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Book Review
MALAYALAM
Angst of transition
K. Kunhikrishnan
JEEVICHIRIKKUNNAVARUDE MANASSIL — Novel: Sebastian Pallithode; Olive Publications Pvt. Ltd., East Nadakkavu, Kozhikode-673011. Rs.100.
STORIES OF isolated communities are exciting and this novel unravels the life, myths, legends, history and folklore of the Anglo-Indians of Thankasseri in Kollam. They are actually the descendants of the Portuguese navigator Albuquerque and of Dutch lineage as the place was ruled by them prior to the British conquest.
The main character is Gasper Labros, the erstwhile lighthouse-keeper and his family tale is that of a community living in a hallucinatory world, little realising they are anachronistic. They yearn for their past glory but the stark realities of life confront them, where they are at sea. The contradictions of their lives, inability of some to join the mainstream and the nostalgia for the good times are powerfully captured.
The area where they flourished has undergone cataclysmal transformation, physically, culturally and economically. The bungalow, Kochchayyath, stylishly named Roscot (Rose Cottage) that the Labros family inherited was partially used as a boarding house for students, to keep the wolf away. The adolescent students and the youngsters of the house become friends and share secrets of the adult world.
The story is related in a gripping manner and takes a detour of the community. The narrative style is at times lyrical mixing history, tradition and myth. The characterisation of Labros, Mertyl, Dan and Nelson stand out. The novel also brings out the efforts and sufferings of the mother to maintain the family, despite a drunkard husband (Labros) and a large family. The empathy that the novel evokes for Mertyl is praiseworthy.
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