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A review by vani_in_wonderland_
Chronicle of an Hour and a Half by Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
~ The Burden of Honour ~
Let me begin by saying, Chronicle of an Hour and a Half is a phenomenal work of fiction, no stranger than reality. And I'll tell you why
Vaiga, a small village in the foothills of Western Ghats is seeing a storm it hadn't seen since 1991. In the foreboding backdrop, a rumour begins to spread of a salacious affair between Reyhana, a mother to two college bound daughters and Burhan, 15 years her junior. It incites Saud, Reyhana's brother in law and his sons in search of Burhan. From there ensues a domino effect of half-truths, hot gossips, viral videos over Whatsapp which has the whole town collecting as a crowd soon converging into a mob.
A character in the novels remarks, 'A woman is honourable only so long as she isn't smuggling in a man when her husband isn't home. And once she chooses her own flesh over her husband's, that woman is a b*tch forever. Because a family's honour rests with its woman and they know it too well to be forgiven.'
In the times where moral policing has intruded the bedroom of two consenting adults, the self-appointed custodians of morality assume the mantle of justice to teach the transgressors a lesson. If they violate the same woman's honour in the process, who is to teach them a lesson? That's a question the author invokes in us readers as the two women whose dignity the village and its people intend to protect bear
the brunt of its misguided efforts.
People gather in times of death, people gather in celebration of life, people also gather to kill.
It is said that a mob can kill but cannot be hanged. Who do you say was a spectator? Who was an accomplice? A mob has no identity and runs like a fatherless plot on an adrenaline high, the blood cancelling all thinking.
It is no spoiler that a character in the novel gets lynched, entire novel through multiple POVs works in anticipation of the event. Plot
runs like electricity through a live wire wherein the author exposes the hypocrisy and bigotry of his characters, their contribution to chaos and also washing their hands off with any participation in wake of the consequences. All with an uncomfortable yet unflinching gaze.
What is also worth appreciating in the novel is the representation of women. They have little authority over what transpires but they defy the archetype of damsels in distress. Burhan's mother, Nabeesu stoically shoulders her ineffectual husband and five equally useless sons, Reyhana owns her repulsion for her husband and children and asserts her autonomy despite familial obligations, or Panchami smack her husband over his gossip mongering habits, each woman embodies resilience amidst societal constraints.
This debut work of fiction by Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari is a must read as it serves as a poignant reflection of how deeply our society is infested with patriarchy, rudimentary beliefs of a woman's honour. It shows how vigilantism has become a reality of today's intolerant times and Vaiga could easily have been any village or town you know.
I'd leave with a the words of Najeeb Maash in the novel as he says to his son -
'There is something tremendously wrong about a crowd. Which is why I want neither you or I to be a part of it. Nor step aside and address it. Like politicians do. My Arabi teacher used to say that grammar is the most basic philosophy. And there is no grammar to a crowd my son. A crown is as unmoving as an exclamation mark.'
Let me begin by saying, Chronicle of an Hour and a Half is a phenomenal work of fiction, no stranger than reality. And I'll tell you why
Vaiga, a small village in the foothills of Western Ghats is seeing a storm it hadn't seen since 1991. In the foreboding backdrop, a rumour begins to spread of a salacious affair between Reyhana, a mother to two college bound daughters and Burhan, 15 years her junior. It incites Saud, Reyhana's brother in law and his sons in search of Burhan. From there ensues a domino effect of half-truths, hot gossips, viral videos over Whatsapp which has the whole town collecting as a crowd soon converging into a mob.
A character in the novels remarks, 'A woman is honourable only so long as she isn't smuggling in a man when her husband isn't home. And once she chooses her own flesh over her husband's, that woman is a b*tch forever. Because a family's honour rests with its woman and they know it too well to be forgiven.'
In the times where moral policing has intruded the bedroom of two consenting adults, the self-appointed custodians of morality assume the mantle of justice to teach the transgressors a lesson. If they violate the same woman's honour in the process, who is to teach them a lesson? That's a question the author invokes in us readers as the two women whose dignity the village and its people intend to protect bear
the brunt of its misguided efforts.
People gather in times of death, people gather in celebration of life, people also gather to kill.
It is said that a mob can kill but cannot be hanged. Who do you say was a spectator? Who was an accomplice? A mob has no identity and runs like a fatherless plot on an adrenaline high, the blood cancelling all thinking.
It is no spoiler that a character in the novel gets lynched, entire novel through multiple POVs works in anticipation of the event. Plot
runs like electricity through a live wire wherein the author exposes the hypocrisy and bigotry of his characters, their contribution to chaos and also washing their hands off with any participation in wake of the consequences. All with an uncomfortable yet unflinching gaze.
What is also worth appreciating in the novel is the representation of women. They have little authority over what transpires but they defy the archetype of damsels in distress. Burhan's mother, Nabeesu stoically shoulders her ineffectual husband and five equally useless sons, Reyhana owns her repulsion for her husband and children and asserts her autonomy despite familial obligations, or Panchami smack her husband over his gossip mongering habits, each woman embodies resilience amidst societal constraints.
This debut work of fiction by Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari is a must read as it serves as a poignant reflection of how deeply our society is infested with patriarchy, rudimentary beliefs of a woman's honour. It shows how vigilantism has become a reality of today's intolerant times and Vaiga could easily have been any village or town you know.
I'd leave with a the words of Najeeb Maash in the novel as he says to his son -
'There is something tremendously wrong about a crowd. Which is why I want neither you or I to be a part of it. Nor step aside and address it. Like politicians do. My Arabi teacher used to say that grammar is the most basic philosophy. And there is no grammar to a crowd my son. A crown is as unmoving as an exclamation mark.'