Chemmeen by T.S. Pillai

A Critical Study by I.D. Sharma, pp. 90, Price Rs. 40, ISBN 81-7977-013-3

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai is among the brand of writers who ushered Malayalam literature into a new age. His place in Malayalam literature is that of a god-father. Chemmeen is Pillai’s best novel which expresses the aspirations, struggle and grief in the lives of the fisherman of Kerala. The tragedy of the poor fisherman has been depicted on the epical scale.
The aim of this critical study is to study this great novel from different angles. Chemmeen has so much to offer to the readers. This critical study will help students of advanced degree courses of various universities as well as general readers to understand various aspects related to this novel.
CONTENTS: A Short History of Malayalam Novel, Indo-Anglian Literature—An Introduction, Life and Works of T.S. Pillai, Brief Survey of T.S. Pillai’s Major Novels, An Introduction to the Novel Chemmeen, A Synopsis of the novel Chemmeen, Leading Themes in Chemmeen, Summary of Chemmeen, Chemmen as a regional novel, Depiction of Society in Chemmeen, Characterization in Chemmeen, Chemmeen as a Tragedy on a grand scale, Structure of the novel, Character-sketches, Some Textual Problems, Quotable Quotes from the novel, Selected Questions for Practice, Suggested Readings