Author: S. L Bhyrappa
Translation: R. Ranganath Prasad
Publisher: Niyogi Books
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
S.L Bhyrappa's Brink ( translated from 1990's Kannada novel 'Anchu' ) explores the dark mysterious alleys of human psyche to understand and explain the beauty and complexities of human nature and modern relationships through the characters of Amrita and Somashekhar. It is an extremely powerful story of a young woman's voyage from the state of powerlessness to being a more powerful and conscious human being through self-exploration. The beauty of this work lies in its subtleties. It is the subtleties at play that will draw you in like a spider beckoning to an unwitting fly. By using the stream of consciousness technique the author has given the readers a chance to understand the psychological process of the characters to self analyse themselves on the light of the situations.
I absolutely loved the way the author has painted the character of Amrita with her strengths and weaknesses and raises some truly essential questions on the nature of love, responsibility and mutual understanding. It raises some serious questions on the roles imposed on the woman by the society and though the woman tries to break herself free from these chains through education and hardwork, still there is no escape from it.
The character of Somashekhar is equally fantastic and I utterly enjoyed going through the parts where we find his prespecive of the situations. In the course of the novel Somashekhar evaluate his feeling towards Amrita and all the previous womens in his life to understand the changing nature of love and whether there can be a parameter to actually define the boundaries of faithfulness. It also shed light on the roles played by the male in the society. The novel actually shows there can't be just one single explanation to any situation and it is not possible to categorise human emotions and activities. There are multiple explanations to a single situation and it is this multiplicity and variety of meaning that makes the human relationships unique.
The novel also explores the issue of mental illness in the most realistic manner. When I was going through the part where Amrita tries her best to calm herself, when she wants to express her love for Somashekhar but at the same time fears to loose him or hurt him, that mental agony brought tear to my eyes. Like a mother who is full of love and compassion for her child but at the same time aware of her volatile nature, Amrita tries to embrace Somu (Somashekhar) to escape from all the cruelties, lies and deceptions of the world. The novel actually merges the boundaries of sanity and insanity to establish the fact that there lies a tinge of insanity in everyone, and it is through love and compassion and mutual understanding we should deal with every individual in any relationship.
As far as the translation of the work is concerned, R. Ranganath Prasad has done a truly commendable job. The choice of eloquent words and expressions provides an amazing reading experience. I must confess after a very long time I have read such a rich translation.
This is the kind of novel which forces the readers to think and evaluate themselves. If you are an impatient reader you may not be able to enjoy the true essence of the work properly. Actually, the novel speaks much more in a symoblic way. The best part of the novel lies in its multiplicity of meaning and the portrayal of human emotions and mental suffering of the characters, the questions of morality and faithfulness makes the work universal in its appeal.
I highly recommend this book to those readers who wants to explore the subtleties of human nature and relationship and learn from it.
Link to purchase the book HERE
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