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A review by swathiblogs
The Gospel of Yudas by K.R. Meera
4.0
Gospel of yudas by K R Meera is a very interesting book. At times bizarre and as someone unfamiliar to her work I'm not sure if it is the best to begin with. Translated from Malayalam 'Yudasinthe Suvishesham' is Prema and Yudas's journey .
"‘The river is nothing like the lake. Its current is quite wild. There will always be something floating on it, come summer or monsoon, mostly tree trunks, coconuts, sometimes even animals. You can’t blame the river for the current. It’s the humans who ought to be blamed. They cut down all the trees on the mountains, let the soil go loose."
It started off slow with Prema reminiscing her tumultuous childhood with a abusive retired police officer as a father. She comes across Yudas, whom we come to know is a former Naxal 'Das' who was one among the many people tortured in a camp . Yudas retrieves dead bodies from the lake as his profession and also teaches the art of love to young boys.
Yudas lives a remorseful life for his past sins that is explored further in the story. Young Prema falls in love with the mysterious Yudas which continues throughout the story. Each time she tries to get close to him , he vanishes from the place leaving her frustrated.
Though this was a short story, it took me sometime to get into the book. I didn't completely understand it but it was poetic and had very vivid imagery. Prema's character I felt was shaped primarily by her dark childhood. We see her empathetic to the Naxal cause possibly out of her hatred for father and why he stood for. Yudas is different and she is drawn to him, which I felt rather than love was more of infatuation.Yudas burdened by his past deeds, mirroring Judas's betrayal runs away at every step though Prema manages to find him over the years.
I'm still unsure how I feel about the entire story. It was interesting ,left me feeling uncomfortable and unsettled . Maybe I will gather more thoughts on it in the coming days.
Rating: 3.75/5
"‘The river is nothing like the lake. Its current is quite wild. There will always be something floating on it, come summer or monsoon, mostly tree trunks, coconuts, sometimes even animals. You can’t blame the river for the current. It’s the humans who ought to be blamed. They cut down all the trees on the mountains, let the soil go loose."
It started off slow with Prema reminiscing her tumultuous childhood with a abusive retired police officer as a father. She comes across Yudas, whom we come to know is a former Naxal 'Das' who was one among the many people tortured in a camp . Yudas retrieves dead bodies from the lake as his profession and also teaches the art of love to young boys.
Yudas lives a remorseful life for his past sins that is explored further in the story. Young Prema falls in love with the mysterious Yudas which continues throughout the story. Each time she tries to get close to him , he vanishes from the place leaving her frustrated.
Though this was a short story, it took me sometime to get into the book. I didn't completely understand it but it was poetic and had very vivid imagery. Prema's character I felt was shaped primarily by her dark childhood. We see her empathetic to the Naxal cause possibly out of her hatred for father and why he stood for. Yudas is different and she is drawn to him, which I felt rather than love was more of infatuation.Yudas burdened by his past deeds, mirroring Judas's betrayal runs away at every step though Prema manages to find him over the years.
I'm still unsure how I feel about the entire story. It was interesting ,left me feeling uncomfortable and unsettled . Maybe I will gather more thoughts on it in the coming days.
Rating: 3.75/5