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the_moody_marshmallow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
samrudhibaj's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It is an anthropomorphic tale of a female goat’s life journey . The writing is realistic and set in rural community. It does a good job of capturing hardships of - animals, females and poor people. There is an unfeigned description of animal-human relationship which retains practicality of goat farming. The political satire is not as direct as we see in writings like Animal farm but it exists. The miracle part is kept mysterious (of course!) but it’s impact on goat’s life is ubiquitous.
ninjoshi's review against another edition
5.0
While the translation itself isn’t smooth, the rawness of the interaction between human and cattle more than makes up for it
ashrith's review against another edition
4.0

An old farmer bound in his daily routine receives a goat kid as an unexpected gift from a mysterious stranger. The goat is unlike any the farmer has seen or herded before, with its colour pitch black and the size not more than a large worm. He brings the goat home to his wife and amid the speculations about the stranger and peculiarity of the new member in their home, they decide to raise the goat kid, which they name Poonachi. Rest of story unravels with Poonachi growing up in poverty ridden household comprising of the old couple and rest of the their goats.
Written in third person omniscient, the story bounces between the perspectives of the couple and the goats, primarily of Poonachi. The author infuses the human emotions into lives of goats seamlessly and this might be a major win for the novel where it effortlessly takes the reader's human experience into the circumstances in the lives of goats, controlled by humans.
As a result, when the narrative shifts to goats, the interactions are raw with needs tending to just to basic habitual behaviors, stripped out of any human trivialities.
The longings seem deeper and the connections, sweeter. The mother is separated from the kid in the blink of an eye. Lovers are tied to the opposite corners of the same shed and they try to push against the rope to barely manage to feel warm whiffs of each other's breaths. There are more than a few scenes that may leave you gasping in shock as much as they would tug at your heart.
The human side of the world around the goats isn't a smooth sail either. The weather is a merciless scorch. A remote authoritarian government tries to control the lives of its subjects. In spite of all the gruesomeness, there is tenderness in the relationship between the old couple and the goats. But again, this is often pitted with greed and apathy.
In the middle of all this is the story of Poonachi whose life blooms in spite of all oddities. But above the surface, the fable delves into political, as it cuts across many issues like animal rights, women rights and pressures of being unique. The ending however seems a bit abrupt and could have stretched out a little bit.
In its 140 pages, the book offers a fact paced story and a unique reading experience.
An old farmer bound in his daily routine receives a goat kid as an unexpected gift from a mysterious stranger. The goat is unlike any the farmer has seen or herded before, with its colour pitch black and the size not more than a large worm. He brings the goat home to his wife and amid the speculations about the stranger and peculiarity of the new member in their home, they decide to raise the goat kid, which they name Poonachi. Rest of story unravels with Poonachi growing up in poverty ridden household comprising of the old couple and rest of the their goats.
Written in third person omniscient, the story bounces between the perspectives of the couple and the goats, primarily of Poonachi. The author infuses the human emotions into lives of goats seamlessly and this might be a major win for the novel where it effortlessly takes the reader's human experience into the circumstances in the lives of goats, controlled by humans.
As a result, when the narrative shifts to goats, the interactions are raw with needs tending to just to basic habitual behaviors, stripped out of any human trivialities.
The longings seem deeper and the connections, sweeter. The mother is separated from the kid in the blink of an eye. Lovers are tied to the opposite corners of the same shed and they try to push against the rope to barely manage to feel warm whiffs of each other's breaths. There are more than a few scenes that may leave you gasping in shock as much as they would tug at your heart.
The human side of the world around the goats isn't a smooth sail either. The weather is a merciless scorch. A remote authoritarian government tries to control the lives of its subjects. In spite of all the gruesomeness, there is tenderness in the relationship between the old couple and the goats. But again, this is often pitted with greed and apathy.
In the middle of all this is the story of Poonachi whose life blooms in spite of all oddities. But above the surface, the fable delves into political, as it cuts across many issues like animal rights, women rights and pressures of being unique. The ending however seems a bit abrupt and could have stretched out a little bit.
In its 140 pages, the book offers a fact paced story and a unique reading experience.
randomkaramazov's review against another edition
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
paninigoweenie's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
sagarific's review against another edition
definitely will return to this! it’s been such a pleasure to read this in the original Tamil (and a pain because I, sadly, cannot speed read in this language). But I actually found the voice and style very accessible and enjoyable and I just need to be in a space where I have more time and patience to savor the story as I ought to, in its rightful language.