Kesavan's Lamentations
Kesavan's Lamentations is a 1999 Malayalam novel written by M. Mukundan. The novel tells the story of a writer Kesavan who writes a novel on a child named Appukkuttan who grows under the influence of E. M. S. Namboodiripad.
Plot summary
Written as a story within a story, the book recreates the internal and external chaos involved in the process of Kesavan's writing, as he pens his book, Appukkuttan's Lamentations. The story deals with the life and death of Kesavan as well as with the life and obsessions of the protagonist of Kesavan's book, the boy called Appukkuttan, who deifies E. M. S. Namboodiripad, under whose portrait's gaze he slept and woke as a child. The narrative travels back and forth between Kesavan and Appukkuttan.Awards
- 2003: Vayalar Award - M. Mukundan
- 2006: Crossword Book Award for Indian Language Fiction Translation - M. Mukundan and A. J. Thomas for the English translation