MOUSTACHE BY S. HAREESH (TRANSLATED FROM THE MALAYALAM BY JAYASREE KALATHIL)

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BOOK NAME: MOUSTACHE

AUTHOR NAME: S. HAREESH (TRANSLATED FROM THE MALAYALAM BY JAYASREE KALATHIL)

GENRE: POLITICAL FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM

PUBLISHER: HARPER PERENNIAL 




BOOK REVIEW

Moustache is a book about a man named Vavachan. Vavachan and his moustache. A moustache that he cannot have. This book won the JCB prize for literature in 2020 and has been on my list for a couple of years now.

 

Vavachan born to lower caste Pulayans whose work was to farm and do unpaid labour decides to play the part of a policeman in a drama one day. He sports the much-needed moustache for the role and decides to keep it even after the play ends. As expected, he faces opposition from upper caste people to take his moustache down who are intimidated and offended by it. But he resists. He runs amok, initially to guard himself and later in search of something dear to him. But, over time, he becomes a legend in tales and songs owing to his moustache and the fear it inflicted upon others. 

 

This book is set in the landscape of Kuttanad of Kerala, highlighting the caste struggles and power dynamics in the area in the early 20th century and how it was also influenced by British rule. The story of Vavachan was narrated as a tale by a father to his son which was layered in complexity and convolutions. Much of the story was about Vavachan’s moustache and only rarely was it about himself. So, it is safe to say that the protagonist of this tale is his moustache, as reflected rightly by the title.

 

This book took me a long while to finish because the story was complex with myths and legends and magical realism. It also needed an understanding of the local culture, history, and practices (which I completely lacked) to comprehend a larger part of it. I would say it is an important read. But needs dedication and patience, a lot of it. Otherwise, it is easy for this story to travel above one’s head leaving them unmoved and indifferent to his tale. 


This is a part of BlogchatterA2Z2026 challenge

#penbooksandscalpel



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