A review by jocedun
One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan
4.0
It is so refreshing to read translated works! This tells the story of a man and woman struggling to conceive over their long marriage, and some desperate choices they make. The descriptions in this book were so vivid, I felt like I had an exact image of each setting in my mind.
As an American reader, I love Perumal Murugan’s use of metaphor and euphemism. For example, at one point a main character laments the idea of a marriage by saying, “As if it’s not enough to tie a ring around your nose, they want to tie you to a stall as well.” It took me a few minutes to unpack that this was a reference to cows being property, and marriage being like ownership. Such a culturally-specific metaphor!
As an American reader, I love Perumal Murugan’s use of metaphor and euphemism. For example, at one point a main character laments the idea of a marriage by saying, “As if it’s not enough to tie a ring around your nose, they want to tie you to a stall as well.” It took me a few minutes to unpack that this was a reference to cows being property, and marriage being like ownership. Such a culturally-specific metaphor!