Perumal Murugan's The Goat Thief, a set of ten short stories handpicked by the author from his works, provides a reader quite an experience, a different one from his novels.
The opening story - The Well is a perfect example of remarkable story telling and my favorite. An inanimate object - a well, so commonplace in villages described initially as an embodiment of compassion offering relief with its cold waters turns slowly into a trove of hidden secrets and dark mysteries ready to cast it's spell on the swimmer. The well turns into a death den seeking a votive sacrifice towards the end of the story leaving a sense of dread in the reader.
While Murugan's novels definitely reveal his uncanny ability to portray human emotions with a rustic simplicity, his short stories reveal another side of him - his ability to instill a sense of fear in the reader and leave an uneasy calm. This quality reflects well in his stories - Musical Chairs, The night the owls stopped crying, The Goat Thief, Shit, The Man who could not sleep; each shining radiantly with a fresh perspective.
An Unexpected Visitor, Mirror of Innocence, Sanctuary, The Man who could not sleep are stories where the author highlights few areas where man's happiness exactly lies, quite diverse. He makes astute observations of the society and jots them down unabashedly. For instance, Shit is a story where the author stresses on how in name of civilized living, man does not take accountability for most of his actions and constantly depends on other fellow beings to often clear his mess.
It is rare to find a collection where all stories impress a reader alike - The Wailing of a Toilet bowl and Sanctuary fell flat for me.
The translation is good but we know none can really replicate the power of adages, choicest abuses hurled at a thief, taunts and jibes at ripe, old woman waiting for death from the original language to English.
Recommend this book to the reader as many unknown dimensions of the author's story telling prowess come forth through this short volume.
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