Perumal Murugan's Books

Pyre

By: Perumal Murugan

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By the author of One Part Woman: “A haunting story of forbidden love set in Southern India that illustrates the cruel consequences of societal intolerance.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review Saroja and Kumaresan are young and in love. After meeting in a small southern Indian town where Kumaresan works at a soda bottling shop, they quickly marry before returning to Kumaresan’s family village, where they hope to build a happy life together. But they are harboring a terrible secret: Saroja is from a different caste than Kumaresan, and if the villagers find out, they will both be in grave danger. Faced with venom from her mother-in-law and questions from her new neighbors, Saroja tries to adjust to a new lonely and uncomfortable life, while Kumaresan struggles to scrape together enough money for them to start over somewhere new. But in a world filled with thorns, their love may not be enough to keep them safe.

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Page Count

174

Publisher

Grove Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802159346

ISBN 13

9780802159342

The Story of a Goat

A Novel

By: Perumal Murugan

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The Story of a Goat

A Novel

By: Perumal Murugan

“Fantastical . . . Through the thoughts of a rare black goat and the couple who adopt it, readers witness famines, death, and moments of beauty.” —National Geographic Longlisted for the National Book Award for Translated Literature As he did in the award-winning One Part Woman, Perumal Murugan explores a side of India that is rarely considered in the West: the rural lives of the country’s farming community. He paints a bucolic yet sometimes menacing portrait, showing movingly how danger and deception can threaten the lives of the weakest through the story of a helpless young animal lost in a world it naively misunderstands. As the novel opens, a mysterious stranger offers a farmer in Tamil Nadu a black goat kid who is the runt of the litter, surely too frail to survive. The farmer and his wife take care of the young she-goat, whom they name Poonachi, and soon the little goat is bounding with joy and growing at a rate they think miraculous for such a small animal. Intoxicating passages from the goat’s perspective offer a bawdy and earthy view of what it means to be an animal and a refreshing portrayal of the natural world. But Poonachi’s life is not destined to be a rural idyll—dangers can lurk around every corner, and may sometimes come from surprising places, including a government that is supposed to protect the weak and needy. Is this little goat too humble a creature to survive such a hostile world? “The title character of Murugan’s elegant new novel is indeed a joy . . . through Poonachi’s tale we are reminded how much bonds us with the animal world.” —USA Today

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143

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Grove Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802147526

ISBN 13

9780802147523

One Part Woman

A Novel

By: Perumal Murugan

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One Part Woman

A Novel

By: Perumal Murugan

The “intimate and affecting” novel of an Indian couple’s quest for a child that sparked national conversations about caste and female empowerment (Laila Lalami, New York Times Book Review). Set in South India during the British colonial period, One Part Woman tells the story of Kali and Ponna, a married couple unable to conceive. The predicament is of major concern for their families—and the crowing amusement of Kali’s male friends. From making offerings at different temples to circumambulating a mountain supposed to cure barren women, Kali and Ponna try everything to solve the problem. But a more radical plan is required. The annual chariot festival, a celebration of the god Maadhorubaagan, who is part male and part female, may provide the answer. On the eighteenth night of the festival, the rules of marriage are relaxed, and consensual sex between unmarried men and women is overlooked, for all men are considered gods. The festival may be the solution to Kali and Ponna’s problem, but it soon threatens to drive the couple apart as much as to bring them together. Wryly amusing and deeply poignant, One Part Woman is a powerful exploration of a loving marriage strained by the expectations of others, and an attack on the rigid rules of caste and tradition that continue to constrict opportunity and happiness. Longlisted for the National Book Award

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Page Count

187

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Grove Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802146732

ISBN 13

9780802146731

Seasons of the Palm

By: Perumal Murugan

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Seasons of the Palm

By: Perumal Murugan

‘A powerful novel . . . [Murugan] recounts the everyday brutality of caste society in relentless detail’—The Hindu Shorty, a young untouchable farmhand, is in bondage to a paternal yet powerful landlord. He spends his days herding sheep and tilling the fields, caught between the rigours of an unforgiving life and the solace he finds in nature and the company of his friends. He struggles to keep a fragile happiness, but endless work and a stubborn hunger gnaw away at his spirited innocence. And before long, Shorty must confront the unyielding reality of his situation. Poignant and powerful, Seasons of the Palm is merciless in its portrayal of the daily humiliations of untouchablility, but is also lyrical in its evocation of the grace with which the oppressed come to terms with their dark fate. ‘[Murugan’s] characters, dialogues and locales are unerringly drawn and intensely evocative . . . A superb writer’—Indian Express ‘The most accomplished of his generation of Tamil writers’—Caravan

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Page Count

294

Publisher

Penguin Random House India

Published Date

ISBN 10

9386495120

ISBN 13

9789386495129

Current Show

By: Perumal Murugan

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Current Show

By: Perumal Murugan

‘Skims the murky world of dispossessed youth while sporting a spare, swift style’—The Hindu Sathi is a young soda-seller in a run-down cinema hall in a small town. Ill-paid and always weary, he finds relief from everyday tedium in marijuana and his friends—vulnerable, desperate young men who work around the movie hall. An intense and tender friendship with one of the men sustains Sathi, until a train of events casts the meagre certainties of his days and nights into disarray. Slick, visceral and startlingly inventive, Current Show unfolds in a manner that simulates rapid cinematic cuts. Murugan’s keen eye and crackling prose plumb the dark underbelly of small-town life, bringing Sathi’s world and entanglements thrillingly to life.

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Page Count

139

Publisher

Penguin Random House India

Published Date

ISBN 10

9386495139

ISBN 13

9789386495136

A Lonely Harvest

By: Perumal Murugan

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A Lonely Harvest

By: Perumal Murugan

ONE AMAZING STORY. TWO DIFFERENT ENDINGS. At the end of Perumal Murugan's trailblazing novel One Part Woman, readers are left on a cliffhanger as Kali and Ponna's intense love for each other is torn to shreds. What is going to happen next to this beloved couple? In A Lonely Harvest-one of two inventive sequels that pick up the story right where One Part Woman ends-Ponna returns from the temple festival to find that Kali has killed himself in despair. Devastated that he would punish her so cruelly, but constantly haunted by memories of the happiness she once shared with Kali, Ponna must now learn to face the world alone. With poignancy and compassion, Murugan weaves a powerful tale of female solidarity and second chances.

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Page Count

207

Publisher

Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

9353053587

ISBN 13

9789353053581

Trial by Silence

By: Perumal Murugan

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Trial by Silence

By: Perumal Murugan

ONE AMAZING STORY. TWO DIFFERENT ENDINGS. At the end of Perumal Murugan's trailblazing novel One Part Woman, readers are left on a cliffhanger as Kali and Ponna's intense love for each other is torn to shreds. What is going to happen next to this beloved couple? In Trial by Silence-one of two inventive sequels that picks up the story right where One Part Woman ends-Kali is determined to punish Ponna for what he believes is an absolute betrayal. But Ponna is equally upset at being forced to atone for something that was not her fault. In the wake of the temple festival, both must now confront harsh new uncertainties in their once idyllic life together. In Murugan's magical hands, this story reaches a surprising and dramatic conclusion.

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Page Count

195

Publisher

Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

9353053579

ISBN 13

9789353053574

One Part Woman

A Novel

By: Perumal Murugan

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One Part Woman

A Novel

By: Perumal Murugan

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187

Publisher

Grove Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802146732

ISBN 13

9780802146731

Black Coffee in a Coconut Shell

Caste as Lived Experience

By: Perumal Murugan,Ambai

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Black Coffee in a Coconut Shell

Caste as Lived Experience

By: Perumal Murugan,Ambai

Caste, as it is experienced in everyday life, is the pièce de résistance of this book. Thirty-two voices narrate how from childhood to adulthood, caste intruded upon their lives—food, clothes, games, gait, love, marriage and every aspect of one's existence including death. Like the editor Perumal Murugan says, caste is like god, it is omnipresent. The contributors write about the myriad ways in which they have experienced caste. It may be in the form of forgoing certain kinds of food, or eating food at secluded corners of a household, or drinking tea out of a crushed plastic cup, or drinking black coffee in a coconut shell or water poured from above into a cupped hand. Such experiences may also take the form of forbidden streets, friends disapproved of and love denied. And when one leaves behind the fear of caste while living one's life, there is still death to deal with.

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Page Count

279

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

9392099843

ISBN 13

9789392099847

Pyre

By: Perumal Murugan

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Pyre

By: Perumal Murugan

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174

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Grove Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802159346

ISBN 13

9780802159342

KELONG KINGS

Confessions of the World's most prolific match-fixer

By: Wilson Raj Perumal, Alessandro Righi, Emanuele Piano

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KELONG KINGS

Confessions of the World's most prolific match-fixer

By: Wilson Raj Perumal, Alessandro Righi, Emanuele Piano

Wilson Raj Perumal has been labeled the world's most prolific match-fixer in football's recent history. Born a village boy in rural Singapore in the mid-60's, Wilson climbed the heights of international match-fixing across five continents, becoming FIFA's most wanted man. Like a "guppy in the sea", Wilson starts off a small gambler, mixing with the local Singapore bookies, and witnesses the rise and fall of the old-school Asian "big fish" of match-fixing until he finds himself competing against them in a world with no set rules, where turncoats are the norm and quick money the only drive. Perumal was arrested in Finland in February 2011 and decided to collaborate with authorities, thus opening the match-fixing Pandora's box. In his book, Wilson reveals an unprecedented account of how the international match-fixing underworld has influenced the outcomes of matches at every level of football that we may well have watched unsuspectingly. Kelong Kings is the ultimate tale about gambling, football and match-fixing, told directly by the man who made it all happen. But be advised, after you read this book, you will never be able to watch a soccer match in the same way again.

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Page Count

367

Publisher

Wilson Raj Perumal

Published Date

ISBN 10

9630891239

ISBN 13

9789630891233

One Part Woman (PB)

By: Perumal Murugan

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One Part Woman (PB)

By: Perumal Murugan

Kali and Ponna’s efforts to conceive a child have been in vain. Hounded by the taunts and insinuations of others, all their hopes come to converge on the chariot festival in the temple of Ardhanareeswara, the half-female god. Everything hinges on the one night when rules are relaxed and consensual union between any man and woman is sanctioned. This night could end the couple’s suffering and humiliation. But it will also put their marriage to the ultimate test.

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Page Count

219

Publisher

Penguin UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

9351185850

ISBN 13

9789351185857

The Story of a Goat

A Novel

By: Perumal Murugan

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The Story of a Goat

A Novel

By: Perumal Murugan

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143

Publisher

Grove Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802147526

ISBN 13

9780802147523

The Goat Thief

By: Perumal Murugan (N. Kalyan Raman Tr.)

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The Goat Thief

By: Perumal Murugan (N. Kalyan Raman Tr.)

Perumal Murugan is one of the best Indian writers today. THE GOAT THIEF is a selection of his ten best stories focused on men and women who live in the margins of our society.

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Page Count

232

Publisher

Juggernaut Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

9386228491

ISBN 13

9789386228499

Daughter of the Enemy

A Unique Historic Novel

By: Sellipalayam R. Perumal

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Daughter of the Enemy

A Unique Historic Novel

By: Sellipalayam R. Perumal

Is it possible for an Indian Hindu woman to become the prime minister of Pakistan? Yes! It happens in this novel. The story starts in Kuwait. In the year 1985, a Hindu Brahmin woman, due to the force of circumstances, married a Pakistani. They lived happily till Iraq occupied Kuwait in 1990. They came back to Pakistan. In Pakistan, she had to face religious fanatics. She took them head-on and succeeded. When things got settled, they returned to Kuwait. Again, due to Iraqi invasion by the USA in 2003, her husband was forced to come back to Pakistan. Mansoor, the fictional hero, interacted with the real characters of Pakistani politics. He entered into politics. He joined the PTI (party for Imran Khan) and worked hard for his success in Punjab. He could not agree with the policies of PTI. Therefore, he started his own party. With the active support of his wife, his party swept the general election held in 2018. Before he took oath, he was assassinated. Our heroine takes his place and becomes the prime minister of Pakistan, overcoming the initial legal resistance with the help of womens power. She brought the military under her control. She waged a war against militants, religious fanatics, and the Talibanand succeeded. She was not satisfied with her achievements. She wanted to change the political history of South Asian nations. She decided to form United South Asian Republics (USAR). Read the book to know whether she succeeded or not.

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Page Count

209

Publisher

Partridge Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1482810301

ISBN 13

9781482810301

Fire Bird

By: Perumal Murugan

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Fire Bird

By: Perumal Murugan

Fire Bird is a masterfully crafted tale of one man's search for the elusive concept of permanence. Muthu has his world turned upside down when his father divides the family land, leaving him with practically nothing and causing irreparable damage to his family's bonds. Through the unscrupulous actions of his oncerevered eldest brother, Muthu is forced to leave his onceperfect world behind and seek out a new life for himself, his wife and his children. In this transcendental novel, Perumal Murugan draws from his own life experiences of displacement and movement, and explores the fragility of our fundamental attraction to permanence and our ultimately futile efforts to attain it. Translated from the nearly untranslatable Aalandapatchi, which alludes to a mystical bird in Tamil, the titular fire bird perfectly encapsulates the illusory and migratory nature of this pursuit. Fire Bird is a thoughtprovoking and beautifully written exploration of the human desire for stability in an everchanging world.

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Page Count

264

Publisher

Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

9357081828

ISBN 13

9789357081825

Songs of a Coward

Poems of Exile

By: Perumal Murugan

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Songs of a Coward

Poems of Exile

By: Perumal Murugan

A king decrees that all humans be skinned alive. A man runs from words that hound him like a pack of wolves. A legion of white snakes sweeps across a land blighted by drought. A beleaguered soul laments the loss of a homeland. A coward's many virtues are lauded to disturbing effect. By turns passionate, elegiac, angry, tender, nightmarish and courageous, the poems in Songs of a Coward weave an exquisite tapestry of rich images and turbulent emotions. Written during a period of immense personal turmoil, these verses are an enduring testament to the resilience of an imagination under siege and the liberating power of words in one's darkest moments.

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Page Count

308

Publisher

Penguin Random House India Private Limited

Published Date

ISBN 10

9386815680

ISBN 13

9789386815682

பூக்குழி (Pookuzhi)

By: Perumal Murugan

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பூக்குழி (Pookuzhi)

By: Perumal Murugan

‘பூக்குழி’யின் மூன்றாம் பதிப்பு இது. வாழ்வை ஒருகோணத்தில் அணுகுவதை முதன்மையாக்கிப் பிற கோணங்களையும் கொண்டுவந்து முரண்களைக் கூர்மையாக்கிக் காட்டும் தன்மையில் எழுதப்பட்டது இது. பருண்மையல்லாத கருத்துக்களின்மீது நாம் கொண்டிருக்கும் பிடிமானமும் அவற்றைக் காப்பாற்ற எதையும் செய்யத் தயாராக இருக்கும் வெறிநிலையும் என்னை வியப்படையச் செய்கின்றன; சலிப்புறவும் வைக்கின்றன. ஏன் நாம் வேறுபாடுகளை முன்னிலைப்படுத்துகிறோம்? அவற்றை இயல்பாகக் கடந்து அன்போடும் மகிழ்ச்சியோடும் வாழ இயலாதா? நம் சிந்தனையின் குறுகலுக்குக் காரணம் என்ன? இந்தப் பிரபஞ்சம் தன் விரிவை ஏன் நமக்குள் கடத்தவில்லை? பெருமாள்முருகன்

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Page Count

108

Publisher

Kalachuvadu Publications Pvt Ltd.

Published Date

ISBN 10

9389820596

ISBN 13

9789389820591

The Goat Thief

By: Perumal Murugan (N. Kalyan Raman Tr.)

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The Goat Thief

By: Perumal Murugan (N. Kalyan Raman Tr.)

Perumal Murugan is one of the best Indian writers today. THE GOAT THIEF is a selection of his ten best stories focused on men and women who live in the margins of our society.

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Page Count

232

Publisher

Juggernaut Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

9386228491

ISBN 13

9789386228499

தோன்றாத் துணை (Thontrathunai)

By: Perumal Murugan

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தோன்றாத் துணை (Thontrathunai)

By: Perumal Murugan

நகர வாழ்க்கையிலிருந்து தேவையானவற்றைத் தன்னோடு இருத்திக்கொண்டு, புதிதாக அமைந்த கிராம வாழ்க்கையில் தன்னை இரண்டறப் பொருத்திக்கொண்டு, நேரிட்ட பல சோதனைகளிலிருந்து விடுவித்துக்கொண்டு வாழ்ந்த ஒரு விவசாயக் குடும்பத்தின் தாயை மாறாத சித்திரமாகக் காட்டுகிறது இந்நூல்.

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