Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Full review to be found on Goodreads and on my website.

One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan, Aniruddhan Vasudevan (Translation) is a unique spin on the time-worn story of a couple dealing with childlessness in a traditional society where so much of their existence and future is dependent on producing an heir. In this story, Kali and his wife Poona have been married for about twelve years and in that time, they have tried a myriad of natural and supernatural remedies but with no success. But what is particularly endearing about the story of Kali and Poona are their reactions to their fate. As middle-caste Indian farmers, Kali planted a portia tree on his in-laws property in the first year of his marriage and the dense foliage, fragrant flowers and inviting shade and comfort the plant brings is in distinct contrast to the infertility marriage. Yet, despite his and Poona's wild success with this and other agrarian plots, the animals they raise in a barn that everyone in their community admires, it is not enough to quiet the wagging tongues that unleash snide comments and mocking insults, blaming Kali for his impotence and Poona for her barrenness. Yet, Poona's caustic retorts are laughable as she internalizes her anxiety and fear and moves with desperation toward any possible solution but simultaneously refuses to allow the underhanded comments to go unanswered, besting the women who would mock her and them even to tears. 
Since this is a translated novel and an ARC at that, I am not sure whether my comments about the circular storytelling is even a fair critique so I will reserve for later any discussion about the way new characters were introduced with a backstory that tended to wander before everything reconnected with the main plot. Otherwise, I certainly enjoyed this story and the uniqueness of the perspective about what it means to grow and produce, even what you didn't intend.
4 stars for this novel and this is one that I hope you read and enjoy as much as I did!

This book was sad, beautiful and well written. It tells us the story of Kali and Ponna, a young, childless couple in rural India. They love each other deeply, however cannot get past the fact that the gods have not granted them any child, turning them into the village's pariah.

This is the base of the story, and we can choose to look at it as a portrait of a country and its costumes, or we can take the opportunity to reflect on our own society. Kali and Ponna were happy, loved each other and that would have enough for them if it wasn't for everybody else's criticism and judgment. How many times do we do things, or believe we need things in our lives, just because people around them have them, because we need to live to other's expectations, or because we need to feed our Instagram account?
I leave you with this thought, and recommend this book to everyone who likes a good story, and to think while they read.

One Part Woman is a story about Kali and Ponna, a married couple, who are unable to conceive even after 12 years of marriage. They are happy and sexually satisfied in their marriage but the only thing lacking is a child. Because of this, they are constantly being targeted by their neighbours and the whole village. Their relatives keep an eye on their property as there is no one inherit that. Kali and Ponna tried everything they could do to have a child. They went from one temple to another, performed every old trick, every ritual but there was no effect. Their final hopes were resting on the 18th day of a chariot festival when rules were relaxed and any consenting man and woman can have sex. This night would be the ultimate test to their love and marriage.

This story is a dark humour on Indian society where everyone starts asking the married couple to conceive a child soon after the marriage, especially in rural places. This story is set in South India and perfectly depicts the cultural aspects. It perfectly captures how people often frustrated with their own problems, try to interfere in others’ life. They would give lectures on how things can be changed, doesn’t matter how bad things are in their own lives. The double standards of the society have been beautifully depicted. It showed how people change according to their needs and behave accordingly.

I loved how nicely Perumal Murugan has captured the beauty and life of South Indian culture. The village is not a rich one but the author or I would rather say the translator, has captured the essence perfectly. From lying under a tree to playing in big fields to climb the mountains, all the scenes were vivid. In many ways, it reminded me of my own village, which I haven’t visited in years. In spite of the translation in English, the local flavours have been maintained perfectly by the translator.

I loved both kali and Ponna and adored their love for each other. They got married early (as it happens in most of the rural areas) but over the time they grew fond of each other. In spite of all the negativity around them because of lack of the child, they were true to each other about their feelings. They still had a sexually satisfied life. In spite of being forced by many to do a second marriage, Kali never agreed upon the idea and his love for Ponna only grew with time.

Ponna was a fierce woman and I loved how bold she was with her opinions. Whenever anyone tried to bash her or tried to say bad things to her, she was ready to defend herself and her husband. People considered her to be rude and many stopped talking to her, but she was a woman transformed into a fierce one because of all the societal pressure.

The only negative thing that stopped this book from being a five-star read for me is that sometimes I felt that descriptions were too much and that took my interest away from the story. About three-quarters of the story is about the problems that Kali and Ponna faced along with the description of their childhood and other backstories. Some of the old incidents were relevant to the story but I felt as if most of the stories that the author introduced in between were just for filling the pages. There were some childhood stories of Kali which I don’t think added much to the main plot.

Overall, this is an amazing book that holds a mirror to the Indian society about their double standards. It shows what the need of having a child can make people do. The characters are well drawn and the story is intriguing which will keep you hooked till the end. The end is little abrupt and I wish there was a clear ending but still, this is a story which shouldn’t be missed if you are interested in Indian literature or the problems associated with our societies.

One Part Woman
Wow! The less you know about this one going in, the better. One Part Woman is the story of an Indian couple, Kali and Ponna who are unable to conceive. We follow them through their offerings to multiple temples and arguments with family members to take on another wife. But the love between Kali and Ponna is unshakeable. Until finally, on the 18th day, of a festival honoring the God Maadhorubaagan who is one-part woman, one-part male, the commitments of marriage are temporarily suspended.

3.5 stars
I loved the vivid description and the character portrayal. Ponna and Kali's love story will always be special. My heart went out to Ponna and Kali, the struggle they faced as they are still childless even after 12 years. I loved how the hypocrisy of the society was shown.

What I didn't like
I felt it was slow at times
The ending didn't give me closure

In one of the reviews I read that the original book was 550 pgs, so maybe translation was an issue here

I didn't know what to expect (knew it had been banned) and I got an amazingly striking novel. On the one hand, the plot is a typical one seen in much of Indian literature (Society demands children! We're a childless couple! Everything is terrible, inside and out!) but in the hands of Murugan, the characters are real and fully realized. They are not archetypes but are rather people in their own right that the reader is forced to respect them even as Kali plunges his marriage/life/Ponna into the flames. The writing is intense, in parts gorgeous and in parts realistically lurid which ends up making this simple book its power.

This is a fascinating and challenging read. There have always been many many ways to confront infertility. Murugan uses Kali and Ponna, a couple in South India 100 years ago to look at one. The cultural parts of this novel were completely new to me and for that new knowledge I am grateful. Originally written in Tamil, this is nicely translated- the writing flows. Thanks for the ARC.

With so much press about this book based on it's initial publication, I was interested in picking it up. However, as an American reader with no prior knowledge of the culture that is described, this did not work in it's current version. Firstly, cultural references are not explained and were difficult to follow. But, more importantly, there seems to be much lost in the literal translation of this book. The language lacks flow and feels like it may be a word-by-word translation such as one would do in a language course. The narrative is choppy and lacks style and is often confusing to follow.

This controversial novel led to book burnings and almost ended the career of its author, Tamil writer Perumal Murugan. Local caste-based and religious Hindu groups found the portrayal of their culture so objectionable that they staged violent protests - but while the police compelled Murugan to sign an "unconditional apology" and the district banned the book, the Madras High Court later (in 2016) declared the ban illegal and directed the state to better protect artists. The same year, Aniruddhan Vasudevan won the Translation Award of the Indian Academy of Letters (Sahitya Akademi Award) for his English translation of the text.

So what made the conservatives fume? The short book tells the story of a young married couple, Kali and Ponna. They both love each other very much, but the fact that after 12 years of marriage, 28-year-old Poona still couldn't get pregnant puts a strain on their relationship. The reason for their worries is less that Kali and Ponna desperately want to be parents - in fact, Kali is more than unsure whether he wants to have children at all, and Ponna is also ambivalent -, but that they are shamed, ridiculed and ostracized by their families, friends and other villagers because of their childlessness: Kali is called unmanly and impotent, and Ponna is the barren woman who brings bad luck.

Ponna and Kali try everything: They consult astrologers, make offerings to the gods, try to fight off presumed curses, and partake in rituals, but nothing seems to work. Finally, their families scheme to convince Ponna to attend the annual chariot festival celebrating the half-man half-woman god, where men and women are free to copulate with anyone. It was obviosuly the portrayal of this ritual as well as Murugan's criticism of cruel societal standards that protesters wanted to see banned.

Murugan writes empathically about the plight of Ponna and Kali, and his allegorical descriptions of nature and animals give the text the feel of a fable. This impression is heightend by multiple stories that are told within the text - about family members, ancestors, gods, and the past of the couple. The outside pressure puts a heavy psychological burden on both of them, and they also start to fail each other (which is especially true for Kali, who commits a horrible act).

Murugan writes an urgent tale about the pointlessness of sticking to convention without considering the happiness of the individual, the cruelty of some societal norms and the caste-system. And as the court in Madras put it: "If you do not like a book, simply close it. The answer is not its ban." That's how fiction can help progress.

This book was not for me.

I do not know anything about the author and am writing this review solely based on my experience reading this book.

The synopsis of the book sounded interesting. And reading about one couple's experience with struggling to have children was relatable. But there was something about the way the story was told that prevented me from really feeling the characters. I never got lost in the story or immersed into the characters minds. And after finishing the book, I am not sure how I feel about the ending. Should I be happy for her or sad and angry for him? All I feel is that the ending was a bit abrupt. Perhaps something was lost in translation for me?

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Perumal Murugan is from the same Indian state I am from. That and the fact that this book was heavily challenged by caste-based groups when it first released made me pick it up. One Part Woman is a compelling story about how in some fringes of the Indian society, people are ostracized if they cannot have children.

A more mellow (but annoying nonetheless) form of this takes place in Indian metropolitan cities with educated families. One thing I’ve observed in my family is how couples are consistently hounded and harangued by the elders of the family to have children. As soon as a couple gets married, the first and most common question directed at them is “any good news?”. The good news being a pregnancy. And God forbid they say they don’t want children. The interrogator’s sharp intake of breath and unsolicited advice on why you actually should have kids will make you want to avoid any social gathering like the plague.

Kali and Ponna’s world is an extreme form of this. Perumal Murugan has accurately portrayed how the fringe societies of Southern India are. If you don’t have children, get ready for society’s mockery, unsolicited advice from elders, and suggestions from random people about rituals you can perform at temples to have children.

About three-quarters of the book is about all the problems Kali and Ponna have faced because they weren’t able to conceive a child–not being invited out anymore, taunts from neighbors, and insults about Ponna being unlucky because she can’t get pregnant. In the end, their mothers come up with a solution. They decide to send Ponna to a chariot festival where inhibitions are low and any man and woman can have consensual sex. The rest of the story is about how this affects Kali and Ponna’s relationship.

One Part Woman is an excellent story that holds a mirror up to Indian society’s obsession with having children. Do read it if you want an accurate portrayal of Southern India and see how religious beliefs and conventions can hurt love and marriage.

I feel like I am doing myself and this book a disservice by reading a much shortened, translated version of it. The original book is about 500 pages, and this version is 288.

​I peaked at other reviews of this book on Goodreads, because the book got a lot of glowing 5 star reviews (and I just couldn't understand why). But now I know that the translation is the reason.

The original, Madhorubdagan, is poetic, lush and beautiful. One Part Woman is dry, choppy and repetitive. Which saddens me to no end, because I don't speak the language the book was written in, so I guess I will never be able to experience the true beauty of it.

I loved the new cover, I loved the topic and I loved that I had the chance to read something by a foreign author. I wanted to learn more about Indian culture, their religion and customs, but due to the horrible translation I really couldn't.

​Sure, all of those things were in the book, but they weren't catered to an average reader - there were no explanations as to who was who, and what god came from where. There were no explanations of temples, or rituals - names were just thrown around and I drowned trying to decipher what means what.

I also really hope that this book is not a correct representation of Indian culture as a whole and its people. Because if it is you will be hard pressed to find one single nice person in India, which I'm sure is not true. In the book they all were just horrible people! Jealous, crude, self-centered and worse. The only person I felt bad for was Ponna, because not only she suffered the most, but also because Kali (in my opinion) was a total prick.

​I am sad that I wasn't able to enjoy this book, nor learn anything from it. I firmly believe that if book gets translated it should be translated in a way that is the closest to the original, but also in a way that is accessible and understandable to everyone. People who live in that environment and people who don't should all be able to experience the book in the same way. Otherwise why translate it at all?

​Big thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for a digital galley copy provided for a review. All opinions are my own, honest and come from the heart.

Interesting peek into Indian culture. I like reading international books so this was fun for me. The subject was not one I could relate too but it was well written and seemingly well-translated.