Description
Product ID: | 9781913111366 |
Product Form: | Hardback |
Country of Manufacture: | GB |
Title: | The Book of Desire |
Authors: | Author: Meena Kandasamy |
Page Count: | 150 |
Subjects: | Poetry, Poetry |
Description: | Select Guide Rating The Book of Desire is the award-winning (and Women''s Prize-shortlisted) writer Meena Kandasamy''s luminous translation of the Kamattu-p-pal, a 2000-year-old song of love and pleasure and the third part of the Thirukkural - one of the most important texts in Tamil literature. Written by the poet Thiruvalluvar, the Kamattu-p-pal section of the Thirukkural focuses on love and female sensuality. It is the most intimate section of this great work - and also, historically, the part that has been most heavily censored. Although hundreds of male translations of the text have been published, it has also only ever been translated by a woman once before. The Book of Desire is Meena''s own feminist reclamation of the Kamattu-p-pal. With her trademark wit, lyricism and passionate insight, she weaves a magic spell: taking the reader on a journey through 250 kurals (short verses), organised under separate headings - ''The Pleasure of Sex'', ''Renouncing Shame'', ''The Delights of Sulking - the result is a fresh, vital, and breath-taking translation. This is a book that fizzes with energy, is full of delight - that conveys powerful messages about female sensuality, agency, and desire. It is a revolution 2000 years in the making. |
Imprint Name: | Galley Beggar Press |
Publisher Name: | Galley Beggar Press |
Country of Publication: | GB |
Publishing Date: | 2023-01-05 |