though embarrassed by the embarrassment on other people's face, he is not able to adapt to the norms of the society. He is neither a revolutionary nor an extra ordinary genius. Just a simple young man who is deadly honest about his feelings or lack of them.

There are times he tries to act and say as per what was expected from him by the circumstances, but he get bored pretty soon. He flinches a bit while confronted with his death penalty. The most amusing of turn happens there. He starts viewing even that as an outsider.

It is not the plot that is interesting, but the protagonist's attittude and feelings (or no feelings) towards happenings that is the center theme.

These types of writings always interest me. The unconventional, the intriguing, the surrealistic and subtly philosophical.

Good read, ofcourse. This is his very first book and I guess, his later books are better. Yet to grab one.