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A review by ladybookamore
Moustache by S. Hareesh
4.0
Moustache by S. Hareesh, translated by Jayasree Kalathil, is a true specimen of a brilliantly translated work of fiction. In Moustache we find the confluence of Dalit fiction woven into epic conventions. Well, you can view this book as a prose epic.
Many popular and dedicated book bloggers have already covered on what makes this tale of a Pulayan underdog so rivetting. I will just add a newer perspective to it — Moustache as a fictional rendering of Bakhtin's idea of the Carnivalesque.
Mikhail Bakhtin, in his book Rabelais and His World, talks about two aspects of the Medieval fairs — the Carnival and the Grotesque. The idea of the Carnival can be defined in layman terms as a situation where people from all walks of life mingle with one another, irrespective of class and caste dynamics. A very basic example of the Carnival is a transaction between the haves and the have-nots in a fair — it can be between an Ice-cream seller and an industrialist, or a tea seller selling a cup of masala tea to a police officer. In case of Moustache, the Carnival finds its expression through the play, where Vavachan enacts the role of a policeman, and it's consequences. Vavachan, as a Meesha (Moustache in Malayalam) who is also a Pulayan (the lowest caste in the Keralite society), becomes a nightmare to the people of the high caste. Thus, Vavachan's character gains a kind of magnitude with epic dimensions.
The Grotesque, according to Bakhtin, is that "ugly" side of the Fair, where man's lowly desires try to overcome the Carnival nature of the fair. Sexual urges and excretion are two such examples of the Grotesque. This too is reiterated in S. Hareesh's Moustache. The story is replete with very sudden moments of physical intimacy as well as occasional references to excretion. These moments either incite disgust or embarrassment, typical of the Grotesque nature of the Medieval fairs.
So, if I were to sum up Bakhtin's theory, it would be something like this — while the Carnival is about interactiond, the latter is about consumption and elimination. And Moustache brings forth the most of both the world's through its fascinating story and phenomenal translation. I thank Vivek Tejuja and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this book.
Many popular and dedicated book bloggers have already covered on what makes this tale of a Pulayan underdog so rivetting. I will just add a newer perspective to it — Moustache as a fictional rendering of Bakhtin's idea of the Carnivalesque.
Mikhail Bakhtin, in his book Rabelais and His World, talks about two aspects of the Medieval fairs — the Carnival and the Grotesque. The idea of the Carnival can be defined in layman terms as a situation where people from all walks of life mingle with one another, irrespective of class and caste dynamics. A very basic example of the Carnival is a transaction between the haves and the have-nots in a fair — it can be between an Ice-cream seller and an industrialist, or a tea seller selling a cup of masala tea to a police officer. In case of Moustache, the Carnival finds its expression through the play, where Vavachan enacts the role of a policeman, and it's consequences. Vavachan, as a Meesha (Moustache in Malayalam) who is also a Pulayan (the lowest caste in the Keralite society), becomes a nightmare to the people of the high caste. Thus, Vavachan's character gains a kind of magnitude with epic dimensions.
The Grotesque, according to Bakhtin, is that "ugly" side of the Fair, where man's lowly desires try to overcome the Carnival nature of the fair. Sexual urges and excretion are two such examples of the Grotesque. This too is reiterated in S. Hareesh's Moustache. The story is replete with very sudden moments of physical intimacy as well as occasional references to excretion. These moments either incite disgust or embarrassment, typical of the Grotesque nature of the Medieval fairs.
So, if I were to sum up Bakhtin's theory, it would be something like this — while the Carnival is about interactiond, the latter is about consumption and elimination. And Moustache brings forth the most of both the world's through its fascinating story and phenomenal translation. I thank Vivek Tejuja and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this book.