Matriarchs, Cows and Epic Villains: New and Selected Fables and Poems by Suniti Namjoshi - Book Review
Publication Date: 24th Mar2025
Purchase Link (India): https://www.amazon.in/Matriarchs-Cows-Epic-Villains-Selected/dp/819425339X/
Genre: Short Story Collection
3.7 Stars
One Liner: Interesting!
The book is a collection ofshort stories, fables, lyrical poems, and observations (commentary) based onHindu epics. It has several pieces, including abridged versions of her twonovellas and two books from the Ravana trilogy – Shupi’s Choices and Kumbh.
The book begins with aforeword about the author, her writing, and storytelling style etc.
The first set is a bunch offables based on Indian and other folklore. These are short and crisp retellingswith a feminist twist. However, unlike most feminist works I’ve read so far,the fables don’t preach or rant. They simply present a different perspective onthings. This really cuts down the drama and fluff, leaving the reader to thinkabout what the author wants. It’s an effective storytelling style.
There are some poems scatteredbetween the fables. These have a surreal and abstract vibe despite the briefnotes provided by the author. I like how they sound, though I can’t explain themif you were to ask (and before you wonder, I’m a poet too).
It’s amazing how some of thesepieces have been written in the 1970s. They do have a timeless quality. Theauthor mentioned P.Lal in one of her notes (he published two of her poems). I’massuming it’s the same Prof. Purushottama Lal who translated the completeMahabharata into English in verse. Well, if he gave his approval for her works,I’d be more than happy to read along!
After the short pieces, we getfour novellas of sorts:
The Conversations of a Cow (abridged) The Mothers of Maya Diip (abridged) Shupi’s Choices (part of the Ravana trilogy) Kumbh (part of the Ravana trilogy)The Conversations of a Cow isdivided into five parts (it has an author’s note and an internal content page).The author, a lesbian and a feminist, takes on the lesbian feminist movementusing herself as one of the main characters. The genres are a blend of magicrealism and bizarro fiction, if you ask me. There’s no gyan or preaching. Just aconfused woman trying to figure out who she is while being thoroughly stressedout by so many definitions, labels, and the behavior styles a person labeled assomething should follow.
The Mothers of Maya Diip isdivided into three parts and is a take on how things would be in a matriarchalsociety. Kinda dystopian. There isn’t enough world-building to support theplot, so you need to wing it and go with the flow.
Shupi’s Choices and Kumbh haveoverlapping content since both belong to the same trilogy (they didn’tinclude the third book). The stories deal with Shurpanaka and Kumbhakarna(Ravana’s siblings) and how they adjust to a modern-day world. As with mostretellings, this one also shoves modern-day caste and empowerment into thebygone era and pretty much eliminates the nuances of the epic. Luckily, thesehave only a minor role. Most of the plot is set in the future timeline(current-day scenario of sorts), so it has something unique to offer (whilealso ticking off a checklist). As you can guess, these are my least favoriteentries in the book. However, I still chuckled at a few scenes, so all is notlost!
I love how the book has beenstructured and formatted. It is so neat, with clear author’s notes for sectionsand internal ToC (table of contents). Jojy Philip did a great job typesettingthis book.
To summarize, Matriarchs, Cows and Epic Villains is a collection ofpoems, fables, and stories with women and feminism as the central theme. Mostof them are non-preachy, crisp, and thought-provoking.
My thanks to Blogchatter andPenguin Zubaan for a copy of the book. This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book ReviewProgram and contains my honest opinions.
