Anthill

Bounded by dense Kodagu forests on the south and west, and rivers on the north and east, Perumbadi, at the border between Kerala and Karnataka, has hidden itself from the world. Its very isolation has attracted varied settlers from south Kerala over the years. The first settler on this land, Kunji Varkey, was fleeing the opprobrium of getting his own daughter pregnant. Those who followed had similar shameful secrets.

Anthill, the exquisite translation from the Malayalam of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi-winning novel Puttu, is the story of common people who tried to wriggle out of the shackles of family, religion and other restraining institutions, but eventually also struggle to civilize themselves-from their beginnings of a hillbilly existence and life as a promiscuous community.

As Perumbadi moves into modernity and feels the need for refined justice, Jeremias comes to be known by the moniker President and becomes the unchallenged adjudicator of Perumbadi, thanks to his equanimity and sense of fairness. However, even as he resolves local disputes, he is troubled by developments in his own home and by his own moral failure.

One of the most promising young writers in Malayalam, Vinoy Thomas, in his bestselling second novel, deploys dark humour to question the moral codes that bind society. Ultimately, this is also a story about the human race.

Author: Vinoy Thomas
Publisher: Vintage Books
Published: 05/07/2023
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780143458654

About the Author
Vinoy Thomas (Author)
Vinoy Thomas hails from Nellikkampoyil, Iritty, in north Kerala. A school teacher by profession, he is one of the most promising young writers in Malayalam. His short story collections include Ramachi, Mullaranjanam and Adiyormisiha Enna Novel. His maiden novel, Karikkottakkary (English translation soon to be published by Penguin Random House), was selected as one of the best five novels in the DC Books competition. His second novel, Puttu (Anthill), won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for the Best Malayalam Novel of 2021. In 2019, Ramachi had won the same award for short stories. Vinoy has also authored a children's book, Anatham Piriyatham. His short stories have been made into movies. He is also a gifted scriptwriter and has to his credit a few acclaimed movies.

Nandakumar K. (Translator)
NANDAKUMAR K. started his career as a subeditor at Financial Express after obtaining a master's degree in economics. Following a career in international marketing and general management, which has taken him to around fifty countries in the world, he now works for a shipping line in Dubai. He has co-translated from the Malayalam M. Mukundan's novel Delhi: A Soliloquy. He has also translated a short-story collection by Indu Menon, titled The Lesbian Cow, and has retold a selection of stories from the Kathasaritsagara in English (due in 2021). Nandakumar is the grandson of Mahakavi Vallathol Narayana Menon.