"What sense did it make for ordinary folk to own a miracle? Protecting and preserving it was beyond their capabilities. They could see and listen to a miracle, take pleasure in telling others about it, but they couldn’t keep it at home and look after it. The problems faced by women in particular were endless."

I loved these particular lines in the book Poonachi/The Life of a Black Goat by Perumal Murugan @perumalmurugan_offl @groveatlantic

I find the writing very interesting with the plot focussing on the lives of the farmers and their livestock.

It's a very simple stroy with some elements of magical realism telling about the hardships an old couple had to face upbringing a tiny weak black unique kid called Poonachi.

This is the story of how Poonachi changed the lives of the old couple being the unbelievable miracle as she turned out to be.

The main highlights of the story include family bond, love and longing, how the simple village lives struggle through times of hardships and how the people bond with their livestock.

I loved the second half more. It's heartbreaking at times. At times, it's uncomfortable to read some particular parts dealing with some very realistic details. Otherwise it's a good read.

Perumal Murugan's books are always memorable even if they are not the best stories ever told.

Rather enjoyed this. It felt like a real odd ball story which again is something that I'm in to. A good starter for getting in to translated fiction.

What a remarkable book! Through the eyes, body and mind of an undersized, chronically underweight orphaned female goat, we meet a world at once loving and cruel. Black Beauty comes to mind (unbidden - and why is THAT considered a chidren's book?) Poonachi comes - supernaturally? - to the home of an Indian farm couple who live on the boundary between just enough and poverty. She learns about life animal and human through experiences that had this reader alternately holding breath and sighing in relief. The outcome remains uncertain to the last page. A short but touching and thought provoking book.

First published in India in 2018; published in translation by Grove Press/Black Cat on December 10, 2019

An anthropomorphized goat named Poonachi thinks human thoughts, or perhaps her goat thoughts happen to coincide with those that are common to humans. Her simple life as a goat opens a window on human behavior and attitudes. Poonachi experiences love and desire, loss and depression, jealousy and bitterness. She relishes freedom and resents limits that are placed on her behavior. As do many people who have little control over their simple lives, she bemoans her fate.

The story is set in an arid stretch of land called Odakkan Hill, presumably in or near the state of Tamil Nadu in India. An old man receives a black newborn goat as a gift from a tall stranger in a loincloth who predicts that the goat, as the last kid from a litter of seven, will give birth to seven kids of her own. The stranger is looking for a kind heart to raise the goat, knowing that “men of fortune are as plentiful as fruit worms, but a kind heart is rare.”

The old man’s wife names the malnourished kid Poonachi and raises her as if she were a daughter. The couple’s own daughter lives in another village. They see her only once a year when they travel to the daughter’s village for a festival.

The old man and his wife graze goats and grow a few crops, barely surviving from year to year but living serene lives. Poonachi’s life is equally difficult. Soon after the old man brings her home, Poonachi is nearly carried away by an eagle and is later threatened by a wildcat. She suffers a fever after her ear is pierced by a vindictive bureaucrat. When she is older, Poonachi becomes lost in the forest. Exhilarated by the richness of her new environment, however, she isn’t sure she wants to be found.

Poonachi earns a reputation as a miracle goat, particularly when she fulfills her destiny by giving birth to seven kids. But later, in a year of no rain when the couple faces starvation, they wonder whether she is a curse.

While the story creates sympathy for the kindly old man and his wife, the reader’s most tender feelings will be devoted to Poonachi. Mixing with other goats, Poonachi is bullied by an old buck and feels like an outsider. Still, she slowly makes friends and develops a sense of security, a knowledge of her place in the world. That changes when she is taken to visit the old couple’s daughter. The trip is frightening but it opens Poonachi to new experiences and gives her the opportunity to meet Poovan, a buck who kisses her gently and makes her tremble “at the slightest touch of his horn on her body.”

Poonachi feels despair when she must leave Poovan and again when she must leave the forest. Being bred against her will makes her hate the world. She cries when her kids are taken from her and sold. She sees other members of her herd killed for their meat or as a sacrifice to the gods. Eventually she wonders whether life is worth living if everything that matters is sure to be lost. Only her memories of her second encounter with Poovan, who “helped her learn the secrets of her own body,” sustain her.

The novel’s lessons about the joys and hardships of life come from Poonachi and the old couple, but the novel offers some collateral lessons, as well. Farmers and goatherders impart their wisdom in bromides like “only the egg-laying hen knows the pain of an inflamed asshole.” The novel imagines a ruling regime that is a bureaucratic nightmare, one in which government officials carefully regulate the purchase, sale, and registration of goats. People are encouraged to inform on their neighbors if they do not report the birth of a goat. “The regime had the power to turn its own people, at any moment, into adversaries, enemies and traitors.” In the presence of officials, people have “mouths only to keep shut, hands only to make obeisance, knees only to bend and kneel, backs only to bend, and bodies only to shrink before the authorities.”

I don’t recall when I last read a novel that was quite so charming. The story is sad but enriching. Writers often anthropomorphize animals to illuminate the human condition. I wonder if Perumal Murugan anthropomorphized goats to give them a voice. He may be inviting the reader to consider whether animals are like humans in fundamental ways. Why do we assume that goats do not love each other, do not suffer when we separate them from their lovers or offspring, do not feel abused by owners who dictate their limitations?

I live near some goats who, when I pass them, stare at me with utter malevolence — or so it seems to me. Perhaps this story explains their animosity. It certainly reminds us how simple people, and simple goats who think like people, experience love and pleasure while enduring pain and loss in the course of lives that, in the end, are never simple.

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Despite actually studying a few years of basic Tamil in school, I cannot actually read an entire book in the language. This would probably be the closest I would get to reading one. It was an interesting book but not entirely my cup of tea. There are a few graphic details that I am usually better off not paying much attention to. The book is definitely something I would recommend to others to see what they would take away from it since nothing in it is precisely as it meets the eye.

The story is of the hard lifecycle of a goat. It begins with unknown ancestry and no knowledge of how it is left with an old goatherd and his wife. The goat is raised as a family pet, given preference since she is tiny and looks like she would not survive. This privileged life does not last too long. The narrative focuses on the fallibility of relationships in particular and life as a whole. There are a lot of more profound implications based on the background in which the goat (poonachi) grows to adulthood and ultimately passes on. It will make a great book club book since there is bound to be a lot of discussions about this seemingly simple tale.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is completely based on my reading experience.

The Story of a Goat was an intriguing book, especially as it can be viewed as an allegory. If you look between the lines a bit, you can see that it's about the oppressed, especially women and farmers. I just feel a few things were lost in the translation and if I had read it in Tamil, I would understand more of it.

What a fantastic story. This allegory will stay with my for a while and I have to admit, this story made me so emotional. Highly recommend.

Fable? Allegory? What is it about this goat? While ostensibly about a female goat gifted to an elderly couple, it also seems to be about a lot more- the lot of females, the conditions for farmers in India, Indian politics. Poonachi the goat is the stand in for the oppressed. While I found this interesting, I know I was missing a lot. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A worthy read for fans of literary fiction and those interested in rural India.

A very interesting and engrossing book that I loved.
The style of writing is amazing, poetic and it flows without any hiccup.
The story is moving and kept me hooked till the end.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This was an odd book. It is an allegorical book about Tamil Nadu, and the plight of farmers and the government told through the perspective of a goat. There were parts I know I did not get because of not being familiar with Tamil Nadu politics though I choose to read it after spending 3 months there and working with goats. Still, the mix of treating the goats like humans and having them act not like goats, such as kissing, and then treating them like goats was a little off-putting to me as a reader. The ending was not a surprise from day one and even though it was an allegory the willingness to ignore goat biology at times made the realism of this book lessen. Finally, there were odd moments of slut shaming if we treat the goats as people and the treatment of sheep. On a smaller note, it seems that the wrong word was chosen in a few places for the translation unless it is a direct translation from the Tamil and is part of a phrase.

Perumal Murugan is my favourite regional literature author. ‘The story of a goat’ is the second book I have read of his and I must say he weaves magic. His familiarity with the Indian rural class combined with the injustice and unpleasant situations makes this book a definite read. The book touches human emotions, politics and social life through the life of a goat kid who is destined for greatness.

A true Indian fiction.

An interesting story of an elderly couple who are given a small young goat, who they name Ponnachi. Set in India, the story tells a story through the eyes of the couple, and occasionally the goat. Have not read a lot by Indian writers, but did enjoy the story telling aspect. Kept my interest and found myself curious to see what happens next. Some of the references and politics did not impact me as much, but could say that about any book from another country, including England. Good story and one I highly recommend.

I wished I would have liked the story more, I really do. I think it is a good story about a goat only the problem is it isn't in my opinion written for the western world. This story would do well in India, but it lacks and the structure is hard to read for when you are Western (it might be the translation??). There for it only gets 3 points.

This is a ARC from the publisher, which I got for a honest review.

The Story of a Goat is part fable and part cultural exploration. I enjoyed Perumal Murugan's beautiful rendering of this story. What I liked most was the author's use of poetic language (through translation) to tell this story. A captivating literary read.