Thanks to the publisher ( Groove Atlantic) for sending me an ARC ebook.
This isn't the first book I have read by this author but I do have to say it's probably one of his works that I liked the most. Talks about a rural village where social norms like caste are considered more precious than human life. Since the premise, I was quite sure on what note the story would end but even then I was quite surprised at how well and apt the author decided to end the story. very well done.

Pyre is an impressive and impactful book about intolerance and innocent young love pitted against caste rules. I found it chilling and painful to read, but also educational. It shows how patriarchal and caste-based order destroys rural households.
Worth a read.

Pyre is a love story of two young couples Saroja and Kumaresan, written brilliantly by Perumal Murugan,
Based on a true incident.

A short novel portraying honor killing, which is somewhat everyday news in India till today.
Saroja who lives in Tholur, with her father and brother, meets Kumaresan , who came from a barren village in search of work. The young couple fall in love and get s married eloping
When Kumaresan brings her to his village, she was shocked to see the condition. The thatched roof house, no bathroom, no food, a screaming bad-mouthed mother in law and curious-looking villagers standing in queue to meet the alien, Kumaresan bought from town.
Being fair and good-looking, the villagers immediately understood that she belongs to a higher caste, and her footstep in the village bought impurity. Marriage should be within the caste. Ever since then they plan to get rid of Saroja.
This chilling novel will suffocate you, and you might start cursing both the young couple for getting married and the uneducated villagers. ( I blame kumaresan especially because he knew how rigid his village is for marrying someone outside the caste)
The foolishness, the lack of maturity pops up in every chapter, the author brilliantly shows both sides of the coin.
Kumaresan’s mother wanted to get his son married to a girl from their own caste. But what, never struck her was because she lost her husband at a young age, no one was willing to give their daughter to them, the saw called hypocrite villagers.
Fair skin women, dressed nicely are prostitutes according to the villagers, yet when you don’t dress well you are almost like a ghost.
Coming to the guy, Kumaresan, who tried to be positive and well mannered, but for me, he lacks maturity and vision. If he loved Saroja so much, he could have moved somewhere else seeing the condition of the household and surroundings. Day after day he shamelessly listened to all the insults, in fact, he left for work leaving his wife in such a condition. He can make her wife stay hungry, ask her not to reply or speak any word with the villagers, and foolishly dreams that everything will be alright but never got the courage to move back to Tholur or some other nearest village.
The ending was breathtakingly beautiful, and it makes me wonder what Kumaresan did after what happened.

Thank you #netgalley #groveatlantic for the copy.

It ended & I hoped it hadn't. I surprisingly loved the novel; it's a bit different, with a life of its own that meshes into the readers' minds so easily. Though we don't actually come across the caste arrangement in the big cosmopolitan cities these days, it is nevertheless exceedingly honored & supported in the tiny communities of India. The characterization is entirely practical & I didn't sense any distortion in terms of story-telling.

This is my first translated book reading & I liked each bit of it. I didn't know that the original Tamil author Perumal is such a big star & his other work is similarly well acclaimed. I am happy that I could read one of his novels.

Always love this author and his books. This book was a revelation - with ideas and wording. A lot of rich detail on caste and culture in India. As an Indian reader - I especially loved the engaging and heartbreaking way Murugan writes the story. It is a must-read for every reader interested in India!

Pyre by Perumal Murugan is the story of Saroja and Kumaresan who fall in love and dare to dream of being together. Originally written in Tamil as Pookkuzhi (2013), and translated into English in 2016 by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Pyre, is as much a story of love as it is of hate and intolerance.

In his trademark writing style, Murugan highlights the hardships faced by the illiterate villagers of Kattuppatti. Their obsession with caste, one-dimensional thinking around rituals and traditions, strict opposition to change and eccentricities lay the foundations of this novel. By focusing on the difference in the settings – be it the busy town, or the poor village; the author highlights the difference in attitude towards castes and the resistance to change.

Vasudevan has done a fairly remarkable job at translating not only the words but also the emotions which transcend beyond the boundary of words. While Tamil words like Nondi, Mapillai, Dey, Ada, saaru-chatti, melolachatti etc are seamlessly woven into the narrative, it was the dialogues which suffered the most in this translated work. In the realm of English language, the dialects are lost. Though we can understand the essence, we are left craving for the subtle nuances and the varied richness which is obviously present in Kumaresan’s and Saroja’s diction.

Pyre is a truthful depiction of the loss of love when the society is blinded by the regressive and claustrophobic beliefs of casteism. We have heard often; it takes a village to raise a child. however, in this novel, it takes a village to crush a young couple’s dreams and hopes.

(4.5 stars)

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’ll certainly be reading one again.
This was a beautifully written book about a husband of wife from different castes and the ramifications this difference has on their married life together. As a reader, I truly wished for a happy ending for the characters and I was left until the very last page to find out how things would turn out for them. Even then, the book finished on a dramatic cliffhanger which left me throwing my hands in the air in frustration!

This was a different type of love story. Definitely different from what I am used to reading, but very interesting and gripping nonetheless.
Premise
Saroja and Kumaresan are young and in love. After meeting in a small southern Indian town where Kumaresan works at a soda bottling shop, they quickly marry before returning to Kumaresan’s family village, where they hope to build a life together. They remain hopeful that the villagers will welcome them with open arms, but they are harboring a terrible secret: Saroja is from a different caste than Kumaresan, and if the villagers find out, they will both be in danger.
I really enjoy love stories and what I liked about this one was it was more of a danger against all odds kind of love as opposed to a meet cute type of romance. I was very curious to keep turning the pages to see if they end up safely together. I really enjoyed this one.

Set in a small village in India, this translated story about a married Tamil couple from different castes, is engaging and heartbreaking. The writing is beautiful and still simple, the characters pure, and the circumstances harsh. It’s almost unimaginable how cruel people can be, but almost from the first page my chest tightened. I didn’t know what the title meant, and when I googled while reading I almost didn’t want to finish the story. I didn’t though, the story is only about 200 pages, and in the end, my heart flooded with sadness and anger.

I received an ARC from Grove Atlantic and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It actually got over.... like too soon 🤦

My most favourite book from the author now, this book kept my mind, my eyes and my heart open throughout the entire read.

My most favourite by the author so far, this book tells the story of a newly married couple being harrassed and discriminated by the community just because of their intercaste marriage.

The intolerance shown in this book is quite realistic as much more hatred and violence is shown to such couples. There's no exaggeration or things that are overdone in the story.

The characters are quite convincing. The story background illustrates the village life well.

You will be surprised with the good writing; the subtle romance, the emotions being so well painted in different hues all over the chapters in the book.

The entire story is quite gripping as you will want to save the girl everytime but you will also get frustrated because you will be unable to do so.

The ending is quite overwhelming as it's left to you to decide what's going to happen. That's where I got really frustrated though!

But I totally enjoyed the book from cover to cover.

Thank you, author and the publisher, for the advance reader copy.

I love the book so much!