Book Review 51
Name Of The Book : The Gospel Of Yudas
Author : K. R. Meera
Publisher : Penguin Random House India
Year : 2016
Category : Fiction
Review:
Young and impressionable, Prema is deeply infatuated with Yudas, the enigmatic man who dredges corpses from the bottom of the nearby lake. Longing to be rescued from the tyranny of her father, a former policeman who zealously tortured Naxalite rebels during the Emergency, Prema dreams of escape and finds herself drawn to the Naxal political ideology. Convinced that Yudas was one of the inmates at her father's prison camp, Prema believes that only he can save her But Yudas is haunted by secrets of his own and, like his biblical namesake Judas Iscariot, bears the burden of crushing guilt.
This book is centred around the life of Prema, a young girl and her journey in search of love. At the age of fifteen, she is profoundly infatuated with Yudas, whom she worships as her hero because of his Naxalite background. Soon she discovers the different layers that surround the character of Yudas and make him who he is. This book talks in depth about the political history of Kerala. The gruesome descriptions of how Naxalite rebels were tortured during the Emergency period will break your heart. Yudas, akin to his name, is burdened by a guilt that haunts him throughout his life and he is unable to escape from its clutches. This leads him to take up this unusual profession of collecting cadavers of those who drowned in rivers. Prema's love for Yudas starts as a mere infatuation due to her fantasized idolization of Naxal ideologies and thereby Naxal rebels. She is fueled by the belief that only a Naxal rebel can save her from her present life which she despises. But as the story progresses, her infatuation transforms into love but it is never reciprocated. The book is a dark fiction and haunted me long after I completed the book. It has an open ending which I do not prefer. Open endings are to give the readers freedom of thought, but I have not enjoyed as they make me crave for closure. The characters of this book have such depth and dimension. This book features some really strong and bold woman characters. The first one is Prema, who endures a lot of hardships in life but her love for Yudas is eternal. She is a woman much ahead of her times and does not allow herself to be bound by societal norms. The next one is Sunanda who was also a Naxalite rebel. She was known to have the strongest will power and never yielded in spite of being tortured extensively by the police. Sangeeta, who is Sunanda's niece also follows Sunanda's path, but for her own reasons. The story has a lot of characters and the storyline stretches over the years but it is all weaved together beautifully. This book is originally written in Malayalam and I wish I had read it in Malayalam which might have given me a better understanding of the book. Nevertheless, the work done by the translator is impeccable. The true essence of the book has not been lost. It touched my heart deeply and it is sure to leave a mark on all its readers.
Rating : 5/5
Name Of The Book : The Gospel Of Yudas
Author : K. R. Meera
Publisher : Penguin Random House India
Year : 2016
Category : Fiction
Review:
Young and impressionable, Prema is deeply infatuated with Yudas, the enigmatic man who dredges corpses from the bottom of the nearby lake. Longing to be rescued from the tyranny of her father, a former policeman who zealously tortured Naxalite rebels during the Emergency, Prema dreams of escape and finds herself drawn to the Naxal political ideology. Convinced that Yudas was one of the inmates at her father's prison camp, Prema believes that only he can save her But Yudas is haunted by secrets of his own and, like his biblical namesake Judas Iscariot, bears the burden of crushing guilt.
This book is centred around the life of Prema, a young girl and her journey in search of love. At the age of fifteen, she is profoundly infatuated with Yudas, whom she worships as her hero because of his Naxalite background. Soon she discovers the different layers that surround the character of Yudas and make him who he is. This book talks in depth about the political history of Kerala. The gruesome descriptions of how Naxalite rebels were tortured during the Emergency period will break your heart. Yudas, akin to his name, is burdened by a guilt that haunts him throughout his life and he is unable to escape from its clutches. This leads him to take up this unusual profession of collecting cadavers of those who drowned in rivers. Prema's love for Yudas starts as a mere infatuation due to her fantasized idolization of Naxal ideologies and thereby Naxal rebels. She is fueled by the belief that only a Naxal rebel can save her from her present life which she despises. But as the story progresses, her infatuation transforms into love but it is never reciprocated. The book is a dark fiction and haunted me long after I completed the book. It has an open ending which I do not prefer. Open endings are to give the readers freedom of thought, but I have not enjoyed as they make me crave for closure. The characters of this book have such depth and dimension. This book features some really strong and bold woman characters. The first one is Prema, who endures a lot of hardships in life but her love for Yudas is eternal. She is a woman much ahead of her times and does not allow herself to be bound by societal norms. The next one is Sunanda who was also a Naxalite rebel. She was known to have the strongest will power and never yielded in spite of being tortured extensively by the police. Sangeeta, who is Sunanda's niece also follows Sunanda's path, but for her own reasons. The story has a lot of characters and the storyline stretches over the years but it is all weaved together beautifully. This book is originally written in Malayalam and I wish I had read it in Malayalam which might have given me a better understanding of the book. Nevertheless, the work done by the translator is impeccable. The true essence of the book has not been lost. It touched my heart deeply and it is sure to leave a mark on all its readers.
Rating : 5/5