What do you think?
Rate this book
ದೇವ್ರು
360 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 3, 2021
ಊರು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಊರಿಗೆ ಬಂದು ಬದುಕು ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಜಮೀನುದಾರಿ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣ ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಮರಕ್ಕೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಹೊಡೆಸುವ ಬುದ್ಧಿಯ ಕೊನೆಗೆ ವಲಸೆ ಬಂದವ ಒಂದು ಜನ ಅಂತ ಆಗುವ ಅವನ ಮಗ ಪಟ್ಟಣ ಸೇರಿ ಬದಲಾಗುವ ಮತ್ತು ಊರಿನ ನೆನಪಿನ ಎಷ್ಟು ಕಥೆಗಳ ಓದಿಲ್ಲ?
ಹೊಸದೇನೂ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿದ ಕಥೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ ದುರ್ಬಲ ಅಂಶ.
ಅದೇ ಸವಕಲು ಮೆಟಾಫರ್ಗಳು, ಅದೇ ದೌರ್ಜನ್ಯದ ಹಳಸಲು ಕಥೆ ಕೂಡ. ಬರೆವ ಶೈಲಿ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಹಲವಾರು ಪಾತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ನ್ಯಾಯವೇ ಒದಗಿಸಿಲ್ಲ. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಗಿರಿಜೆಯ ಪಾತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ತೂಕವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಪ್ರದ್ಯುಮ್ನ ಪಾತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಅನಗತ್ಯ ಗಾಂಭೀರ್ಯ ಹೊತ್ತು ಮೆರೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಆತ್ಮಕಥಾನಾತ್ಮಕ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳ ದೌರ್ಬಲ್ಯ ಅದು.
ಚೋಮನ ದುಡಿ, ಮರಳಿ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ,ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ, ಮಧ್ಯ ಘಟ್ಟ ,ಭೈರಪ್ಪರ ಒಂದು ಘಟನೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಿಕ್ಸರಿಗೆ ಹಾಕಿ ಸಮಾ ತಿರುಗಿಸಿ ಉತ್ತರ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಹವ್ಯಕ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಎರಕ ಹೊಯ್ಯಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ಹೊಸದೇನೂ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿದ ಕಥೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ ದುರ್ಬಲ ಅಂಶ.
ಅದೇ ಸವಕಲು ಮೆಟಾಫರ್ಗಳು, ಅದೇ ದೌರ್ಜನ್ಯದ ಹಳಸಲು ಕಥೆ ಕೂಡ. ಬರೆವ ಶೈಲಿ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಹಲವಾರು ಪಾತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ನ್ಯಾಯವೇ ಒದಗಿಸಿಲ್ಲ. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಗಿರಿಜೆಯ ಪಾತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ತೂಕವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಪ್ರದ್ಯುಮ್ನ ಪಾತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಅನಗತ್ಯ ಗಾಂಭೀರ್ಯ ಹೊತ್ತು ಮೆರೆಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಆತ್ಮಕಥಾನಾತ್ಮಕ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳ ದೌರ್ಬಲ್ಯ ಅದು.
ಚೋಮನ ದುಡಿ, ಮರಳಿ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ,ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಜೀವ, ಮಧ್ಯ ಘಟ್ಟ ,ಭೈರಪ್ಪರ ಒಂದು ಘಟನೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಿಕ್ಸರಿಗೆ ಹಾಕಿ ಸಮಾ ತಿರುಗಿಸಿ ಉತ್ತರ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಹವ್ಯಕ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಎರಕ ಹೊಯ್ಯಲಾಗಿದೆ.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2022
These days, finding new writers in Kannada is a joy in itself. When you find out they are quite good, that's a different level of happiness.
Devru, written by Padmanabh Bhat Shevkar is a tale set in Uttara Kannada, a district in Karnataka. The story follows the life of Narayana and his life in a small village. As the story goes forward, we explore the conflicts and problems of the village. The author makes and earnest attempt at depicting the life in a remote village and succeeds. The interdependency between people, the disconnect from the fast changing city life, the practical challenges of living in a self sustained but remote area, they all come out exceptionally well. There is a maturity in the prose which quite surprised me. Some scenes in the book are exceptionally well written and compliment the characters well. The helplessness of Narayana and his family, the directionless, despair filled life of Nanya and Subbi haunt the reader.
The dialect used by characters has been changed, presumably to make it more accessible to readers or to keep a consistent dialect throughout the book so as to not confuse the reader. (Different communities use different dialects in the area)
There are however, some areas where the novel stumbles slightly. The name selected for the novel is puzzling as the character is only a minor part of the book. However the main issue is the threads of the novel which seem picked up or dropped abruptly without any foreshadowing or conclusion. Both of Narayana's children's tale feel out of place in the overall story as they neither are result of what was happening around them earlier nor do they impact the pre existing story in any way. With no real conclusion to both their arcs, the novel struggles to assimilate them into it's existing structure. The same goes for Narayana's reaction to people from Bangalore.
Overall however, the pros far outweigh the cons and it's a well written debut of an author. I sincerely hope that he continues to write. Looking forward to reading more.
Devru, written by Padmanabh Bhat Shevkar is a tale set in Uttara Kannada, a district in Karnataka. The story follows the life of Narayana and his life in a small village. As the story goes forward, we explore the conflicts and problems of the village. The author makes and earnest attempt at depicting the life in a remote village and succeeds. The interdependency between people, the disconnect from the fast changing city life, the practical challenges of living in a self sustained but remote area, they all come out exceptionally well. There is a maturity in the prose which quite surprised me. Some scenes in the book are exceptionally well written and compliment the characters well. The helplessness of Narayana and his family, the directionless, despair filled life of Nanya and Subbi haunt the reader.
The dialect used by characters has been changed, presumably to make it more accessible to readers or to keep a consistent dialect throughout the book so as to not confuse the reader. (Different communities use different dialects in the area)
There are however, some areas where the novel stumbles slightly. The name selected for the novel is puzzling as the character is only a minor part of the book. However the main issue is the threads of the novel which seem picked up or dropped abruptly without any foreshadowing or conclusion. Both of Narayana's children's tale feel out of place in the overall story as they neither are result of what was happening around them earlier nor do they impact the pre existing story in any way. With no real conclusion to both their arcs, the novel struggles to assimilate them into it's existing structure. The same goes for Narayana's reaction to people from Bangalore.
Overall however, the pros far outweigh the cons and it's a well written debut of an author. I sincerely hope that he continues to write. Looking forward to reading more.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews