Poonachi

THE BEST-SELLING NOVEL THAT WON ITS AUTHOR A WHOLE NEW AUDIENCE IN INDIA AND IN THE WEST

Through a seeming act of providence, an old couple receives a day-old female goat kid as a gift from the cosmos. Thus begins the story of Poonachi, the little orphan goat.

As you follow her story from forest to habitation, independence to motherhood, you recognise in its significant moments the depth and magnitude of your own fears and longings, fuelled by the instinct for survival that animates all life. Masterly and nuanced, Perumal Murugan’s tale forces us reflect on our own responses to hierarchy and ownership, selflessness and appetite, love and desire, living and dying. Poonachi is the story of a goat who carries the burden of being different all her life, of a she-goat who survives against the odds. It is equally an expression of solidarity with the animal world and the female condition. The tale is also a commentary on our times, on the choices we make as a society and a nation, and the increasing vulnerability of individuals, particularly writers and artists, who resist when they are pressed to submit.

About the Author

Perumal Murugan is the author of eight novels, four collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry in Tamil. Poonachi has been translated into five Indian languages. Its English translation was shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature and longlisted for the National Book Award in the United States of America.

About the Translator

N Kalyan Raman is a translator of contemporary Tamil fiction and poetry into English. Over the past twenty-five years, he has published fourteen volumes of Tamil fiction in translation, by important writers such as Ashokamitran, Devibharati Poomani, Perumal Murugan, Vaasanthi and Salma. His translations of contemporary Tamil poets have been published widely in journals and anthologies in India and abroad. His translation of Perumal Murugan's Poonachi was shortlisted for the inaugural JCB Prize in 2018 and nominated for the National Book Foundation Award in the US in 2020. In 2017, he was given the prestigious Pudumaipithan award for his contribution to the cause of Tamil literature through his translations. He lives and works in Chennai.