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The Angel's Beauty Spots: Three Novellas
In these three stunningly original, lush and provocative novellas, award-winning writer K. R. Meera explores the tragedy, betrayal and violence that rise out of the dark heart of love. ‘The Angel’s Beauty Spots’ is a disquieting story about Angela’s repeated infidelities and the trauma of failed love; in ‘And Forgetting the Tree, I...’ Radhika tries to come to terms with a former love that refuses to leave her; and ‘The Deepest Blue’ uses magic and metaphor to tell the story of a wife who yearns for a love that transcends lifetimes. Esteemed as one of the country’s finest storytellers, K. R. Meera’s The Angel’s Beauty Spots: Three Novellas will serve to embellish her already considerable reputation as a writer of strikingly original fiction. These novellas have been translated from the Malayalam by J. Devika.
129 pages, Hardcover
Published September 20, 2019
10 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
കെ.ആർ.മീര | K.R.Meera
34 books650 followersK.R. Meera is an Indian author, who writes in Malayalam. She won Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 for her short-story, Ave Maria.She has also been noted as a screenplay writer of 4 serials.
Meera was born in Sasthamkotta, Kollam district in Kerala.She worked as a journalist in Malayala Manorama, later resigned to concentrate more on writing. She is also a well-known column-writer in Malayalam
Meera was born in Sasthamkotta, Kollam district in Kerala.She worked as a journalist in Malayala Manorama, later resigned to concentrate more on writing. She is also a well-known column-writer in Malayalam
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 20, 2021
Need to calm down first. And edit the review.
(So not the book and the writing I was expecting from the author. The soul is missing.)
The main themes of these three stories are rape, assault, violence, unlikeable adult characters, infidelity.
*Contents:
1. The Angel's Beauty Spots
Infidelity, graphic scenes, sexual assault.
The writing is quite different from her other previous works.
2. And Forgetting the Tree, I ...
Problematic adults, rape of a minor and how it affects the victim for life
Pretty depressing to read.
And I didn't need the descriptions of the crime. Such scenes are repeated for another character. I want to unread this one.
Pretty disturbing too.
3. The Deepest Blue
The character has somehow turned into a stone because of so many sufferings (losing her family, a loveless marriage, the husband becoming a hermit later on duh!) that the writing tone sounds really robotic.
Yes, this story sounds exactly like what I have just written.
However, this story is much better written compared to the other two stories.
I wish these stories were written better, with better representation of the characters (not saying the characters must be lovey dobey and extra human or anything for such stories) but the lack of soul in the writing and character depth made the reading really superficial and for most parts it felt like the stories are forced and the characters unreal.
I wasn't expecting this collection to be this disappointing.
It's okay. Every book isn't meant for everyone.
No wonder I need to forget about this book now.
(So not the book and the writing I was expecting from the author. The soul is missing.)
The main themes of these three stories are rape, assault, violence, unlikeable adult characters, infidelity.
*Contents:
1. The Angel's Beauty Spots
Infidelity, graphic scenes, sexual assault.
The writing is quite different from her other previous works.
2. And Forgetting the Tree, I ...
Problematic adults, rape of a minor and how it affects the victim for life
Pretty depressing to read.
And I didn't need the descriptions of the crime. Such scenes are repeated for another character. I want to unread this one.
Pretty disturbing too.
3. The Deepest Blue
The character has somehow turned into a stone because of so many sufferings (losing her family, a loveless marriage, the husband becoming a hermit later on duh!) that the writing tone sounds really robotic.
Yes, this story sounds exactly like what I have just written.
However, this story is much better written compared to the other two stories.
I wish these stories were written better, with better representation of the characters (not saying the characters must be lovey dobey and extra human or anything for such stories) but the lack of soul in the writing and character depth made the reading really superficial and for most parts it felt like the stories are forced and the characters unreal.
I wasn't expecting this collection to be this disappointing.
It's okay. Every book isn't meant for everyone.
No wonder I need to forget about this book now.
June 27, 2020
“The experience of love that I’m going to describe is the strangest you’ll have ever encountered.”
Countless stories about numerous women from different phases of life and yet, K R Meera succeeds in creating a disparate world with her audacious portrayal of fierce women tormented by love and longing.
‘The Angel’s Beauty Spots’ is a collection of three novellas that are metaphorical and lyrical. Just like any other of her stories, Meera brings to the table captivating and determined women, struck with the pain that love come bearing and trying to protect everything they hold dear.
‘The Angel’s Beauty Spots’ is about Angela, a doting mother running away from a violent marriage, trying to escape from the clutches of a man determined to kill her for defying him. She tries to find love in Narendran, asking him to give her a child with an identical beauty spot as him. But the past catches up with her in what ends into a bloody and devastating battle.
‘And Forgetting the Tree, I…’ is Radhika’s story. As a child, she was left on the roadside by her father, who sought out to seek the company of a well-known prostitute. Radhika was then raped by a woodcutter, a moment forever etched in her memory in the form of the sound of the ax and the rotten wood smell that surrounded the evil man who violated her. Years later, she meets a striking man Christy, who ‘feigned arrogance’ and promised her the world, eventually deserting her and killing her unborn child with mindless violence.
Radhika meets him again and now she is a married woman, childless and unhappy. But Christy isn’t the same either. He receives shock therapy in Painkullam, cooks up stories and shows up on Radhika’s doorsteps every now and then, seeking legal advice. Radhika’s pain is immense, and her demons have always been her constant companion. But this reunion, atypical and astounding, is about to open some old wounds and leave behind a deeper injury that will not heal (or will it?)
Radhika considers herself to be a tree, sprouting right after her assault, building a memory tree only to be recounted later to Christy. But as the years pass by, she is subtly abused by her husband just like ‘paring off branch after branch and, finally, cutting off the trunk’. Christy reentry, however, dug up the rotten trunk, ‘reopening wounds’ that had healed.
‘The Deepest Blue’ takes us into the mind of a woman, looking for a ‘naalukettu’ house identical to her childhood home and stumbling upon a man she has been seeking for since the beginning of time. This ascetic she meets in a decaying house surrounded by weeds and a sacred serpent groove fills her with a sense of fulfillment and longing. She struggles to find her way back to him, lying repeatedly to her husband and ignoring her children and their needs. She considers herself to be a snake, molting, and shedding, leaving a string of lovers behind in search of ‘the one’. The only man who can survive her venomous fangs is the one who is of the color of the deepest blue.
Each of these stories highlights the life of married women, caught in the webs of life. Unhappy marriages, cruel spouses and bitter experiences shape these women, giving them a fierce outlook towards love. Meera’s writing is deeply engrossing, and even with the heavy metaphorical content, it strangely makes sense.
‘The Angel’s Beauty Spots’, with its powerful narration, needs to be read with caution because these women aren’t ordinary. They are vicious, defying social law and order. Unapologetic and determined, their lives are governed by love, no matter how relentless or unfair.
Countless stories about numerous women from different phases of life and yet, K R Meera succeeds in creating a disparate world with her audacious portrayal of fierce women tormented by love and longing.
‘The Angel’s Beauty Spots’ is a collection of three novellas that are metaphorical and lyrical. Just like any other of her stories, Meera brings to the table captivating and determined women, struck with the pain that love come bearing and trying to protect everything they hold dear.
‘The Angel’s Beauty Spots’ is about Angela, a doting mother running away from a violent marriage, trying to escape from the clutches of a man determined to kill her for defying him. She tries to find love in Narendran, asking him to give her a child with an identical beauty spot as him. But the past catches up with her in what ends into a bloody and devastating battle.
‘And Forgetting the Tree, I…’ is Radhika’s story. As a child, she was left on the roadside by her father, who sought out to seek the company of a well-known prostitute. Radhika was then raped by a woodcutter, a moment forever etched in her memory in the form of the sound of the ax and the rotten wood smell that surrounded the evil man who violated her. Years later, she meets a striking man Christy, who ‘feigned arrogance’ and promised her the world, eventually deserting her and killing her unborn child with mindless violence.
Radhika meets him again and now she is a married woman, childless and unhappy. But Christy isn’t the same either. He receives shock therapy in Painkullam, cooks up stories and shows up on Radhika’s doorsteps every now and then, seeking legal advice. Radhika’s pain is immense, and her demons have always been her constant companion. But this reunion, atypical and astounding, is about to open some old wounds and leave behind a deeper injury that will not heal (or will it?)
Radhika considers herself to be a tree, sprouting right after her assault, building a memory tree only to be recounted later to Christy. But as the years pass by, she is subtly abused by her husband just like ‘paring off branch after branch and, finally, cutting off the trunk’. Christy reentry, however, dug up the rotten trunk, ‘reopening wounds’ that had healed.
‘The Deepest Blue’ takes us into the mind of a woman, looking for a ‘naalukettu’ house identical to her childhood home and stumbling upon a man she has been seeking for since the beginning of time. This ascetic she meets in a decaying house surrounded by weeds and a sacred serpent groove fills her with a sense of fulfillment and longing. She struggles to find her way back to him, lying repeatedly to her husband and ignoring her children and their needs. She considers herself to be a snake, molting, and shedding, leaving a string of lovers behind in search of ‘the one’. The only man who can survive her venomous fangs is the one who is of the color of the deepest blue.
Each of these stories highlights the life of married women, caught in the webs of life. Unhappy marriages, cruel spouses and bitter experiences shape these women, giving them a fierce outlook towards love. Meera’s writing is deeply engrossing, and even with the heavy metaphorical content, it strangely makes sense.
‘The Angel’s Beauty Spots’, with its powerful narration, needs to be read with caution because these women aren’t ordinary. They are vicious, defying social law and order. Unapologetic and determined, their lives are governed by love, no matter how relentless or unfair.
October 13, 2019
In these three stunningly original, lush and provocative novellas, award-winning writer K. R. Meera explores the tragedy, betrayal and violence that rise out of the dark heart of love.
Last December (2018) i.e. almost 10 months back, I read The Poison Of Love by K. R. Meera and I was baffled and the storyline haunted me. It still does when I think about it. So the expectations I was carrying before reading this one were super high, and guess what? This one is just insane!
Well, I literally was out of words after reading these 3 novellas in this book. My mind took a while to process what I just read and how classic it all was.
To talk about the emotions which I felt while reading - I can't name few - but I've cried my heart out at times and have felt a pinch or a stabbing in my heart. It wss painful. It was sweet and painful.
The first story talks about a woman who raises her two daughter and the aftermath of what happens when a tragedy occurs right in front of them. The second one will make you go mad with the story of Radhika and he past lover. And the third one, well, she did warn that the last story was only for the one's who are firm-hearted and yet I took my chance and proceeded with it. It is about the love and the lust a wife will long for from some other man.
The stories will leave you longing for more. You will yearn to know more about what happens next but your yearnings won't be served. That's what K.R. Meera does. She makes us long for more by falling in love with what she creates. And makes us cry.
Lastly, this wouldn't have had been possible without the brilliant translation by J. Devika. She made it possible for this book to reach thousands of other readers with the correct essence.
Last December (2018) i.e. almost 10 months back, I read The Poison Of Love by K. R. Meera and I was baffled and the storyline haunted me. It still does when I think about it. So the expectations I was carrying before reading this one were super high, and guess what? This one is just insane!
Well, I literally was out of words after reading these 3 novellas in this book. My mind took a while to process what I just read and how classic it all was.
To talk about the emotions which I felt while reading - I can't name few - but I've cried my heart out at times and have felt a pinch or a stabbing in my heart. It wss painful. It was sweet and painful.
The first story talks about a woman who raises her two daughter and the aftermath of what happens when a tragedy occurs right in front of them. The second one will make you go mad with the story of Radhika and he past lover. And the third one, well, she did warn that the last story was only for the one's who are firm-hearted and yet I took my chance and proceeded with it. It is about the love and the lust a wife will long for from some other man.
The stories will leave you longing for more. You will yearn to know more about what happens next but your yearnings won't be served. That's what K.R. Meera does. She makes us long for more by falling in love with what she creates. And makes us cry.
Lastly, this wouldn't have had been possible without the brilliant translation by J. Devika. She made it possible for this book to reach thousands of other readers with the correct essence.
April 13, 2020
Gut wrenching, painful and yet beautiful is how I would describe this book which is a collection of three novellas by KR Meera.
Like most KR Meera books, the stories of this book will stay with you and haunt you for a long time. Meera crafts these character sketches of women who are fiercely independent, rebel against society norms and yet are vulnerable. In this three novella namely The angel's beauty spots, And forgetting the tree, The deepest blue Meera explores women, their innate desires and how society at large still tries to keep women within a frame of norms.
Love, trying to find love that transcends sexual desires and expression of love is what I found binds these novellas together. Often women are not freely allowed to express their desires, love and passion but in Meera's stories, we find three women who all explore love maybe through infidelity, whose passion to find love that will entwine their soul Sears through them and while they do so they face consequences which are often brutal.
Sexual politics and the extreme policing of women's sexual activity is still prevalent at large in our society and Meera weaves these in her stories brilliantly. The book also explores how even when women are independent often the role of a man still looming large in the background The book is steeped in brutal violence against women, lost love, anger, hopelessness but at the core, there is love and the passion to give and receive love.
Like most KR Meera books, the stories of this book will stay with you and haunt you for a long time. Meera crafts these character sketches of women who are fiercely independent, rebel against society norms and yet are vulnerable. In this three novella namely The angel's beauty spots, And forgetting the tree, The deepest blue Meera explores women, their innate desires and how society at large still tries to keep women within a frame of norms.
Love, trying to find love that transcends sexual desires and expression of love is what I found binds these novellas together. Often women are not freely allowed to express their desires, love and passion but in Meera's stories, we find three women who all explore love maybe through infidelity, whose passion to find love that will entwine their soul Sears through them and while they do so they face consequences which are often brutal.
Sexual politics and the extreme policing of women's sexual activity is still prevalent at large in our society and Meera weaves these in her stories brilliantly. The book also explores how even when women are independent often the role of a man still looming large in the background The book is steeped in brutal violence against women, lost love, anger, hopelessness but at the core, there is love and the passion to give and receive love.
September 18, 2019
A slim volume of three novellas, this will leave an intense and deep impression. But then when you read K.R. Meera’s writings, you know what you are in for: the way she captures the tenuous relations and ties between men and women, the simmering emotions that look like they can burst in any direction, the terse yet deeply poetic writing style…the slow unspooling of plot lines and character arcs…
All the stories in this collection have common threads: frantic desire, women at the center of the stories with their compulsions, their challenges and battles. There is sexual violence in all three stories but the story telling is superlative and the reader does not end up a voyeur or being titillated for effect. Do the women stay as victims of the violence or emerge out of the bonds that tie them? Yes and No. All three make you shudder but also question: why do we do the things we do in a relationship? Is it desire, is it love or is it plain stubbornness to let go of ties that don’t bind well and suffocate instead?
This is a book I would re-read for its lush writing, the intensity of emotions and the metaphors that reads like erotic poetry. Recommended.
All the stories in this collection have common threads: frantic desire, women at the center of the stories with their compulsions, their challenges and battles. There is sexual violence in all three stories but the story telling is superlative and the reader does not end up a voyeur or being titillated for effect. Do the women stay as victims of the violence or emerge out of the bonds that tie them? Yes and No. All three make you shudder but also question: why do we do the things we do in a relationship? Is it desire, is it love or is it plain stubbornness to let go of ties that don’t bind well and suffocate instead?
This is a book I would re-read for its lush writing, the intensity of emotions and the metaphors that reads like erotic poetry. Recommended.
August 27, 2020
4⭐️
The Angel’s Beauty Spots by K.R. Meera (tr. from Malayalam by J. Devika) is a slim collection of 3 novellas exploring women at their most fierce; independent and unapologetic about their desires yet at their vulnerable selves, bound by the society and the men in their lives.
A common thread that runs through the three novellas, apart from being women centric, is how they take us through different challenges and tragedies faced by women, our atypical protagonists who defy norms in their own ways. Each character is crafted beautifully and left a mark on me, their stories at times difficult to read but not weighed down by emotions.
K.R. Meera’s prose is beautiful and powerful, capturing the depth of relations perfectly as the story uncoils and the sets the aftermath of their choices in love or betrayal in motion.
This was my first brush with her writing and I can’t wait to read her full length novels, as this left me wanting for more.
I really liked the translation by J. Devika and felt it highlighted some parts of the stories remarkably.
Short, crisp and precise, The Angel’s Beauty Spots starts with an unsettling wind but leaves like a thunderstorm.
Astounding and highly recommended.
The Angel’s Beauty Spots by K.R. Meera (tr. from Malayalam by J. Devika) is a slim collection of 3 novellas exploring women at their most fierce; independent and unapologetic about their desires yet at their vulnerable selves, bound by the society and the men in their lives.
A common thread that runs through the three novellas, apart from being women centric, is how they take us through different challenges and tragedies faced by women, our atypical protagonists who defy norms in their own ways. Each character is crafted beautifully and left a mark on me, their stories at times difficult to read but not weighed down by emotions.
K.R. Meera’s prose is beautiful and powerful, capturing the depth of relations perfectly as the story uncoils and the sets the aftermath of their choices in love or betrayal in motion.
This was my first brush with her writing and I can’t wait to read her full length novels, as this left me wanting for more.
I really liked the translation by J. Devika and felt it highlighted some parts of the stories remarkably.
Short, crisp and precise, The Angel’s Beauty Spots starts with an unsettling wind but leaves like a thunderstorm.
Astounding and highly recommended.
September 10, 2019
The Angel's Beauty Spots.
~
Huge thanks to @alephbookco for sending this book.
~
When I think back to my favourite Malayalam translated works, Chemmeen always takes the trophy. There's something lyrical about the way the stories are written. I read Outcaste few months ago and experienced the richness of culture and traditions. You can imagine my excitement when this particular book was sent few days earlier. The Angel's Beauty Spots is about three unfortunate women seeking love but find disappointment instead. And as much as I'd wanted to enjoy this book, it left me quite depressed.
~
The book begins with Angela's murder in front of her children. Angela's ex-husband, Alex stabs her to death. Back when they were newly married, Alex allows his friend to rape Angela. Their marriage ends soon after and with a child in tow, Angela prostitues herself to lead a moderate life. She then goes ahead to have a child with one of her boss at her current company. This leads to her death eventually when Alex discovers about the second child. Angela's character was one that was born out of pain and helplessness. A woman who craves for intimacy and security from a man but fails to find it. Second story is of Radhika who years later finds her lover but to realise that he's now mentally somewhere else.
~
Radhika's story is my least favourite. While she struggles to find glimpses of her old life in him. The third story is of a married woman who desires for a saint. They blossom in their brief intimacy like the world doesn't exist only to part later. Three stories of three different women who find love in places that they cannot claim. These are stories of abuse, lust and betrayal. The kind of tales that focuses on dark love rather than the one that brings out the best in people. There was something very uneasy about each of these stories. There's somethingmething odd and displeasing about the characters that made me want to not write a review about it. I now wonder why this was so acclaimed for I fail to see the beauty of it.
~
Rating - 2.7/5.
~
Huge thanks to @alephbookco for sending this book.
~
When I think back to my favourite Malayalam translated works, Chemmeen always takes the trophy. There's something lyrical about the way the stories are written. I read Outcaste few months ago and experienced the richness of culture and traditions. You can imagine my excitement when this particular book was sent few days earlier. The Angel's Beauty Spots is about three unfortunate women seeking love but find disappointment instead. And as much as I'd wanted to enjoy this book, it left me quite depressed.
~
The book begins with Angela's murder in front of her children. Angela's ex-husband, Alex stabs her to death. Back when they were newly married, Alex allows his friend to rape Angela. Their marriage ends soon after and with a child in tow, Angela prostitues herself to lead a moderate life. She then goes ahead to have a child with one of her boss at her current company. This leads to her death eventually when Alex discovers about the second child. Angela's character was one that was born out of pain and helplessness. A woman who craves for intimacy and security from a man but fails to find it. Second story is of Radhika who years later finds her lover but to realise that he's now mentally somewhere else.
~
Radhika's story is my least favourite. While she struggles to find glimpses of her old life in him. The third story is of a married woman who desires for a saint. They blossom in their brief intimacy like the world doesn't exist only to part later. Three stories of three different women who find love in places that they cannot claim. These are stories of abuse, lust and betrayal. The kind of tales that focuses on dark love rather than the one that brings out the best in people. There was something very uneasy about each of these stories. There's somethingmething odd and displeasing about the characters that made me want to not write a review about it. I now wonder why this was so acclaimed for I fail to see the beauty of it.
~
Rating - 2.7/5.
October 19, 2019
This is my second book by K.R. Meera. I picked it up today in the morning and by 2 in the afternoon I was done with it. This book is sheer beauty and delight.
Love is at the centre of all the three novellas. But this is not your ordinary romantic love but love that doesn't fit in any mould. In her captivating writing that is raw and flowery at the same time, K. R. Meera captures the myriad forms of love using a highly metaphoric language.
The characters in these novellas reach your heart but they don't touch your heart but bite it. And yet you feel a pleasant sensation just like the characters who derive pleasure from being placed in difficult situations.
In 100 odd pages, Meera has painted a world that spills beyond the boundaries of our own world and yet lies within the centre of our world. This is a book to be devoured, read again and again. It will never fail to give pleasure. Undoubtedly my best read of this year.
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5/5)
Love is at the centre of all the three novellas. But this is not your ordinary romantic love but love that doesn't fit in any mould. In her captivating writing that is raw and flowery at the same time, K. R. Meera captures the myriad forms of love using a highly metaphoric language.
The characters in these novellas reach your heart but they don't touch your heart but bite it. And yet you feel a pleasant sensation just like the characters who derive pleasure from being placed in difficult situations.
In 100 odd pages, Meera has painted a world that spills beyond the boundaries of our own world and yet lies within the centre of our world. This is a book to be devoured, read again and again. It will never fail to give pleasure. Undoubtedly my best read of this year.
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5/5)
July 2, 2020
3.5 stars
I was really conflicted about the rating I wanted to give this book. On one hand, I really, really enjoyed the poetic heartbreak that K R Meera doles out in every single one of her stories. But on the other hand, I NEED to know why a story ended the way it did and I had absolutely no clue about why the first story, The Angel's Beauty Spots, ended that way. The second one, 'And Forgetting the Tree, I...' ripped me apart, kicking and bruising at my heart. The third one, ‘The Deepest Blue’, I found to be good, but I felt that it was somehow stunted.
On the whole, this book, with these three novellas, is something you can pick up if you're looking for something raw to keep your attention and make you think of perspectives of people from different walks of life. I'd recommend!
I was really conflicted about the rating I wanted to give this book. On one hand, I really, really enjoyed the poetic heartbreak that K R Meera doles out in every single one of her stories. But on the other hand, I NEED to know why a story ended the way it did and I had absolutely no clue about why the first story, The Angel's Beauty Spots, ended that way. The second one, 'And Forgetting the Tree, I...' ripped me apart, kicking and bruising at my heart. The third one, ‘The Deepest Blue’, I found to be good, but I felt that it was somehow stunted.
On the whole, this book, with these three novellas, is something you can pick up if you're looking for something raw to keep your attention and make you think of perspectives of people from different walks of life. I'd recommend!
December 13, 2019
The Angel’s Beauty Spots by K R Meera is a collection of three novellas about damaged love – the feeling of loss and betrayal and its survival in the most unexpected form along with a eerie sense of cyclicity.
As the novellas explore a nonconventional nature of love, the narrative is nonconformist. Readers with puritan sensibilities will do well to stay away. But if you want to expand your horizons and wrap your mind around a different sort of romance, go for it.
Full review available in blog HTTPS://bongbooksandcoffee.com
As the novellas explore a nonconventional nature of love, the narrative is nonconformist. Readers with puritan sensibilities will do well to stay away. But if you want to expand your horizons and wrap your mind around a different sort of romance, go for it.
Full review available in blog HTTPS://bongbooksandcoffee.com
November 25, 2023
This is a difficult book to read, for many reasons.
Firstly, and most insignificantly, it is very contextual to Kerala. The descriptions, the flora, the fauna, the attire, and everything else is so Malayali. I would be surprised if anyone else was able to understand the underlying symbolism without a deep understanding of Malayali culture.
(My father was a Malayali, entirely devoid of any feelings of connectedness with his heritage, except for the films and the food. Suffice to say, he never thought to impart any of that heritage to his only child. 🙄)
Secondly, the themes are difficult. In each of the stories, a woman is the central character. In each of the stories, the women are different. But they suffer. Oh my God, how they suffer. The stories showcase in a rawness one associates with barbed wire and razor blades the struggle and suffering of a women who is a human being. She lives, breathes, does shitty things, and is a complex person in her own right.
For me, this is why I give the book 3 stars, in spite of it being the kind of dark storytelling I find borderline traumatising to read.
I loathe the two stereotypes of women in fiction: the virtuous maiden, filled with innocence and minus guile, upon whom everything good is bestowed after she suffers some superficial misery. And the woman of the world, a ball buster who chews men up and spits them out, without a thought. She may be a sex worker, a lawyer, someone who has suffered a traumatic sexual experience, and has emerged hard as nails. While both these types of women exist in the real world, they are not the only two types.
And finally, the immensely metaphorical nature of the writing makes it harder to understand the story. It is almost dreamlike sometimes, and I struggled to tell the difference between things that happened in the character's imagination, or in the character's world.
This is a set of stories that I will remember. I didn't enjoy it, but I sure as hell will remember that the first line of the first story was:
"Angela was killed in front of her children."
Firstly, and most insignificantly, it is very contextual to Kerala. The descriptions, the flora, the fauna, the attire, and everything else is so Malayali. I would be surprised if anyone else was able to understand the underlying symbolism without a deep understanding of Malayali culture.
(My father was a Malayali, entirely devoid of any feelings of connectedness with his heritage, except for the films and the food. Suffice to say, he never thought to impart any of that heritage to his only child. 🙄)
Secondly, the themes are difficult. In each of the stories, a woman is the central character. In each of the stories, the women are different. But they suffer. Oh my God, how they suffer. The stories showcase in a rawness one associates with barbed wire and razor blades the struggle and suffering of a women who is a human being. She lives, breathes, does shitty things, and is a complex person in her own right.
For me, this is why I give the book 3 stars, in spite of it being the kind of dark storytelling I find borderline traumatising to read.
I loathe the two stereotypes of women in fiction: the virtuous maiden, filled with innocence and minus guile, upon whom everything good is bestowed after she suffers some superficial misery. And the woman of the world, a ball buster who chews men up and spits them out, without a thought. She may be a sex worker, a lawyer, someone who has suffered a traumatic sexual experience, and has emerged hard as nails. While both these types of women exist in the real world, they are not the only two types.
And finally, the immensely metaphorical nature of the writing makes it harder to understand the story. It is almost dreamlike sometimes, and I struggled to tell the difference between things that happened in the character's imagination, or in the character's world.
This is a set of stories that I will remember. I didn't enjoy it, but I sure as hell will remember that the first line of the first story was:
"Angela was killed in front of her children."
February 18, 2022
"The experience of love that I'm going to describe is the strangest you'll have ever encountered"
The angel's Beauty Spot is a compilation of 3 short stories. Comparing to her other books this is the one I liked the least. I don't know whether it is because of the amount of violence or the theme. I couldn't accept few ideologies in this book. Usually, the female in K.R.Meera books will be damn bold and strong. In this book, I couldn't feel the same. The characters in this book are emotionally strong but still, somewhere in the nook they are weak or longing for the kind of emotion that is expensive neither money couldn't buy that. Or what she wrote might be a reality too. I couldn't get to a decision. And from the day I finished this book, I'm keeping on convincing myself will all these wired excuses like this.
THE ANGEL'S BEAUTY SPOT: Rape, toxic marriage, death and violence. A mid-age woman married to a demon and trying to escape from her brutal husband and ended up having an affair with a married man. That demon threatens her for confronting him. The climax is unbelievably shocking.
AND FORGETTING THE TREE: Abandoned child, child rape and impassive relationships. A girl was Abandoned by her father. You'll be frustrated if you know the reason. Later she falls in love with a man at her teenage who is kind of weird and mad. Even the absconds. Later she marries an impassive guy. The rest you have to read. I didn't like this tory much.
THE DEEPEST BLUE: A middle-aged married woman is longing to recreate her childhood remembrance. This leads her to have an extramarital affair. Read to find the reason. I didn't like this either.
So, this is all about the angel's beauty spot. As usual, not for light-hearted readers.
The angel's Beauty Spot is a compilation of 3 short stories. Comparing to her other books this is the one I liked the least. I don't know whether it is because of the amount of violence or the theme. I couldn't accept few ideologies in this book. Usually, the female in K.R.Meera books will be damn bold and strong. In this book, I couldn't feel the same. The characters in this book are emotionally strong but still, somewhere in the nook they are weak or longing for the kind of emotion that is expensive neither money couldn't buy that. Or what she wrote might be a reality too. I couldn't get to a decision. And from the day I finished this book, I'm keeping on convincing myself will all these wired excuses like this.
THE ANGEL'S BEAUTY SPOT: Rape, toxic marriage, death and violence. A mid-age woman married to a demon and trying to escape from her brutal husband and ended up having an affair with a married man. That demon threatens her for confronting him. The climax is unbelievably shocking.
AND FORGETTING THE TREE: Abandoned child, child rape and impassive relationships. A girl was Abandoned by her father. You'll be frustrated if you know the reason. Later she falls in love with a man at her teenage who is kind of weird and mad. Even the absconds. Later she marries an impassive guy. The rest you have to read. I didn't like this tory much.
THE DEEPEST BLUE: A middle-aged married woman is longing to recreate her childhood remembrance. This leads her to have an extramarital affair. Read to find the reason. I didn't like this either.
So, this is all about the angel's beauty spot. As usual, not for light-hearted readers.
May 18, 2020
Why did I like this novel? The leading reason is its characters. The three women in the three novellas are fiercely confident, independent and unapologetic. They do as they like, defying the social and moral norms that are attached to women.
The first story revolves around Angela and her two children. The second one is about Radhika who has a painful past, her life taken by a storm again when her long lost love comes back. This story was an unpleasant one, with a gloomy narrative. The “good wife” of the last novella longs for what her husband and family cannot offer — ‘an all-consuming love that transcends the moral code of the time, and the notion of time itself.’
The second thing that sets this book apart from others is the portrayal of love in this. This book is women-centric, therefore it explores love from a wholly unique perspective, a much less talked about perspective.
I loved the writing style. Even the translation feels so creative! I love this book because I love reading about characters more than the story. I love how she has narrated their lives, their complex lives so smoothly. The language is remarkable!
I found the last novella a little ridiculous and couldn’t agree with the character. She believes in past lives, which I don’t. She thinks the ascetic is her soulmate, has relations outside marriage. Even though it was for a short while, nothing can justify disloyalty and infidelity. (These are my personal opinions) Radhika was a victim of rape, many times. She was a lawyer by profession yet never raised a voice against it.
The book is flawed in some sense, but I loved reading it.
The first story revolves around Angela and her two children. The second one is about Radhika who has a painful past, her life taken by a storm again when her long lost love comes back. This story was an unpleasant one, with a gloomy narrative. The “good wife” of the last novella longs for what her husband and family cannot offer — ‘an all-consuming love that transcends the moral code of the time, and the notion of time itself.’
The second thing that sets this book apart from others is the portrayal of love in this. This book is women-centric, therefore it explores love from a wholly unique perspective, a much less talked about perspective.
I loved the writing style. Even the translation feels so creative! I love this book because I love reading about characters more than the story. I love how she has narrated their lives, their complex lives so smoothly. The language is remarkable!
I found the last novella a little ridiculous and couldn’t agree with the character. She believes in past lives, which I don’t. She thinks the ascetic is her soulmate, has relations outside marriage. Even though it was for a short while, nothing can justify disloyalty and infidelity. (These are my personal opinions) Radhika was a victim of rape, many times. She was a lawyer by profession yet never raised a voice against it.
The book is flawed in some sense, but I loved reading it.
July 31, 2020
The Angel's Beauty Spots - KR Meera
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just finished reading KR mirrors the angels beauty spots it is a combination of three novelas that speaks about women in betrayal in passion lost in love with such a poetic way.. it's like reading many women.
Meera writes in the beginning.. this book is not for weak hearted pativratas or maryada Purushottam Ram's. The loneliness of expression, beyond patriarchal casualness is captured in such small sentenses.
Every novella distrurbed me a lot.. love is a strange sense of losing time and essence ..Meera says .. many woman are cruelly bickered,mocked, abused and killed just because they are beautiful, intelligent, wanted something/someone passionately to the extent of taking any abuse in the name of love.
The memories of lifetimes, the deepest injury that inflicts the soul... !! The love and rejection besides, loneliness of a woman with children..!! This is small book.. like all development issues and the pain of women in grassroots .. this book is will disturb you positively.. haunt you to look for what's not said so obviously by a woman..!!
KR Meera is one of the finest story tellers. Translation by Devika didn't made me feel the book belongs to certain place. It happens anywhere everywhere in India.!
~~Sai Padma
#SaiReviews
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just finished reading KR mirrors the angels beauty spots it is a combination of three novelas that speaks about women in betrayal in passion lost in love with such a poetic way.. it's like reading many women.
Meera writes in the beginning.. this book is not for weak hearted pativratas or maryada Purushottam Ram's. The loneliness of expression, beyond patriarchal casualness is captured in such small sentenses.
Every novella distrurbed me a lot.. love is a strange sense of losing time and essence ..Meera says .. many woman are cruelly bickered,mocked, abused and killed just because they are beautiful, intelligent, wanted something/someone passionately to the extent of taking any abuse in the name of love.
The memories of lifetimes, the deepest injury that inflicts the soul... !! The love and rejection besides, loneliness of a woman with children..!! This is small book.. like all development issues and the pain of women in grassroots .. this book is will disturb you positively.. haunt you to look for what's not said so obviously by a woman..!!
KR Meera is one of the finest story tellers. Translation by Devika didn't made me feel the book belongs to certain place. It happens anywhere everywhere in India.!
~~Sai Padma
#SaiReviews
February 4, 2020
It took me a lot of effort to find this book and I treasure every moment of reading it. I would say these are more like short stories than novellas. But as usual, K.R. Meera's works are good.
The Deepest Blue stands out for me. The way it's set up with the narrator speaking to the readers and trying to set this up as something real (the discussion of fiction Vs experience).
The other two stories are as good. Still some hint of her usual description of obsessive love. A little less of the relentlessness. A bit more pain.
Compared to her other collection of short stories, all three stories come off well in translation. I think they're less dependent on the sound in the original language than some of her previous stories I've read. That's an upside for readers who rely on translation.
The Deepest Blue stands out for me. The way it's set up with the narrator speaking to the readers and trying to set this up as something real (the discussion of fiction Vs experience).
The other two stories are as good. Still some hint of her usual description of obsessive love. A little less of the relentlessness. A bit more pain.
Compared to her other collection of short stories, all three stories come off well in translation. I think they're less dependent on the sound in the original language than some of her previous stories I've read. That's an upside for readers who rely on translation.
July 6, 2021
This book is disturbing. Really really disturbing.
I didn't like any of the characters. They're despicable.
I've read books about sexual assault, I've read a very disturbing book like My Dark Vanessa where a girl is manipulated in believing assault is love. But in this, it felt like abusive relationships are glorified. Adultery glorified. I liked the first story, which was acceptable to an extent. But the second story, loving someone who hurt and abused you again again, having faced that in my personal life, I can't accept it.
I didn't like any of the characters. They're despicable.
I've read books about sexual assault, I've read a very disturbing book like My Dark Vanessa where a girl is manipulated in believing assault is love. But in this, it felt like abusive relationships are glorified. Adultery glorified. I liked the first story, which was acceptable to an extent. But the second story, loving someone who hurt and abused you again again, having faced that in my personal life, I can't accept it.
September 29, 2024
K.R. Meera’s three novellas translated from Malayalam to English are each exquisite in their own right. I finished reading this dazzling book in one breath. Three powerful stories about women packed into one book, with characters all simmering with angst, compassion and a deep sense of yearning. Each page you’ll read is like a house on fire, every sentence is alive, not a word wasted. And J. Devika deserves a special mention for her excellent translation, which makes these stories come to life.
February 25, 2026
“Were we not told that good women do not make men happy?”
Quite traumatised yet fascinated by these short story narratives which hold no bars while documenting the violence women face for no reason at all except the fact that how dare they step outside their bounds to survive without a man in a mess he put her in the first place. Lust, love, and body autonomy are common themes throughout and the translation is spot on!
Reminded me of my Indian Writing in English paper in college :))
Quite traumatised yet fascinated by these short story narratives which hold no bars while documenting the violence women face for no reason at all except the fact that how dare they step outside their bounds to survive without a man in a mess he put her in the first place. Lust, love, and body autonomy are common themes throughout and the translation is spot on!
Reminded me of my Indian Writing in English paper in college :))
May 31, 2021
Content-related
The second story was my favourite, I don't want to use the words dark or unique or disturbing, but it was an experience that encompassed all those terms in an emotionally engaging way. Add to this the non-linear, "unreal" narrative style, and it is a love story that makes you wonder.
The second story was my favourite, I don't want to use the words dark or unique or disturbing, but it was an experience that encompassed all those terms in an emotionally engaging way. Add to this the non-linear, "unreal" narrative style, and it is a love story that makes you wonder.
June 11, 2021
I don't know what to make of it. This is not a book for every reader, for sure. It's hard to read, very descriptive. It has its own way to make a mark on me, the reader; and the three stories are well written, no doubt; but a part of me wishes to unread this book. Oh well.
April 1, 2020
One of the finest novellas I have read in recent time. The stories are immersive and soul-stirring.
April 14, 2020
Just Horrible.
October 3, 2020
A poetic erotica. It's starts with the pain then pain with benefits and then the benefits alone.
October 30, 2019
🍁Angel's Beauty Spots By KR Meera🍁
The Angel’s Beauty Spots’ is a disquieting story about Angela’s repeated infidelities and the trauma of failed love; in ‘And Forgetting the Tree, I...’ Radhika tries to come to terms with a former love that refuses to leave her; and ‘The Deepest Blue’ uses magic and metaphor to tell the story of a wife who yearns for a love that transcends lifetimes. Esteemed as one of the country’s finest storytellers, K. R. Meera’s The Angel’s Beauty Spots: Three Novellas will serve to embellish her already considerable reputation as a writer of strikingly original fiction. These novellas have been translated from the Malayalam by J. Devika.
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🍁Undoubtedly, this was the favorite read of the month, I read this book during Diwali and I just couldn't put it down, I was weeping at times but constantly reading it. Its a collection of three short novellas of 35 pages approximately each. The three stories they just strike the right chords of the heart. The stories are women centric but realistic, it potrays the struggle of a single mother, a daughter and a wife who longs for more than her husband provides.
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They are heart breaking, heart touching and lyrical. Though its a translation but the essence of Meera's writing is not lost. If you haven't read her before and start with this you will be her fan. It was a short yet such an insightful read. I am in love with it's every bit. All the three stories are my favorite, can't pick one! Definitely recommended.
.
Rating: 4.5🌟
The Angel’s Beauty Spots’ is a disquieting story about Angela’s repeated infidelities and the trauma of failed love; in ‘And Forgetting the Tree, I...’ Radhika tries to come to terms with a former love that refuses to leave her; and ‘The Deepest Blue’ uses magic and metaphor to tell the story of a wife who yearns for a love that transcends lifetimes. Esteemed as one of the country’s finest storytellers, K. R. Meera’s The Angel’s Beauty Spots: Three Novellas will serve to embellish her already considerable reputation as a writer of strikingly original fiction. These novellas have been translated from the Malayalam by J. Devika.
.
🍁Undoubtedly, this was the favorite read of the month, I read this book during Diwali and I just couldn't put it down, I was weeping at times but constantly reading it. Its a collection of three short novellas of 35 pages approximately each. The three stories they just strike the right chords of the heart. The stories are women centric but realistic, it potrays the struggle of a single mother, a daughter and a wife who longs for more than her husband provides.
.
They are heart breaking, heart touching and lyrical. Though its a translation but the essence of Meera's writing is not lost. If you haven't read her before and start with this you will be her fan. It was a short yet such an insightful read. I am in love with it's every bit. All the three stories are my favorite, can't pick one! Definitely recommended.
.
Rating: 4.5🌟
December 25, 2019
I have a thing towards translation books because of their depiction of nativity and culture of respective regions.
"The Angel has beauty spots" by KR Meera drew my attention as it is a translation with three beautiful novellas about three women.
They are not usual woman characters we find. Their characters of three novellas are something we find interesting, it's not regular in its type. All the characters has its own depth which leaves an impression at the end. In all the three novellas , the writer established the darker sides of the protagonists so well.
The extra marital affair of Angela , protoganist in first novella ; the mental agony of Radhika in second novella after she being victimised to rape and heart break after her love failure ; Geeta's perseverance to find her love of her life in third novella are the key points in weaving the plot intensely.
Coming to KR Meera's writing, such a poetic writing it was..she has depicted each and every thought process of the protagonists referring it to nature which is really compelling.This book made me to pick her works more in near future.
My rating is 4.5*
"The Angel has beauty spots" by KR Meera drew my attention as it is a translation with three beautiful novellas about three women.
They are not usual woman characters we find. Their characters of three novellas are something we find interesting, it's not regular in its type. All the characters has its own depth which leaves an impression at the end. In all the three novellas , the writer established the darker sides of the protagonists so well.
The extra marital affair of Angela , protoganist in first novella ; the mental agony of Radhika in second novella after she being victimised to rape and heart break after her love failure ; Geeta's perseverance to find her love of her life in third novella are the key points in weaving the plot intensely.
Coming to KR Meera's writing, such a poetic writing it was..she has depicted each and every thought process of the protagonists referring it to nature which is really compelling.This book made me to pick her works more in near future.
My rating is 4.5*
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