Amballore Thoma
Second Edition
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
KIRKUS REVIEWS A magical-realist narrative follows a large, eccentric family in India—from dealing with the impoverished years after 1947 to finally solving the supernatural mystery plaguing the clan. Thekkumthala (Amballore House, 2016) returns to the offbeat universe of his preceding novel with this linked family dynasty saga. A central figure in the ensemble cast is Thoma, a big, blaspheming, and blustery family man in the Indian state of Kerala. Hotheaded and irresponsible, Thoma creates a lot of his own problems. He is a victim at the outset, robbed of his share of his clan’s estate and ejected into the streets just as India wins independence. The new nation’s poverty- and corruption-wracked growing pains mirror the family’s chronic dysfunction . . . Like its predecessor, this seriocomic epic blends the myths and religions of several cultures . . . Thekkumthala’s tone can go from childish to fairy-tale and dime-novel pulp to iridescent to Shakespearean without skipping a beat or violating the reality of the world of marvels and miseries he invokes . . . A flavorful mix of genres and influences, especially captivating for fans of Indian storytelling. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jose-thekkumthala/amballore-thoma/ SPR In Amballore Thoma by Jose Thekkumthala, fabulism twines with magic realism and surrealism as the poverty-stricken family meets werewolves, Chicken Little, Monsoon Man, an eight-armed woman, and more. Amballore Thoma is whimsical and powerful, specifically because it weighs down the natural absurdity of surrealism with heavy notes of reality. Thoma and his wife Ann have a hard life, and many, many children, in a world that is also fantastically surreal. Despite the light tone the fabulist style suggests, the pain and loss in the story hit hard, and the novel does a fantastic job of blending lesser-known literary genres to create a world we can recognize clearly as our own. Amballore Thoma is a great read for fans of magical realism, fabulism, or surrealism. The book would also be a great fit for cultural studies and discussion groups, as this is such a singularly unique take on Indian life. http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/2017/10/review-amballore-thoma-by-jose-thekkumthala/
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
An extraordinary story of ordinary people!
That is what this book offers with many shades and hues of everyday life, all the way from cradle to grave and beyond. In these pages, you will find blend of humility and arrogance, gratitude and greed, and loyalty and betrayal. You will encounter life in its raw form, carved out of the innocence of childhood, fantasies of youth’s dream factory, slippery slopes of middle age, and surrender to the Providence at old age.
Just to keep living is hazardous, as Thoma and Ann can attest as they are wrung through cycles of life starting with Riches-to-Rags and ending in Rags-to-Riches. The Death Man arrives in the evening of their lives to haul them to Outer Space. Thoma’s long arm reaches out from beyond the grave to serve justice to Gang of Four, his ungrateful younger children.
Chettiar, the landlord, a distortion in the four- dimensional space continuum, plants his seed in Thoma’s household, taking control of his life in a wider scheme of preservation of werewolf dynasty. Ann deploys the weapon of prayer to steer the family out of the chaos, but to no avail. Josh steps in to solve the supernatural mystery plaguing the family.
The novel embraces multiple genres to present a gripping story of horror and suspense. It seamlessly delves into surreal elements, draping the story in magical realism, seemingly acknowledging the need of the supernatural to explain the life’s riddle.