Review of “The Loneliness of a Shadow”: How to kill a powerful rapist

Three quarters past The loneliness of a shadowa passerby asks the nameless narrator-protagonist, “Is your name Karunakaran?” The question unnerves him, even though not long ago he had wondered and confirmed that he had become “just like” Karunakaran. This unique, claustrophobic obsession with revenge against Karunakaran, a powerful loan shark from the Kavundar (Gounder) caste who raped the narrator’s sister, Sharada from the Nasuvan caste, 30 years ago, is evident from the very first lines of the novel.

Originally published as Nizhalin Thanimai (2012) by the Tamil writer Devibharathi, it was skilfully translated into English by N. Kalyan Raman as The loneliness of a shadowHe retains Tamil forms of address, nouns and names that convey a sense of place and its people. This never once detracts from the crushing intensity of Devibharathi’s narrative.

The loneliness of a shadow reinforces the idea that the things we tell ourselves to shape our identities blur the lines between what we know about our past, present and future, to the point of delirium. This manifests itself in three forms. First, as the narrator’s self-reflection, with flashbacks showing how caste prejudice seeps into children’s consciousness. Second, as his self-pity and victimhood – glimpses into the narrator’s childhood show the effects of sexual trauma, even if it was not his own. Third, as helplessness and inaction in the present.

As an employee of a government high school whose benefactor is Karunakaran, the narrator is already at a disadvantage in his revenge plan. Later, when he approaches Karunakaran for a cathartic strike of revenge, remorse pushes him even further into himself. He briefly experiences love and intimacy with two women: Karunakaran’s daughter Sulochana and later a married neighbour, Sugandhi. But Devibharathi does not grant him clarity or purity of feelings. With Sulochana, his feelings are clouded by his need to avenge her father’s actions. When he meets Sugandhi, he is disgusted by his declining morals.

But the narrator’s unfulfilled desire for revenge is not the only burden that weighs him down. His sister Sharada, the victim of Karunakaran’s crimes, constantly reminds the narrator of his failure to avenge her. “How will you kill him?” she asks. Why he would do it, when he was too young to understand at the time of the incident, is never addressed – a sharp focus on gender expectations in the milieu Devibharathi writes about.

This quest for revenge to restore a woman’s “honour” changes everyone who comes into contact with it. They are now just shadow versions of themselves and are forced into a sultry and oppressive loneliness. In a novel that deals with the contradictions and inaccuracies of memory, this is Devibharathi’s powerful final blow.