Though it is possible for readers to differ if this novel is
a classic, a great work of art, it is undoubtedly a distinct work. The novel is
filled to brim with frankness and at times, overflows with it. Without beating
around the bush and then trying to portray the bush as George Bush (like most
of the reviews these days), let us come to the obvious – it is all about carnal
pleasures, yes, sex. Different types of it. Yes. And all of it culminates in
full-fledged insanity towards the end.
Ammukkutty is the female protagonist of the novel who
belongs to the once rich-now shattered aristocratic family of Meleppaadathu. She
isn’t liked by her classmates mainly because of her dark complexion and because
she hails from the most prestigious family of the village. Her only solace is
Krishnan Menon master who encourages her literary attempts. Ammu, a girl who
has high libido, engages in sexual experiments with a lot of people around her.
Eventually she gets married to her own cousin Appettan, who is a money-hungry officer
living in Bombay. Ammu continues her experiments with sex wherever she goes and
simultaneously becomes a celebrated writer. She gives birth to Unnikrishnan and
lives a life full of existential dilemmas, only to end up being completely
insane.
The novel comes with its inevitable flaws. In a frantic
attempt to make Ammu have sex with every other character she comes across, the
writer has forgotten about the existence of other characters. It seems that he
must have thought that they aren’t very indispensable for the story. Ammu’s
brother Unni, and childhood rival Padmini, for example are left unfinished. We
are not told what have become of them. Abrupt endings of characters like this
derails the novel’s ascension into being a classic (though the blurb of the
book claims so).
Another core issue of the novel seems to be the creation of
binaries and value judgements. While the novel tries to deconstruct the
existence of value judgements through its storyline, the narrative and the
metaphors implies the opposite. The irrelevant myth that manual laborers are
unkempt (the fisherman who has intercourse with Ammukkutty), the colonial
hangover which operates at the back of the writer’s mind makes him portray the
American journalist James as a true lover and the only person in the whole
novel with some depth, something beyond carnal instincts. Though Krishnan Menon
master is an equally profound person, he never gets such a nice treatment. The
novelist finds black colored crabs clinging on to the rocks in Mumbai as “shabby”.
At the same time, he tries to establish that Ammu is beautiful despite her dark
complexion. This double standard surfaces more often than not throughout the
novel.
Having said all this, the novel does give food for thought.
A few paragraphs from Sigmund Freud’s writing is quoted to establish the
connection, in case if the reader is too innocent to pick up the random cues.
Insanity is shown as the ultimate end of a person with high libido. Art stems
from and is fueled by this libido. The novel implies that people who have an
artistic bend of mind ought to be insane. This is the case with all women in
the Meleppaadathu household, film director Balettan and other artists of his
tribe who indulges in nothing less than an orgy and are perennially drunk in
Bangalore, Krishnan Menon master, and most importantly Ammu. There is only one
person in the entire novel who becomes insane not because of his sexual libido
– Appettan. The reason behind this is that Appettan vents out a major share of
his sexual libido and displaces it with his obsession with money. Another
notable feature in the novel is Appettan’s silent agreement for Ammu’s sexual
rendezvous. He remains unperturbed by her escapades, seemingly because his
major concern is the money that can be extracted out of such illicit ties.
The readers are left to reflect for themselves if it is
really the case that artists are always craving for inebriation of either drugs
or sex. On the whole, the novel is a very readable one and raises questions of
fidelity and morality. It clearly shows how these are mere constructs and how
people circumvent and bypass such codes of conducts. Moral codes like this are
not absolute and therefore, the individual need not adhere to it just because
it is propagated in the society. The members of the society on the other hand,
if considered individually, are not willing to subside their carnal,
animalistic instincts (seen throughout the novel directly and through literary
devices). Given a chance to live their erotic dreams, they are not stopped by
any morale.
What the novel fails to show is that a balance, a midpoint
is possible between the two extremes of living a sexually and artistically cold
life and being insane. This middle range must be the place where most of the
people in the world occupy. The novel doesn’t show us any such characters. It
deals with areas that are either black or white, not grey. In the real world,
people do live according to their carnal instincts of flesh and inebriation,
but also involve in other activities to carry life forward. Freud has pointed
out the same thing in his writings. However, it is an individual’s choice to be
intoxicated to the fullest perpetually or to engage in them when venting out is
inevitable.
