I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect from this book. However, I am a big fan of Pushkin Press and the cover for this sparked huge intrigue.

Young lovers Saroja and Kumaresan have just got married without their families’ blessings. As they make the journey back to Kumaresan’s village, Kumaresan is convinced that his family and neighbours will be OK with the inter-caste marriage. Saroja isn’t as convinced. Sure enough, Saroja’s suspicions are correct and it isn’t long before the dangerous consequences of their match begin to unravel.

I don’t know much about the caste system in India and I’m not sure what time period this book is set. However, there is a recurring obsession with Saroja’s caste. Neither Saroja nor Kumaresan tell anyone the truth and insist that they are of the same caste. Saroja appears to be of a higher caste than Kumaresan and for some reason, this displeases his people. Perhaps because they believe she can’t possibly understand them but she never purports to. The idea of class division is something that is present in most societies and is certainly more prevalent in some. It seems to be the driving force behind absolutely everything in this book and yet it still wasn’t really given much context. Perhaps that wasn’t the author’s intention though.

There are a lot of people who seriously want Saroja to come to severe harm in this book. It’s really quite scary but I don’t think I really grasped the reasons behind their anger. It might simply be a case of ‘she doesn’t belong among us and therefore, she can’t be married to one of us’. If that’s the case, the book is simply an illustration of an extremely volatile, narrow-minded society and the horrific things they can do. If the reasons for hating her are deeper than that, I’m afraid I completely missed it, as she is definitely a sweet, charming girl.

As with many women who marry into a culture different to their own, there are certain rules and customs that Saroja has to learn. Her life has undoubtedly changed forever by her falling in love and marrying Kumaresan. One thing I loved was seeing how loyal and loving he remained to her. Everyone was telling him to cast her aside and his silent refusal was so beautiful and admirable.

There is some discussion about the tension between a mother and her daughter-in-law. Of course, Kumaresan’s mother is very cruel to Saroja because everyone in the village is. However, there are characteristics of their relationship that can be applied to any mother-in-law/daughter-in-law dynamic where unresolved issues lie. I would have liked to see this relationship soften or go some way towards a resolution but the entire story was a burning hot rage towards Saroja and everything that she seemed to represent.

Pyre is a brief glimpse into the horrors that a young woman faced at the hands of her husband’s community, purely for being of a different place and background. It explores extreme intolerance and the violent behaviour that can inspire. It’s quite a slow read but the final part sees the pace amp up several settings and it was only in the final paragraph that I spotted a glimpse of hope. I think I’d have enjoyed Pyre more had it been longer with more detailed prose. I needed a lot more context than I got, so it was perhaps too brief a read for me.

An immersive story which spans both generations and continents. The evocative details and impeccable research make for a delightful reading experience.
The writing style is great and it's fantastically written. A wonderful story, beautifully told.

Perumal Murugan has done it again! A novel about the traditional between 2 newlyweds of different cast and the shame that brings on the village they live in. This novel is domestic creepy!

I found the ending frustrating, Murugan has done that style before in One Part Woman and it was much more appropriate to the climax of that novel than this one - but it does have the effect of focusing the novel on the mistreatment of women of the wrong cast, it almost depersonalises it and brings it back to the theme and issue murugan wanted to explore.

Fans of his other works will not be disappointed - 4 Stars

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me and I didn’t finish it. I liked the characters and the setting of the story but found the plot of the novel was not one I got absorbed in as much as I had hoped,

This is my second book by the author, translated versions of course, and I'm pleasantly surprised how vivid the visuals he creates are. If Poonachi reminded me of Animal Farm, The Pyre invoked tales of Premchand somewhere in my mind. The story of Saroja and Kumarasen had me turning the pages and wishing fervently they might find the eternal love they were holding on to the promise of.... dramatic, intense yet gery real! Every bit a story that will tug yiur heartstrings

India somehow always remains an enigma for me. For being such a large country, we hear surprisingly little from it, as if it were a planet on its own. That is the reason I wanted to read some Indian literature and stumbled upon Perumal Murugan when his novel Poonachi: Or the Story of a Black Goat was longlisted for the NBA for translated fiction.

It is quite a disturbing read. Kumaresan and Saroja are from different castes and marry secretly. Kumaresan then takes Saroja to his native village to live with his mother, but she and the whole village do not approve of the marriage (to put it mildly). Things go from bad to worse and the two lovers have clearly underestimated the severity of their actions. I think the story is set in the 1980s - I hope things have improved in the meantime!

I found the story compelling, quite dramatic, but was not always convinced by the writing. The ending was too abrupt for me.