Hard trek to exciting panoramic view

Book Review

By M. Mahasenan

I had forgotten them until one day I found an e-mail from K.S. reminding me about the books. 

I didn't have the time to go through them. Promise! Poor man, I must somehow write something about his work.

But like little whirlpools they sucked me in.

Book I: Some Sri Lankan Tamil novels - Critical insights. 

This is a collection of newspaper articles and miscellaneous writings-mostly a critical analysis (Practical Crit?)-of the author. I thought one can't understand the articles without a knowledge of Sri Lankan Tamil literature. 

So I thought.

The author starts off with a brief background about the art form Novel, for the uninitiated. Then the book plunges into the local literary scene.

Though the titles suggest some Sri Lankan novels, the book covers an array of local novels, many of them I hadn't even heard of. Hundreds of them. Just kidding, a lot I mean.

Then we move on to the other book: Traditional Literary Criticism in Sri Lankan Tamil Literature. This book perhaps introduced me to a different Sivakumaran. 

The researcher, the intellectual and the literary think tank. Great. Rarely have I come across such knowledge! 

Not that I have met a great many people. But among those I have acquaintance with.

The book is a collection of articles on various aspects of literary criticism, even though the title says "traditional".

He talks about everything; from traditional practical criticism to deconstruction theories and explains these confusing terms in simple language.

One striking feature about K. S. Sivakumara is his knowledge of world literature in addition to his deep knowledge of local Tamil literature.

This puts him in a better position to analyse and see local literature from a better perspective. This is obvious and sometimes too overpowering. 

Wonder how a Tamil student, who doesn't have the slightest knowledge of western literature and its trends grasps it. 

But these books qualify to become texts for young Tamil literary minds. Gives a nice intro to modern literature in simple language.

It's like trekking to Adam's Peak. Difficult task, but at the end of it you see a panoramic view of Sri Lankan novels, with the second book a view of world literary history. 

The books are numbered 6 and 7. Buy and read them. You won't regret it.

I am looking out for the first five.

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