This is a truism for all but the simplest of fiction: summarising a longer work means losing some of its texture. In the case of K P Ramanunni’s Death Anniversary (Charama Varshikam in Malayalam, translated into English by Yaseen Ashraf), reducing the text into a precis is almost impossible. Every page seems to have a significance, every incident means something.
The book opens with Damu on his honeymoon with Savithri in Mahabalipuram. These are supposed to be happy days, but Damu is nonplussed—he is unable to feel the emotion he should feel. That is, until he comes across Ismail, his childhood friend. Ismail triggers in him a whole raft of memories, all tied to a childlike, idealised version of sexuality. Damu now feels more connected to the world and to his life. But this person may not be the real Ismail, and Damu is confused again.
The story moves on to Damu’s struggles with his job, with his married life, superimposed with the longing for the simpler, world vision of his childhood. He is envious of how quickly Savithri adapts to new places and languages. This is also a commentary on how little Damu adapts to life. Office politics lands him in the factory postings that no one else wants, furnace duty. Damu feels as though this duty is a funeral in instalments, but is unable to avoid it. In this discomfort, Damu’s reaction is a passive acceptance. He has the same reaction when he’s told that his native village considered him dead these past 20 years.
It is a complex book and reveals more and more to the thinking reader. The translation is generally good with only a couple of editorial misses, and the issue of multiple languages in the story—Malayalam, Tamil, some Hindi—is handled well.
All this having been said, the critical question is, is this an engaging book to read? It’s obvious that using the word “fun” is a disservice to the author’s intention here. But the depth of a story does not absolve the author’s responsibility of drawing the reader in. Here, this reviewer feels something is lacking. Perhaps because the character’s evolution is so steadily downwards, or perhaps because the story starts from such a low, that it cannot be called a tragedy. But once the reader is done with the story, and drawn what conclusions he wants, there is no pull to return to Damu’s world.
There could be one more reason for this dissatisfaction: the decision to package the book as a purely academic subject. The introduction and the various contributor’s notes reveal pretty much the entire plot. The title of the book, and the blurb, focus on “Damu falling to his death 20 years ago”—this event is not actually revealed until the very last page of the story. It could so easily have been a major revelation for the reader.
You’ll enjoy Death Anniversary a lot more if you skip all the introductions and go straight to the text. Be warned, this book takes a lot out of you emotionally.