The minute the sneeze droplets hit the back of Rohan’s neck, he knew trouble was brewing. He tried not to alarm his family but couldn’t fool Manasi, his wife of 14 years. Manasi always trusted her gut, and her gut was telling her, ‘The worst is yet to come.’ It was the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Mortality rates were high, terror had gripped the world as an unseen virus felled the population. Treatment was at best experimental, there was no vaccine in sight. As Rohan was kept alive by machines, Manasi, managing her own ill health and that of their three children also stricken with the virus, battled to save her husband from the confines of her quarantine. This is a tale of survival against all odds, all for love and family.
The minute the sneeze droplets hit the back of Rohan’s neck, he knew trouble was brewing. He tried not to alarm his family but couldn’t fool Manasi, his wife of 14 years. Manasi always trusted her gut, and her gut was telling her, ‘The worst is yet to come.’ It was the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Mortality rates were high, terror had gripped the world as an unseen virus felled the population. Treatment was at best experimental, there was no vaccine in sight. As Rohan was kept alive by machines, Manasi, managing her own ill health and that of their three children also stricken with the virus, battled to save her husband from the confines of her quarantine. This is a tale of survival against all odds, all for love and family.
Manasi is a stalwart of Malayalam literature. With her unparalleled feminist writing and powerful voice, she has mastered the art of telling radical short stories. Through Subversive Whispers, a collection of some of her best work, she continues to defy patriarchy, question Brahminical hegemony and push narratives that subtly yet fervently challenge the status quo. The book introduces readers to the irreverent 'Sheelavathi', which explores the Madonna-Whore complex in a uniquely local context, 'Devi Mahathmyam', which sheds light on the price that women pay for being goddesses in mere name and stories such as 'Spelling Mistakes', 'Square Shapes' and 'The Walls', all of which explore romantic love with a piercing realism. In stark and urgent murmurs that build up a fever pitch, these stories channel women's voices that open up their inner worlds, struggling to capture the minutiae of their suffering. It is this whisper-like quality of Manasi's storytelling that J Devika deftly conveys in translation, bringing the author's prose to the English reader in an incendiary collection that is sure to cast light on the darkened chambers of patriarchy and the hidden recesses of women's minds.
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