Gift In Green

by Sarah Joseph

An eco-spiritual search for light and life in a world inching towards dystopia Gift in Green, written originally in Malayalam, is a tantalizingly unconventional narrative that explores, on multiple levels, the pain and poetry that eventuate from the disruption of the intimate relationship between a people and their life-world, using water (the 'water-life' of the people of Aathi) as the overarching metaphor that mirrors the degradation of the society. Between the polarities of attachment and abandonment, darkness and light, predatory progress and the sheer will to survive, unfolds the saga of a people confronted by the behemoth of progress driven by Kumaran,who seeks to abandon water-life, threatening its very existence. But such is the author's faith in the resilience of life and nature and her belief in the futility of trying to control something as fluid and eternal as water-life that what promises to be the end is also the hope of a new beginning. This is the first instance in Indian literary history of a novel in a regional language being translated and published concurrently in English.

423 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2012

Reviews

[Nanditha · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Man created God."
I knew Gift in Green was going to be a 10/10 read from this line. Valson Thampu did such an excellent job on the translation, I could feel the raw beauty of Malayalam literature seeping through it. Brilliant, brilliant work, with a few tears (ugly snots) shed on the way. One of my favourite reads of the year, if not of all time.

[Shanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun Fact: I’ve actually met the translator of this novel due to a series of random events, but I didn’t know it at the time.
There were a lot of things that I liked about Gift in Green- the environmental message, the way the setting in the backwaters of Kerala is described so well, and the way that stories were used- it’s almost metafiction in that sense. My main complaint, however, is that I am confused.
The environment matters a lot. In this country, of rapid ‘development’ and concretification, it’s easy to see how little people don’t care. As the beautiful, lush backwaters of Aathi were transformed into a fetid development, the people lost touch with nature and that was terrible for them. The natural rhythms of life were gradually destroyed, and the people’s attitude towards the land changed. I liked how the book showed that the people are, at least to some extent, innocents- they have a lot of need, and the developer increased that, forcing them to work in his landfill of the greenbangle just to survive.
The setting is beautiful. I could see the fragrant, sparkling water- and then the stinking grey sludge. I could see the way of life that Aathi had. There were a few times that the translation (from the language of Kerala, Malayalam) felt awkward, like key words repeated in sentence, rather than synonyms. I have been to Kerala, if not that area, and I could practically taste it. I found that the scen with the poisoned water was particularly, though terribly, evocative.
I liked how the stories were used. The story of Thampuran a local saint, is used as a symbol through the story, and the storytelling nights with diverse stories from the Bible/Koran, local myths and plays are used. The element of speech and communication, and how the steel behemoth eclipses that, is well used. I liked the poetry, and that was translated pretty well.
So what is there to complain about? Basically, I was confused the entire time. I had no idea what was going on. A non-linear time structure is used, and there is no clear protagonist. In addition to this, the plot sort of doesn’t exist. It’s more like scenes from a changing lifestyle. There aren’t even any indicators of time- the level of pollution seems to indicate that it’s been years, but the storytelling nights seem to happen over days. I didn’t like it. I didn’t get it. Some of the characters were interesting, but because viewpoints kept switching, no one was developed. I couldn’t understand the characters and the plot flew straight over my head, and that made it hard to read- I wasn’t gripped to the page Also, there were heaps of names. I kept forgetting who people were. There were like 20 'main characters with equal importance to the plot.
Gift in Green isn’t a terrible book. It was definitely a bit adult for me though. I liked how Keralan culture was used, and I liked that it was Indian. If you are going to read it though, be prepared for the crazy structure.

[Aaranya Swaminathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end leaves me with a heavy heart. Yes, Aathi won the case, yes nature revives...

But.

Dinakaran.

I was mentally prepared to handle Ponmani's death. But, why Dinakaran, WHY...

[Nayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the fuck man