Chemmeen: The Enduring Classic

This is a great novel, but it is really poorly translated by Anita Nair. Knowing she's an editor and writer herself, I thought Ms. Nair would bring a great ear to the language of the book, but this is where she fails terribly. The language of the book in its original Malayalam is spare and direct, but Nair uses a lot of trivializing British and American idioms that spoil the rhythm and poetry of the novel, even to the point of distorting the meaning. At one point she uses the word "kerfuffle" to describe a fishermen's brawl. In another part of the book, she says something like "He gave her a tight slap," when the original translates more like "He gave her a nice hit across the face." There's no GREAT translation of Chemmeen yet, but Narayana Menon's translation (the first one) and the translation by the author, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, are both better than this one.

Award-winning book and later movie released 1965, `Chemmeen' was technologically advanced for its times. The photography was the best aspect of the whole film. The story line is tragic and is a soap opera type of theme about the pre-marital and later extra marital affair between a girl from the fishing community of Kerala and a Muslim fisherman. The movie has a tragic end. The actors did an excellent job. The music was superb. The movie won international awards and was later dubbed into English with the title `Anger of the Sea'.The author really learned the culture, tradition, and practices of the fishermen community and incorporated them brilliantly into his novel. As a result, Chemmeen is a cultural, sociological, psychological, and scientific look at this community, and their belief systems as it existed in the 1950s Kerala.

Nice Book :)

Good Work. Thank you.

T. S Pillai's masterpiece "Chemmeen" is a mesmerising seaside story. "Chemmeen" is a realistic fictional tragedy which focuses on the lifestyle of early fishermen folk in Kerala, the southern part of India. Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai's "Chemmeen" is the first Malayalam novel to win Sahitya Akademi award. The English version has been translated by Anita Nair and the translation is simple yet beautiful to read.This book had been made into a Malayalam movie by the same name. The cover page of the book is still from the "Chemmeen" movie. The malayalam actress Sheela who portrays the character 'Karuthamma' is seen holding earthen pots on a sea shore. She is in her fisherwoman dress and she seems to gaze at someone or something.The story revolves around Karuthamma, a fisherman's daughter destined to marry a fisherman of her same caste and religion. When Pareekutty, a Muslim fisherman helps her family, Karuthamma couldn't help herself from falling into the forbidden love. Little did Karuthamma know that fate had other plans for her. "Chemmeen" is a story about hope and hopeless love.The vivid description of seashore is striking and the story takes us through the life of the fisher folk. It also elicits how the caste division affects the people. The characters often question the ethics and norms set by the society. The novel has been translated into many languages over the world and is one of the best translated works of Malayalam. Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai brings out the simple story in its brief detailing, but manages to enthral readers from all over the world. I would definitely recommend this book as a one time read. Even though this belongs to the tragedy genre and the ending seemed to pull a sudden brake, the plot unfolds beautifully which is guaranteed to entertain all readers

BEST EVER !!

Great one.. Make me walk in real life.

Good book,...,...must buy

Ok