When the nameless protagonist of The Solitude of a Shadow unexpectedly encounters Karunakaran after nearly three decades, he is overwhelmed by a hitherto-dormant urge to wreak vengeance upon this man who had molested his sister and abused him all those years ago.

Devibharathi’s novel – his first to be translated into English describes with painful clarity the poverty and isolation of obsession, while life flourishes all around the protagonist. Written in his trademark sharp, clear-eyed style, it is also an astutely observed narrative of our society and its overlapping hierarchies of caste, wealth and power.

Superbly translated by N. Kalyan Raman, The Solitude of a Shadow shows us how treacherous and illusory the hunger for revenge can become – with unavoidable tragic consequences.