Book Title: C a novel  /  Author: Anupama Raju  /  Publisher: Aleph Book Company 
  Place and Year: India, 2022

In darkness and in light - a tribute to women! 

When a woman expresses her feelings, the world certainly does not give a kind ear even now. Men on the other hand, have imagined the emotions of women and written epics, plays, novels and poems successfully.  A woman writer is treated with suspicion and there are only certain subjects that are considered her forte.  This being the case, ‘C - a novel’ showcases the intense self-search of the protagonist who happens to be a woman writer.  The author, Anupama Raju has truly challenged existing norms not only through the plot but also through the format of the novel.

The novel moves in a landscape of perpetual darkness!! C is a mysterious city with no sun or sunlight where the protagonist is on a writing residency. This unique backdrop of darkness, a veritable black ocean - a heady concoction - moon drenched with onyx shadows and street lights cutting into drunken darkness – had my eyes and mind smarting to adjust to its blackness in the first few chapters along with the writer.

With no light, the writer pours out her heart page after page. Her experiences, observations, thoughts, emotions, dark secrets, hopes and desires are all laid bare relentlessly out in the open. The reader has to peer through black ambience to understand the revelations that have come to light. Why would be someone be interested in reading pages and pages of the workings of a womans’ heart and mind?  She is not even notorious or a celebrity or a social media influencer even. Is this simply narcissistic?  Of course, NOT.  With brilliance, creativity and courage, Anupama has forged a clear and bright path in the neglected shadows of womens writing.  An impassioned telling of an episode in a woman’s life by a woman is profound and worthy of any readers time and effort. C easily lends itself to a universal appeal.

The experience of reading C was rhythmic and mimicked breathing for me.  Inhaling poems and exhaling prose! Anupama is a poet first and in her hands C becomes a poet’s novel.  The narration in C is prose that delightfully breaks out into poems at regular intervals.  This constant movement within a novel is not limited to the form.  An unlikely story slowly spirals into being once the reader gets accustomed to the routine of the writer in the dark city of C.  An unexpected and intriguing movement towards light begins, propelled by women. One womans’ story becomes the story of many. And yet, detailed descriptions of her loves, her work, her body, her weaknesses, her strengths, her sorrows, her memories, her cities, her homes make the novel authentic and real. A rare sensuousness graces the pages of this novel giving a glimpse into womanhood.

Anupama has woven into the novel her love for languages and words.  Potent metaphors, repetition,   and even e e Cummins styled paragraphs allow the reader to enjoy the outpouring of the writers’ emotions in the novel without it being overbearing.  A Tamil language poem plays an important part in this English novel even affecting the unraveling of the denouement.  Embracing the role of native languages in the life of non-native English authors is important and here again Anupama has unabashedly made her point without cloying laudation.

The novel is a curious mix of simplicity and complexity. There are only a handful of characters but they are fashioned with depth and strength. My favourite character is the dark city C.  For someone who has endured a sunless life, C is hopeful.  C is also exacting on its residents and visitors. An enabler, an anchor, a silent listener, God-like; the voice of C is rather comforting and dependable.

I can think up of at least half a dozen readings of C with different focuses and each would be an enriching experience. C can be experienced in layers.

An incredible achievement, Anupama.  Kudos to you.

Rhoda Alex, March 3, 2023