B. Jeyamohan (also credited as Jayamohan) is one of the most influential contemporary, Tamil and Malayalam writer and literary critic from Nagercoil in Kanyakumari District in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
He entered the world of Tamil literature in the 1990s, Jeyamohan has had impacted the Tamil literary landscape as it emerged from the post-modern phase. His best-known and critically acclaimed work is Vishnupuram, a deeply layered fantasy set as a quest through various schools of Indian philosophy and mythology. His other well-known novels include Rubber, Pin Thodarum Nizhalin Kural, Kanyakumari, Kaadu, Pani Manithan, Eazhaam Ulagam, and Kotravai. His writing is heavily influenced by the works of humanitarian thinkers Leo Tolstoy and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Drawing on the strength of his life experiences and extensive travel around India, Jeyamohan is able to re-examine and interpret the essence of India's rich literary and classical traditions. --- 喈む喁嵿喁� 喈瘑喈喁� 喈庎喁�.喈喈曕瘉喈侧瘒喈喁� 喈喈赤瘝喈赤瘓. 喈む喈む瘝喈む 喈瘑喈喁� 喈掂喈曕瘝喈曕喁€喈熰瘝喈熰瘉 喈氞畽喁嵿畷喈班喁嵿喈苦喁嵿喁�. 喈瘋喈班瘝喈掂瘈喈� 喈娻喁� 喈曕瘉喈喈苦喈距喈熰瘝喈熰喁� 喈掂喈赤喈權瘝喈曕瘚喈熰瘉 喈掂疅喁嵿疅喈瘝, 喈む喈班瘉喈掂喈瘝喈瘉. 喈む喈む瘝喈む 喈呧疅喈苦喁佮喁� 喈嗋畾喈距喁�. 喈嗋畷喈掂瘒 喈氞畽喁嵿畷喁� 喈嗋畾喈距喁� 喈庎 喈呧喁堗畷喁嵿畷喈瘝喈疅喁嵿疅喈苦喁佮畷喁嵿畷喈苦喈距喁�. 喈呧喁嵿喈距喈苦喁� 喈呧喁嵿喈� 喈瘑喈喁� 喈侧疅喁嵿畾喁佮喈苦畷喁嵿畷喁佮疅喁嵿疅喈� 喈呧喁嵿喈�. 喈呧喈班喁� 喈氞瘖喈ㄠ瘝喈� 喈娻喁� 喈曕瘉喈喈苦喈距喈熰瘝喈熰喁� 喈掂喈赤喈權瘝喈曕瘚喈熰瘉 喈掂疅喁嵿疅喈瘝, 喈む喈班瘉喈掂疅喁嵿疅喈距喁�. 喈呧喁嵿喈距喁佮疅喈┼瘝 喈喈编喁嵿喈掂喁嵿畷喈赤瘝 喈囙喁佮喈班瘝. 喈む喁嵿喈� 喈庎喁�.喈氞瘉喈む喁嵿畾喈┼喁� 喈ㄠ喈喁� 喈む喈苦喈� 喈呧喈氞瘉喈む瘝喈む瘉喈编瘓喈喈侧瘝 喈掂疅喁嵿疅喈距 喈掂喈班瘝喈氞瘝喈氞 喈呧喁佮喈侧喈距畷 喈囙喁佮喁嵿喁� 喈撪喁嵿喁佮喁嗋喁嵿喁� 喈囙喁嵿喁嬥喁� 喈喁嵿喈ㄠ喈喁佮喈む瘝喈む喈侧瘝 喈掂畾喈苦畷喁嵿畷喈苦喈距喁�. 喈呧喁嵿喈距喈苦喁� 喈む畽喁嵿畷喁� 喈氞喁嬥疁喈苦喈� 喈呧喁嵿喈� 喈む喈班瘉喈掂疅喁嵿疅喈距喈苦喁� 喈嗋喈苦畷喁囙畾喈� 喈瘑喈班瘉喈喈赤瘝 喈嗋喈� 喈瘉喈曕喁嵿喈苦喁� 喈夃喁嵿 喈喈熰瘝喈熰喈喈┼瘝 喈瘋喈班瘝喈掂瘈喈曕喁€喈熰瘝喈熰喈侧瘒喈瘒 喈掂喈脆瘝喈曕喈编喈班瘝.
Rubber charts the story of people in a multi generational family in a village in Kanyakumari district when the family鈥檚 patriarch is dying of old age. Set during the 90s, just about when India had opened her borders for trading this is a familiar theme that we can see used in many pieces in literature. A dying patriarch, the darkness in the family and the changing social landscape around them. I have read a lot of short stories and a few of the novels by Jeyamohan, which I found to be some of the best written in Tamil. This is his first novel. Each chapter follows a character in the family. The novel is extremely bleak and most of the characters live with hatred and hopelessness. Just like the rubber trees that don鈥檛 let any other plant grow near them, these characters are extremely unlikable, almost actively shunning any form of companionship. I love depressing, nihilistic depictions of life and this was something I appreciated. The episodes are non linear, jumping from perspective from one chapter to the other and also jumping generations. The novel also contains vivid descriptions of people and places which the author is known for. It has all of his pet themes like elephants, forests, worms and the Neelis. Some of the chapters are terrific; the exquisite detailing of Drace鈥檚 (Is that the name?) (So it is Theresa. Thanks Hari.) psychology of an infatuation, the scale of destruction conveyed in the chapter where Ponnu Peruvattar brings down a pristine meadow by setting it on fire, the scene with just children in it but which burns red hot with human malice; all of these amazing chapters come to mind. The language recalls the spectacularly bombastic prose he perfected in stories like 鈥樴喈熰瘉喈曕瘓鈥� and 鈥樴畩喈瘓喈氞瘝喈氞瘑喈ㄠ瘝喈ㄠ喈瘝鈥� but the biggest problem I found with the novel was its fleeting nature. This is a short novel and so much life is condensed into vignettes that span generations of time and space. This made me fit more into the shoes of a historian observing the characters from afar than being a part of these people鈥檚 lives. Hence the philosophy that Francis experiences at the end of the book felt spurious and campy rather than being a life changing religious moment that it is supposed to feel like. Similarly, the final appeal to be in harmony with the world also does not ring true. Apart from these gripes of mine, I found this to be an astonishingly good debut novel. I still think his short stories are his greatest works yet and Rubber hasn鈥檛 made me change my mind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Although this is Jeyamohan's first Novel, but I felt like reading some work by an experienced author. As usual the plot was riveting with lots of characters spanning multiple generations. The Novel is narrated from the perspective of different characters at different points of time. I just wished the Novel had been segmented properly. Sometimes the paragraphs weren't placed properly and it was upto the reader to understand that the previous paragraph was actually the conclusion of a particular incident and that the next para was actually the beginning of a new one. (I am hoping that this issue would have been fixed in the newer editions). The story of Peruvattar & his sons, the evolution of his life, how he builds his empire from nothing and how his sons waste them all due to the elite upbringing. The changing lifestyle of various communities, where the impoverished become the masters and vice versa are narrated in a very interesting manner. There is a also a character called Kaani, Peruvattar's close associate who was there with him when he started building his empire, who lives to see the entire rise & fall of Peruvattar's clan. The Novel has a simple but classical positive ending and one is left with memories of many of the characters that made their appearances throughout the narration.
It is quite hard to find a fiction by Je Mo that's not good - atleast as far as I have read him. This novel, his first one, proves that again.
At 200 pages, it spins the tale of a family across three generations, from being into the oppressed community to growing into Wealth & attaining power and respect, only finally to be deprived of all of it again..
As usual, the dialects are so flavourful and delightful to be read.鉂わ笍鉂わ笍鉂わ笍
Not much of story line, most of the novel moves on describing the characters and the natural beauty. Several characters are left suspended, usage of local tamil slang in good, but it goes to the point of not able to understand the meaning. We could only guess based on the context.
Ambitious attempt to recount history of the destruction of forests for rubber cultivation and transfer of power to the downtrodden Ponnumani Peruvattar. But lost in no focus on anything. No character is fully developed to understand their motives. Too cynical. Many similarities with the Tolstoy novella The death of Ivan Iliych.
The fact that someone had conceived this story at the age of 22 is unbelievable. Such matured story-telling. Great insight into some societies of Kerala. Overall a good read.
Rubber novel was one of the earliest works of tamil writer jeyamohan. Could find the roots of many of the ideas on which he has written subsequently . Quite nice book
Not impressive as like his "kaadu", "eezham ulagam" novel.. Though good one to read. More over in his first novel itself Mr. Jeyamohan gave a good interest to the reader.