Book Review: Lanthanbatheriyile Luthineeyakal

The first time I heard about this book was when Malayalam Mega star Mammootty spoke about it some 4- 5 years ago in an interview. During one of my many recent trips to DC Books, I chanced upon the book but the weirdness of the title made me choose something else. Later, I came to know about the book from my Boss and decided that I should experience the book no later. And what an experience it was! I have fallen head over heels in love with this one. LL is definitely nothing extraordinary or out of the moon. This is precisely what makes it so special! The story and the narrative is oh so ordinary and natural. The 260 odd page book has been written so well that one can finish it off in a jiffy. The style and language are so easy on one's eyes and comprehension and that sets the right mood to take up the story of Lanthenbathery, an imaginary island off the coast of Ernakulam and the many people who inhabit it. In many ways, N S Madhavan's LL is very similar to O V Vijayan's Khassakkinte Ithihaasam. Both of them have used an imaginary location that acts as a microcosm of the country during the period of time that the story covers and through the inhabitants of this imaginary location, in a way, tell the story of the country in a very different manner. The difference between the two books, however, is in the narrative style. O V uses a lot of imagery, his protagonist belongs to the upper strata of the society and events and incidents in Khassak have been narrated in a very classy manner. On the contrary, N S Madhavan's characters are drawn from the lower strata of the society, his narrative is in very ordinary language, his characters speak the very local Lathin Catholic dialect and he focusses more on the history of Kochi city than the happenings in the country during the time the story unfolds. Jessica, the protagonist, her father Mathevusashaari, mother Veronica, her grandfather Valia Marcose Ashaari, the singer Gilbert, the mathematics teacher Pushpangadan, Jessica's childhood friend Johnson, his parents Edward and Rosy- all these characters have been etched out very carefully and each of them have their own unique personality traits which leave a lasting impression of theirs on the reader's minds. Lanthenbatheriyile Luthineeyakal is not like anything that has been written before and N S Madhavan deserves a pat on his back for having come out with something as unique as this!