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Review by a traditional Indian girl.
First of all, as soon as I completed the last lines of the book, tears started rolling down my cheeks. I really wonder why it happened. I think the climax has such an effect on me because basically I am a traditional Indian girl and all Indian girls are same in their heart though some act as if they are not. Beneath the Clouds and Coconut Leaves is a realistic book which gives a good idea about the social and economic conditions of people in Kerala since independence and it
wonderfully portraits the feelings of a female heart.
Vamsy aparna,
Bangalore, India.
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I assume that this book will be a wonderful literary experience to the readers around the world. Mr. Pothen is a kind and nice person. He really impressed me with his story and his excellent writing skills.
Ke Jin, "Pei"
(China)
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I'm sure the reader will be overwhelmed!
Those who lived in Kerala in the Sixties/Seventies would know what it means to be a Naxal. How many young men/women have sacrificed their lives on the altar of this utopian cause! How many families have suffered, some violently and some in silence! All for a cause that just fizzled out within no time and vanished from people's memory without a trace.
It's not a hitherto unexplored theme, but to my knowledge past initiatives have been in Malayalam language. Here Moncy uniquely portrays the life in a typical Kerala village, its social structure, its pulses and the swings. I'm sure the reader will be overwhelmed by the sentiments Moncy has successfully depicted without losing its innocence and flavor.
Kurien Varghese, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. |
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Moncy Pothen in his Novel, `Beneath the Clouds and Coconut Leaves,' narrates, with ease, the rhythms of uncared, stranded lives in bitterness since the dawn of independence.
In his entire story, he spotted the starving world for love with its human touch in real life. Through out the tale, the panoramic expressions are the aerial outcome of the true nature with the living world and the ecosystem.
We can see the pompous days of feudalism are ending and a new age of scarcity or humbleness awakening and it is the hero, an unexpected source that was instrumental to the fall, comes for the aid with attempts to rescue. In the book, we experience the success of humanity above all the ideologies. It also portrays the political, social and cultural scenario in Kerala, the tiny South Indian State, in its true state.
I wish the domain made by the Author be a great success.
Prince Jacob, Sharjah, UAE
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Extremism, now
more widely termed, terrorism, is on the
lips of every human being and on the
front pages of the world's newspapers
every day. But we still long for love
and love still thrives. This poetic
novel by Moncy Pothen plunges us
directly into the forests and paddy
fields of Kerala, India from the 1960s
to the 1980s, describes the delicate and
heartfelt awakening of love in two
lives, and has roots in ancient Indian
tradition. Can you forgive a terrorist,
if he has participated in the murder of
your own father? Like the heroine,
Ahalya, we live in complicated times,
where black and white give way to shades
of gray, and in Beneath the Clouds and
Coconut Leaves, we hold our breath to
witness which will win the battle, love
or hate? Like the hero, Arjunan, we are
fighting to win that battle within
ourselves.
-Allana Joy Bourne. Newspapers in
Education Program Specialist, The
Seattle
Times.?
Adjunct faculty, Seattle
Pacific
University
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NOVEL EXCERPTS
"All religions point to the God Almighty. When Jesus Christ gives each one of us the right to become the sons of God, he shows the way to reach
God," Father Anthony said to Kesu, continuing their conversation while they dined.
"When Hinduism says,
Aham brahmasmi, it means, I am God. We must find the God in ourselves. Finding the God within us is the same as reaching
God," Kesu answered. Even Ahalya was surprised to hear his views.
"Jesus says the father and son are one and the same. And the Hinduism says,
I am God or Aham brahmasmi. But, I can't understand why the Hindus worship many gods and goddesses. After all, God is only
one," Father pointed out the similarity and also his difference of perception.
"Each god or goddess represents the different qualities of
God," Kesu explained. "God is Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the caretaker, and Maheswara, the destroyer. All together, they constitute a single entity or
Parabrahma. Vedas says, All that exists is One. People only call this One by different
names. And the Bible says, God is love, and whoever lives in love lives in union with God and God lives in union with
him."
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