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The Book of Desire
THE BOOK of DESIRE is the award-winning (Women’s Prize-shortlisted) writer Meena Kandasamy’s luminous translation of the Kāmattu-p-pāl, a 2000-year-old song of female love and desire.
Written by the poet Thiruvalluvar, the Kāmattu-p-pāl is the third part of the Thirukkural – one of the most important texts in Tamil literature. The most intimate section of this great work – it is also, historically, the part that has been most heavily censored. Although hundreds of male translations of the text have been published, it has also only ever been translated by a woman once before.
The Book of Desire is Meena’s own feminist reclamation of the Kāmattu-p-pāl. With her trademark wit, lyricism and passionate insight, she weaves a magic spell: taking the reader on a journey through 250 kurals, organised under separate headings – ‘The Pleasure of Sex’, ‘Renouncing Shame’, ‘The Delights of Sulking’ – the result is a fresh, vital, and breath-taking translation. This is a book that fizzes with energy, is full of delight – and a translation that conveys powerful messages about female sensuality, agency, and desire. It is a revolution 2000 years in the making.
Written by the poet Thiruvalluvar, the Kāmattu-p-pāl is the third part of the Thirukkural – one of the most important texts in Tamil literature. The most intimate section of this great work – it is also, historically, the part that has been most heavily censored. Although hundreds of male translations of the text have been published, it has also only ever been translated by a woman once before.
The Book of Desire is Meena’s own feminist reclamation of the Kāmattu-p-pāl. With her trademark wit, lyricism and passionate insight, she weaves a magic spell: taking the reader on a journey through 250 kurals, organised under separate headings – ‘The Pleasure of Sex’, ‘Renouncing Shame’, ‘The Delights of Sulking’ – the result is a fresh, vital, and breath-taking translation. This is a book that fizzes with energy, is full of delight – and a translation that conveys powerful messages about female sensuality, agency, and desire. It is a revolution 2000 years in the making.
207 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2023
13 people are currently reading
489 people want to read
About the author
Meena Kandasamy
32 books809 followersDR MEENA KANDASAMY is a poet-activist with over 200,000 followers. She has been translated into more than 20 languages. Her previous novel, When I Hit You, was shortlisted for the Women's Prize. Her viral poetry collection, Ms Militancy, is a symbol of feminist rebellion across India. In 2022, Meena was awarded the PEN Germany Prize for being a "fearless fighter for human rights.” She has two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 26, 2023
This is not an easy book for me to assess and review, in part because I don't know Tamil and can't judge Kandasamy's translation and partly because I have a tin ear for poetry. The first 50 pages or so are Kandasamy's explanation of the text, its history and her approach to it, and the rest are the ancient poem itself, both the Tamil and Kandasamy's English version.
April 22, 2023
I enjoyed this even more than I expected to. A 2000 year poem from the southern India region of Tamil Nadu, about female desire, translated from one of oldest languages by a woman already intrigued me, but I’m not a big fan of poetry. I was pleased to discover that one does not have to be drawn to poetry to enjoy these verses. All the aspects of desire are covered here: beauty, attraction, lust, sex, separation, unrequited love, melancholy, loneliness, heartbreak, there are 3 sections just on sulking!
Reading these I forgot that they were written over 2000 years ago, they are that fresh, funny, and relatable. In the section Evening Melancholia is this:
(Tell me)
what good have I done
to morning, and (tell me) what
wrong have I done to evening?
I’ve heard from widows and women who were left that evenings are the hardest part of the day for them.
Or this from Berating Her Heart:
The fear of not attaining my lover
and, after having him, the fear
of separation-my heart lives
in this perpetual agony.
The sulking verses are my favorite:
What is the point
of my dreadful anguish,
if the lover who will notice
such grieving is not around?
I highly recommend this book to poetry lovers and anyone who has ever loved.
Reading these I forgot that they were written over 2000 years ago, they are that fresh, funny, and relatable. In the section Evening Melancholia is this:
(Tell me)
what good have I done
to morning, and (tell me) what
wrong have I done to evening?
I’ve heard from widows and women who were left that evenings are the hardest part of the day for them.
Or this from Berating Her Heart:
The fear of not attaining my lover
and, after having him, the fear
of separation-my heart lives
in this perpetual agony.
The sulking verses are my favorite:
What is the point
of my dreadful anguish,
if the lover who will notice
such grieving is not around?
I highly recommend this book to poetry lovers and anyone who has ever loved.
February 11, 2023
Every summer vacation while growing up was spent at my grandparents place. My grandfather although not a Tamilian was obsessed with the language to such an extent that he watched TV series, heard Tamil songs on his radio and even read Thuglak (Tamil magazine) until he passed away a couple of years ago. To him, Tamil was always the sweetest language and to prove his point he used to translate a couple of poems written by Tiruvalluvar. While dating my then boyfriend (now husband), I constantly heard of two famous Tamil poets. One, Bharathiyar and the second was Tiruvalluvar. But it was only now that I actually had the chance to read translated poems by the legendary Valluvar. I finally understand the sweetness his words carry.
I think no one else could have translated this book of poems better than @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y . Tiruvalluvar‘s lovely words bloom in her translation. Another interesting aspect of this book is its wonderful introduction where Kandasamy introduces us to Tamil history, culture and language. Tirukkural originally is a text of 1,330 couplets but The Book of Desire includes only the last section of this work which includes mostly love and desire.
Where do I start about how beautiful this book is? As Tiruvalluvar writes about love, sulking, pleasure, longing and sensuality, it’s easy to drown in his words. They’re soft and oh-so sweet. I ended up having so many favourite kurals, each lovelier than the other. If there ever was a poem dedicated to love and all that comes with it, this is the one. I’m so glad I had the chance to read this iconic piece of literature with ease.
I highly recommend this to everyone. Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨
I think no one else could have translated this book of poems better than @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y . Tiruvalluvar‘s lovely words bloom in her translation. Another interesting aspect of this book is its wonderful introduction where Kandasamy introduces us to Tamil history, culture and language. Tirukkural originally is a text of 1,330 couplets but The Book of Desire includes only the last section of this work which includes mostly love and desire.
Where do I start about how beautiful this book is? As Tiruvalluvar writes about love, sulking, pleasure, longing and sensuality, it’s easy to drown in his words. They’re soft and oh-so sweet. I ended up having so many favourite kurals, each lovelier than the other. If there ever was a poem dedicated to love and all that comes with it, this is the one. I’m so glad I had the chance to read this iconic piece of literature with ease.
I highly recommend this to everyone. Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨
August 21, 2023
I don’t usually read much poetry in translation but it was super interesting to read one of the most famous Indian poems with a very fresh and feminist take on it. I didn’t really know what to expect from this but I found the verses so touching and it really spoke to me about the deepest parts of female desire like jealously, sulking, yearning and the pleasure of sex. It really was a joy to read and I liked having the original Tamil translation on the other side of the page following you through-out the text. I think Meena has done a really beautiful and personal justice to this poem and I’d love to read more of her work if I get the chance.
April 12, 2023
Translating ancient poetry must have been such a difficult task to undertake but this was done so skilfully! I especially appreciated the foreword/introduction section here - I learnt so much.
January 28, 2023
In which Meena Kandasamy single-handedly saves translation. Again.
August 1, 2023
Meena Kandasamy is a Tamizh Dalit feminist poet, and each of her identities plays a part in her retelling of the third section of Tirukkural, the Inpattuppal – published as “The Book of Desire”.
In her exhaustive introduction, Kandasamy writes that “as much as Tiruvalluvar was a man ahead of his times, he was inevitably a product of them too.” She talks of how he condemned prostitution, exhorted women to worship their husbands and “articulates collective male fears of becoming hen-pecked husbands and emasculated men.”
However, as she points out, “nowhere does the Tirukkural call for any woman to be controlled. A woman is not someone to be imprisoned, all her movements watched over- instead, she is entrusted with her own protection. It is her autonomy that protects her, not her lack of it.” This firmly places the Tirukkural as a feminist text.
One drawback of the book is the absence of glossary. There are many words sprinkled through the book which may not be familiar to a reader who does not know Tamizh. Some of these words can be inferred from the context, or can be looked up online. But one word that gave me most trouble was ‘madal’ from the kurals on “Renouncing Shame”. You cannot understand the word from the context, and it was only after I sought the help of a friend that I could make sense of the word and therefore the meaning.
There are two ways you can read “The Book of Desire”. You can read it as translation of a work you are familiar with, or you can read it as a fresh book of poetry. Your experience will vary depending on how you approached it.
A person who is already familiar with the work may nit pick with the translation, because they may not consider it the most accurate translation. A person reading it as a book of poetry will be enriched and will come away with wonder at how an book as old as this one can remain so contemporary.
Either way, Meena Kandasamy’s political convictions and her poetic ability come together in this retelling of Tirukkural: The Book of Desire.
In her exhaustive introduction, Kandasamy writes that “as much as Tiruvalluvar was a man ahead of his times, he was inevitably a product of them too.” She talks of how he condemned prostitution, exhorted women to worship their husbands and “articulates collective male fears of becoming hen-pecked husbands and emasculated men.”
However, as she points out, “nowhere does the Tirukkural call for any woman to be controlled. A woman is not someone to be imprisoned, all her movements watched over- instead, she is entrusted with her own protection. It is her autonomy that protects her, not her lack of it.” This firmly places the Tirukkural as a feminist text.
One drawback of the book is the absence of glossary. There are many words sprinkled through the book which may not be familiar to a reader who does not know Tamizh. Some of these words can be inferred from the context, or can be looked up online. But one word that gave me most trouble was ‘madal’ from the kurals on “Renouncing Shame”. You cannot understand the word from the context, and it was only after I sought the help of a friend that I could make sense of the word and therefore the meaning.
There are two ways you can read “The Book of Desire”. You can read it as translation of a work you are familiar with, or you can read it as a fresh book of poetry. Your experience will vary depending on how you approached it.
A person who is already familiar with the work may nit pick with the translation, because they may not consider it the most accurate translation. A person reading it as a book of poetry will be enriched and will come away with wonder at how an book as old as this one can remain so contemporary.
Either way, Meena Kandasamy’s political convictions and her poetic ability come together in this retelling of Tirukkural: The Book of Desire.
February 4, 2023
A rare occasion where the Introduction is essential reading before the main text - a brief but fascinating summary of Tamil (the language, the culture and the history) and the author’s translation process which really helped bring the verses to life. I was more taken with the sections on sulking than the ones on love, but that probably says more about me…
April 25, 2025
I finished this book a week back but was so taken with it that I needed time before formulating my thoughts into words. Unfortunately, the Kama Sutra and the Sanskritised version of India's sexual past and romantic notions around desire rule the mainstream. This is obviously because of Brahmin dominance.
However, as Kandasamy rightly points out, the Kama Sutra is written with a biological and prescriptive notion of sex, pleasure, and desire; achieving absolutely nothing on doing justice to India's diverse culture and tradition on romance and sex.
This is a translation of a 1,500-year-old book of poetry on love, sex, and desire. This translation is so subversive, and depicts the romantic stirrings of the Indian heart, and the love of pleasurable play that is so deeply rooted in the culture.
Lastly, it must be said that I am a Kandasamy lover. Have been since the day I worked on an interview of her's.
However, as Kandasamy rightly points out, the Kama Sutra is written with a biological and prescriptive notion of sex, pleasure, and desire; achieving absolutely nothing on doing justice to India's diverse culture and tradition on romance and sex.
This is a translation of a 1,500-year-old book of poetry on love, sex, and desire. This translation is so subversive, and depicts the romantic stirrings of the Indian heart, and the love of pleasurable play that is so deeply rooted in the culture.
Lastly, it must be said that I am a Kandasamy lover. Have been since the day I worked on an interview of her's.
August 21, 2025
4.5 stars rounding down to 4 - loved the introduction to this a lot, and the poems themselves are very elegantly rendered, simple but beautiful and universal in their messages to anyone who loves or has ever been in love. Great stuff.
October 26, 2025
Wow. Girlies 2000 years ago having the same as feelings that we girlies have today. Kind of heartwarming. but i loved the translations made me feel very connected to my tamilian ancestors
September 29, 2023
Lovely meaningful beautiful book inside and out
January 26, 2023
An absolute winner! I have many thoughts on translation and I admire the skill it takes to translate something not only accurately but with grace and style - being an immigrant, I know that speaking another language doesn't give you the skill to translate. Having a peek behind the scenes and reading Kandasamy's thoughts on the text and her intentions in translating was an absolute joy. As an aside, absolutely delighted that she decided to make it as inclusive as possible AND that the text allowed for it.
As someone whose native tongue has been squashed and censored, it was very interesting to hear about Tamil, a language and culture I knew very little about. Introductions sometimes feel like a delaying tactic, an unnecessary preface to the text, but Kandasamy was absolutely essential and fascinating. I loved her When I hit you and I plan on reading everything she has written so it was great to read her undiluted voice in The Book of Desire.
Regarding the actual poetry, I absolutely loved it. I think the change on verse numbers from 2 to 4 absolutely work. I found it moving, poignant and very fun (which is always good). It describes some very big emotions in very small sentences - incredible.
I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys poetry - really worth it!
As someone whose native tongue has been squashed and censored, it was very interesting to hear about Tamil, a language and culture I knew very little about. Introductions sometimes feel like a delaying tactic, an unnecessary preface to the text, but Kandasamy was absolutely essential and fascinating. I loved her When I hit you and I plan on reading everything she has written so it was great to read her undiluted voice in The Book of Desire.
Regarding the actual poetry, I absolutely loved it. I think the change on verse numbers from 2 to 4 absolutely work. I found it moving, poignant and very fun (which is always good). It describes some very big emotions in very small sentences - incredible.
I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys poetry - really worth it!
November 13, 2023
In translating Simone de Beavoir's Le Deuxième sexe (The Second Sex), the translators, Constance Borde and Shiela Malovany-Chevallier, in their note at the beginning of the Vintage Classic edition raise the difficulties any translator faces, commenting: 'different times have produced different conceptions of translation.' They also suggest that 'while great works of art seldom age, translations do.' George Eliot too pondered the difficulties of translation, stating her strongly-worded opinion that ‘the moral qualities especially demanded in the translator’ were patience, rigid fidelity, and a ‘sense of responsibility in interpreting another man’s mind.’
Here, Kandasamy grapples with the underlying philosophy of her translation with her stated purpose being to offer a 'feminist interventionist' translation of an ancient Tamil text, her act of translating undertaken as a feminist decolonial Tamil. In doing so, she first deconstructs what colonialism is, suggesting that it is more than 'white-skinned European hegemony,' and her expansive framework of how she perceives colonialism serves to further enrich her text. In fact, I found her essay which begins the book to be a useful tool to fully appreciate the skills required to undertake her task. Kandasamy claims the space to be able to interpret a powerful, influential text as a woman, as a Tamil, and she does so with a potency that almost shimmers through the English words she has chosen to put on the page.
I know very little of Tamil history or culture, so I cannot begin, nor would it be appropriate, to comment on any aspect of what Kandasamy has done with the underlying Tamil text. I offer my views as someone who was, very simply put, spellbound by the English words on the page, responding to them in an emotional, heartfelt way, for her words, they are magical. This is a woman who so deeply understands the intrinsic emotional conflicts inherent in desire, that ephemeral fiery impulse that sits between two humans in ways we often do not understand, and the magnetic pull of desire, as well as the fear of being consumed, lost to it.
She confides that she was the victim of domestic violence, and for any woman who has ever been caught in the swirl of a consuming, violent, or coercive relationship there is both a recognition and a comfort in the words. The one that resonated most for this reader:
'This sly enchanter and
his artful words, are they
not the army that breaks
into our womaness?'
As I read these words I felt seen. I felt heard.
Kandasamy's work, even without any understanding or contextual framework of the original text, is beautiful, a real joy to read.
Here, Kandasamy grapples with the underlying philosophy of her translation with her stated purpose being to offer a 'feminist interventionist' translation of an ancient Tamil text, her act of translating undertaken as a feminist decolonial Tamil. In doing so, she first deconstructs what colonialism is, suggesting that it is more than 'white-skinned European hegemony,' and her expansive framework of how she perceives colonialism serves to further enrich her text. In fact, I found her essay which begins the book to be a useful tool to fully appreciate the skills required to undertake her task. Kandasamy claims the space to be able to interpret a powerful, influential text as a woman, as a Tamil, and she does so with a potency that almost shimmers through the English words she has chosen to put on the page.
I know very little of Tamil history or culture, so I cannot begin, nor would it be appropriate, to comment on any aspect of what Kandasamy has done with the underlying Tamil text. I offer my views as someone who was, very simply put, spellbound by the English words on the page, responding to them in an emotional, heartfelt way, for her words, they are magical. This is a woman who so deeply understands the intrinsic emotional conflicts inherent in desire, that ephemeral fiery impulse that sits between two humans in ways we often do not understand, and the magnetic pull of desire, as well as the fear of being consumed, lost to it.
She confides that she was the victim of domestic violence, and for any woman who has ever been caught in the swirl of a consuming, violent, or coercive relationship there is both a recognition and a comfort in the words. The one that resonated most for this reader:
'This sly enchanter and
his artful words, are they
not the army that breaks
into our womaness?'
As I read these words I felt seen. I felt heard.
Kandasamy's work, even without any understanding or contextual framework of the original text, is beautiful, a real joy to read.
January 13, 2025
“My desire is / an endless sea; / there is no raft / to swim across safely.” In The Book of Desire, Meena Kandasamy offers up a brilliant, original translation of the Kāmattuppāl, a section of the significant Tamil text the Tirukkural — “the first feminist interventionist translation into English”, as Kandasamy asserts in an introductory essay ‘Would I Quarrel, Would I Embrace?’. Firstly, she highlights the cultural significance of the text, and then its personal significance, and what it means to her to translate it. “I claim for myself the space to interpret the Tamil woman in the Tirukkural. As a woman in love, I also claim the space to be her. This is a recursive loop.” Then, at the end of the introduction, “I go to this text whenever I am in love. As a poet, being in love has been my permanent state of being.” In the main text itself, Kandasamy’s English translation is presented alongside the original text on facing pages. The verses are varied, offering up a vision of love and desire as multifaceted as it is intense. A narrative of heartbreak unfolds; in earlier verses, “Harmless, this woman, / with eyes devouring / the lives of those / who look at her.” And there’s hopefulness, stock placed in the currency of romance: “the cascades / in the grammars of our love.” “A little / stolen glance / is so much more / than so much sex.” But later, as the love affair unravels, such proclamations as “I shall devour and enjoy him, / until all my lovesickness is destroyed.”, and a heartbreaking insistence that “My own heart is not my ally.” As Kandasamy revitalises this ancient text for our times, in her feminist, decolonial vision, it is just as resonant and palpable as she claims.
February 12, 2023
"Doe-eyed and bashful,
she casts a guileless look.
Does she need these jewels?
They run alien to her nature."
.
Thank you @penguinindia for the gifted review copy!
.
My Rating : 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
.
Reading a piece of literature translated that you've held near your heart and studied from a very little age is a very different feeling altogether. The Book of Desire is not just a translation of the 'Kāmattu-p-pāl' aka the most censored and very sensual part of our age old literature 'Thirukkural'.
.
"He made love, he bade me
to be fearless - if he leaves
now, is it my fault for trusting
all his words of reassurance?"
.
The author does a great job giving an insight to how she views the poems, and even though you can never give an accurate translation of the meaning (like any translated works), she does an absolutely great job of capturing the feeling and essence of each two-liner. Kāmattu-p-pāl is particularly very heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time and it explores a lot of Emotionally heavy topics and ones that aren't talked about a lot in Indian culture in general. I'm so glad we have a translated work right now so those who cannot understand Tamizh can at least get an idea of how beautiful the 2000+ year old literature views life and love.
.
If you can read Tamizh, GO READ THE BOOK! at least just to see how the author has done the translation. Others, please go enjoy the beauty of translated tamizh language and the beauty of the two line wonder that is 'Thirukkural' !! ❤️
she casts a guileless look.
Does she need these jewels?
They run alien to her nature."
.
Thank you @penguinindia for the gifted review copy!
.
My Rating : 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
.
Reading a piece of literature translated that you've held near your heart and studied from a very little age is a very different feeling altogether. The Book of Desire is not just a translation of the 'Kāmattu-p-pāl' aka the most censored and very sensual part of our age old literature 'Thirukkural'.
.
"He made love, he bade me
to be fearless - if he leaves
now, is it my fault for trusting
all his words of reassurance?"
.
The author does a great job giving an insight to how she views the poems, and even though you can never give an accurate translation of the meaning (like any translated works), she does an absolutely great job of capturing the feeling and essence of each two-liner. Kāmattu-p-pāl is particularly very heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time and it explores a lot of Emotionally heavy topics and ones that aren't talked about a lot in Indian culture in general. I'm so glad we have a translated work right now so those who cannot understand Tamizh can at least get an idea of how beautiful the 2000+ year old literature views life and love.
.
If you can read Tamizh, GO READ THE BOOK! at least just to see how the author has done the translation. Others, please go enjoy the beauty of translated tamizh language and the beauty of the two line wonder that is 'Thirukkural' !! ❤️
March 29, 2023
Until I saw this on Galley Beggar press’s new release list for 2023 I’d never heard of the Tirukkural, a 2000 year old Tamil epic poem in three parts by Tiruvalluvar, the latter part of which, the Kamattu-p-pal, has only ever been translated by a woman once. What really makes the book as a whole is Meena Kandasamy’s fantastic introduction to the history of the poem illustrating the way in which it has been misappropriated and repressed, the history of its translation, what makes the Tamil language unique, the difficulties and complexities of translating it and the ways in which the Tirukkural is a picture of female love and desire.
The poetry itself is easy to read and often lovely with my favorite parts being the different Laments as a woman speaks of the absence of her lover, how she feels this absence everywhere, in her eyes, her skin, her heart. She dreams of sex and her lovers touch while his -if indeed it is a male voice - passages speak of her beauty, her bangled, bejeweled arms and kohl outlined eyes. This is sensual love poetry, full of desire and that obsession lovers have with every part and word of their lover but there is also a lightness of touch to it, a playfulness.
The poem can be appreciated without any context but knowing something of the history and the way in which Meena Kandasamy approached the translation is invaluable. For someone previously unaware of the poem, it adds a whole other layer to this ancient text but reviews from readers who are familiar with the original will no doubt be more insightful.
The poetry itself is easy to read and often lovely with my favorite parts being the different Laments as a woman speaks of the absence of her lover, how she feels this absence everywhere, in her eyes, her skin, her heart. She dreams of sex and her lovers touch while his -if indeed it is a male voice - passages speak of her beauty, her bangled, bejeweled arms and kohl outlined eyes. This is sensual love poetry, full of desire and that obsession lovers have with every part and word of their lover but there is also a lightness of touch to it, a playfulness.
The poem can be appreciated without any context but knowing something of the history and the way in which Meena Kandasamy approached the translation is invaluable. For someone previously unaware of the poem, it adds a whole other layer to this ancient text but reviews from readers who are familiar with the original will no doubt be more insightful.
October 5, 2023
I was eagerly anticipating reading this book after it was suggested for the book discussion group at the Literature House in Bergen, Norway. However, I found the initial 50 pages to be biased and lacking in factual accuracy. The author makes broad generalizations about the Hindu tradition, basing her arguments primarily on the Manusmriti, a text that many modern Hindus don't fully embrace. She fails to provide depth or nuance to her claims since she has none. This book is mainly aimed at Western audience who share a similar political leaning as her and/or read books from other cultures mainly for the anthropological study. As a person from Bihar I was very excited to read this book because it was written by a Tamil writer about ancient Tamil literature unfortuenly she did great injustice to Tamil literature by just spewing venom on other cultures and traditions of India, this doesn't represent Tamil people.
July 12, 2024
The Book of Desire by Tiruvalluvar, the Kamattu-p-pal is the third part of the Tirukkural – one of the most important texts in Tamil literature which has been translated by a woman only once before Meena Kandasamy.
The Tirukkural consists of 1330 couplets and his feminist reclamation consists 250 kurals/couplets divided into 25 chapters. A beautiful and lyrical collection, that brings the world the beauty of Tamil language and culture. The Book of Desire captures the emotions of love, longing, pleasure, melancholia, subtleties and delights of sulking and myriad other emotions of a lover’s heart. Dramatic and refreshingly addictive, read this splendid book.
For someone like me who rarely devours poetry let alone a collection of translated couplets from one of the oldest and still surviving languages of the world, this book proves the power of the Tamil language and Kandasamy’s insight and command over the same.
The Tirukkural consists of 1330 couplets and his feminist reclamation consists 250 kurals/couplets divided into 25 chapters. A beautiful and lyrical collection, that brings the world the beauty of Tamil language and culture. The Book of Desire captures the emotions of love, longing, pleasure, melancholia, subtleties and delights of sulking and myriad other emotions of a lover’s heart. Dramatic and refreshingly addictive, read this splendid book.
For someone like me who rarely devours poetry let alone a collection of translated couplets from one of the oldest and still surviving languages of the world, this book proves the power of the Tamil language and Kandasamy’s insight and command over the same.
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April 25, 2023This is one of only two translations of the 2000 year old Tamil text that has been translated by a woman and that has not censored the parts about women’s sexuality and desire. The book starts with a 50 page introduction from Meena Kandasamy explaining why she decided to do this translation and giving some background information on the text. It was a really insightful, interesting, and educational introduction.
Then follows the translation of the poetry. I’m not much of a page poetry reader as I prefer spoken word, however, I did really enjoy reading this and thought it was quite beautiful. There were many lines that stuck out to me and that I’ll remember.
I am struggling to come up with a star rating for this as I have not read the original text that this book has translated, however, I definitely recommend picking this up.
Then follows the translation of the poetry. I’m not much of a page poetry reader as I prefer spoken word, however, I did really enjoy reading this and thought it was quite beautiful. There were many lines that stuck out to me and that I’ll remember.
I am struggling to come up with a star rating for this as I have not read the original text that this book has translated, however, I definitely recommend picking this up.
May 20, 2023
An enjoyable read. It’s difficult to describe the feeling in words. But, a lot of the poetry felt familiar, yet I never got bored of it.
The familiarity is because over the years, we have used and overused the expressions of love written in this book.
But, considering that this is such an ancient book, you can’t help but marvel how it’s all still so relevant and fresh. Maybe that’s what keeps you so interested in.
I can’t comment on the translation itself, coz I don’t understand Tamil, but, Kandasamy does use gender neutral words wherever possible making this poetry inclusive. It was heartening to read that this was done consciously.
The familiarity is because over the years, we have used and overused the expressions of love written in this book.
But, considering that this is such an ancient book, you can’t help but marvel how it’s all still so relevant and fresh. Maybe that’s what keeps you so interested in.
I can’t comment on the translation itself, coz I don’t understand Tamil, but, Kandasamy does use gender neutral words wherever possible making this poetry inclusive. It was heartening to read that this was done consciously.
February 13, 2023
It is love that stays as a constant in this chaotic world & to which we can all find solace. This book retraces the past and brings forward the beautiful poems written by Tiruvaḷḷuvar a long time ago. When some people are busy finding violence in history to justify their hatred, Meena Kandasamy chose to find love & desire instead, and that's how we have this beautiful book in front of us. While the translation is obviously beautiful, it's the introduction that mesmerized me. With such clarity of thought, this book is a perfect piece of literature that needs to be read and shared.
March 12, 2025
Echoes of fragments of Sappho and Ono no Komachi. Jealousy; love; the truest of human emotions
My favourite poems
1312-1320; 1102-1104; 1108-1110; 1121-1122; 1131-1135; 1146-1150; 1161-1165; 1191-1194; 1206-1210; 1231-1235; 1238-1240; 1266-1270; 1263-1265; 1274-1275; 1286-1287; 1296-1298;
My favourite poems
1312-1320; 1102-1104; 1108-1110; 1121-1122; 1131-1135; 1146-1150; 1161-1165; 1191-1194; 1206-1210; 1231-1235; 1238-1240; 1266-1270; 1263-1265; 1274-1275; 1286-1287; 1296-1298;
April 11, 2023
"I invite you, dear reader, to enter this beautiful world. I invite you to fall in love."
And that I did. A wonderfully sensual translation.
And that I did. A wonderfully sensual translation.
July 4, 2023
I like the fact that India has had these poems. I dislike the fact that language barrier has kept it from us.
August 18, 2023
A beautiful book from a wonderful writer - I suspect I'll return to dip into this quite a lot in the future. Also a gorgeous job by Galley Beggar press - they make a stunning publication.
February 19, 2024
I wasn't that keen
August 5, 2024
Loved the introduction and background to the history of this book and transcription but found the actual poetry pretty underwhelming 😂
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