The Man who Never was

ചിദംബര സ്മരണ | Chidambara Smarana by Balachandran Chullikkad My rating: 4 of 5 stars Balachandran Chullikkad is someone who is intimately familiar to Keralites; at least those who were born in the 90s and 2000s. Well known for being a gifted poet, whose verses are capable of creating embers in your mind, he was also a mainstay on the film scene, often doing small supporting characters in motion pictures. This was something for which he was ridiculed and judged, both by the general public as well as some of his intelligentsia cohorts. Balan, of course, in his typical irreverent and piercing nature, didn’t bow down or apologize, for consorting with the capitalist machinery, a group viewed as the ideological rivals of the intellectuals. While growing up, I too had some amount of reservation, as to why a respected, erudite literary agent would stoop low and star in soaps and commercial ventures like this. As an adult, the reasons are clear enough; very...

All Princesses Die Before Dawn by Quentin Zuttion My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade: B; A simple slice of life, coming of age tale All Princesses die before dawn, by Quentin Zuttion is a French work which I presume from the afterword is based on the author's own childhood. It deals with the childhood of a young boy Lulu, who is different from others his age, and has an unrequited love towards his best friend Yoyo. Still too young to understand his own feelings, he seems to be in conflict with what is expected of him, versus what he actually wants. To add to his worries, is the strained relationship between his parents, as well as his pubescent sister, who is going through that phase that teenagers go through, with all of the inner conflicts that come with it. Even though the storyline of Lulu & yoyo is those in the forefront, I empathized more with the struggle of Lulu's mother, who, through a difficult marriage, and e...

The Young Woman and the Sea by Catherine Meurisse My rating: 3 of 5 stars Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade C+ Lot's of Pwetty pictures. I've always admired the nation of Japan. For its beautiful culture, rich & storied history, mythology, cuisine, for anime & nerd culture, and it's unique natural landscapes. The sight of Mount Fuji rising from the horizon as if rising to the sky, or Hokusai's violent and thought inducing depiction of Kanagawa off the wave, or was it the mist filled fantasy-esque opening to Tom Cruise's 'The Last Samurai', it's a land which has captured my imagination. And someday I hope to get acquainted with her intimately. So, it was with intrigue that I delved into The Young Woman & the Sea by Catherine Meurisse. It was a mixed bag. On one hand I don't feel that the author, while rambling on about a lot of things, wasn't really able to connect to that vein of the culture. Nor was sh...