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booksnpunks's review
4.0
I don’t usually read much poetry in translation but it was super interesting to read one of the most famous Indian poems with a very fresh and feminist take on it. I didn’t really know what to expect from this but I found the verses so touching and it really spoke to me about the deepest parts of female desire like jealously, sulking, yearning and the pleasure of sex. It really was a joy to read and I liked having the original Tamil translation on the other side of the page following you through-out the text. I think Meena has done a really beautiful and personal justice to this poem and I’d love to read more of her work if I get the chance.
_askthebookbug's review
5.0
Every summer vacation while growing up was spent at my grandparents place. My grandfather although not a Tamilian was obsessed with the language to such an extent that he watched TV series, heard Tamil songs on his radio and even read Thuglak (Tamil magazine) until he passed away a couple of years ago. To him, Tamil was always the sweetest language and to prove his point he used to translate a couple of poems written by Tiruvalluvar. While dating my then boyfriend (now husband), I constantly heard of two famous Tamil poets. One, Bharathiyar and the second was Tiruvalluvar. But it was only now that I actually had the chance to read translated poems by the legendary Valluvar. I finally understand the sweetness his words carry.
I think no one else could have translated this book of poems better than @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y . Tiruvalluvar‘s lovely words bloom in her translation. Another interesting aspect of this book is its wonderful introduction where Kandasamy introduces us to Tamil history, culture and language. Tirukkural originally is a text of 1,330 couplets but The Book of Desire includes only the last section of this work which includes mostly love and desire.
Where do I start about how beautiful this book is? As Tiruvalluvar writes about love, sulking, pleasure, longing and sensuality, it’s easy to drown in his words. They’re soft and oh-so sweet. I ended up having so many favourite kurals, each lovelier than the other. If there ever was a poem dedicated to love and all that comes with it, this is the one. I’m so glad I had the chance to read this iconic piece of literature with ease.
I highly recommend this to everyone. Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨
I think no one else could have translated this book of poems better than @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y . Tiruvalluvar‘s lovely words bloom in her translation. Another interesting aspect of this book is its wonderful introduction where Kandasamy introduces us to Tamil history, culture and language. Tirukkural originally is a text of 1,330 couplets but The Book of Desire includes only the last section of this work which includes mostly love and desire.
Where do I start about how beautiful this book is? As Tiruvalluvar writes about love, sulking, pleasure, longing and sensuality, it’s easy to drown in his words. They’re soft and oh-so sweet. I ended up having so many favourite kurals, each lovelier than the other. If there ever was a poem dedicated to love and all that comes with it, this is the one. I’m so glad I had the chance to read this iconic piece of literature with ease.
I highly recommend this to everyone. Thank you for the copy @penguinindia ✨
miacaven's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Lovely meaningful beautiful book inside and out
nuts246's review
4.5
Meena Kandasamy is a Tamizh Dalit feminist poet, and each of her identities plays a part in her retelling of the third section of Tirukkural, the Inpattuppal – published as “The Book of Desire”.
In her exhaustive introduction, Kandasamy writes that “as much as Tiruvalluvar was a man ahead of his times, he was inevitably a product of them too.” She talks of how he condemned prostitution, exhorted women to worship their husbands and “articulates collective male fears of becoming hen-pecked husbands and emasculated men.”
However, as she points out, “nowhere does the Tirukkural call for any woman to be controlled. A woman is not someone to be imprisoned, all her movements watched over- instead, she is entrusted with her own protection. It is her autonomy that protects her, not her lack of it.” This firmly places the Tirukkural as a feminist text.
One drawback of the book is the absence of glossary. There are many words sprinkled through the book which may not be familiar to a reader who does not know Tamizh. Some of these words can be inferred from the context, or can be looked up online. But one word that gave me most trouble was ‘madal’ from the kurals on “Renouncing Shame”. You cannot understand the word from the context, and it was only after I sought the help of a friend that I could make sense of the word and therefore the meaning.
There are two ways you can read “The Book of Desire”. You can read it as translation of a work you are familiar with, or you can read it as a fresh book of poetry. Your experience will vary depending on how you approached it.
A person who is already familiar with the work may nit pick with the translation, because they may not consider it the most accurate translation. A person reading it as a book of poetry will be enriched and will come away with wonder at how an book as old as this one can remain so contemporary.
Either way, Meena Kandasamy’s political convictions and her poetic ability come together in this retelling of Tirukkural: The Book of Desire.
In her exhaustive introduction, Kandasamy writes that “as much as Tiruvalluvar was a man ahead of his times, he was inevitably a product of them too.” She talks of how he condemned prostitution, exhorted women to worship their husbands and “articulates collective male fears of becoming hen-pecked husbands and emasculated men.”
However, as she points out, “nowhere does the Tirukkural call for any woman to be controlled. A woman is not someone to be imprisoned, all her movements watched over- instead, she is entrusted with her own protection. It is her autonomy that protects her, not her lack of it.” This firmly places the Tirukkural as a feminist text.
One drawback of the book is the absence of glossary. There are many words sprinkled through the book which may not be familiar to a reader who does not know Tamizh. Some of these words can be inferred from the context, or can be looked up online. But one word that gave me most trouble was ‘madal’ from the kurals on “Renouncing Shame”. You cannot understand the word from the context, and it was only after I sought the help of a friend that I could make sense of the word and therefore the meaning.
There are two ways you can read “The Book of Desire”. You can read it as translation of a work you are familiar with, or you can read it as a fresh book of poetry. Your experience will vary depending on how you approached it.
A person who is already familiar with the work may nit pick with the translation, because they may not consider it the most accurate translation. A person reading it as a book of poetry will be enriched and will come away with wonder at how an book as old as this one can remain so contemporary.
Either way, Meena Kandasamy’s political convictions and her poetic ability come together in this retelling of Tirukkural: The Book of Desire.
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