What do you think?
Rate this book
Resolve
The vision he saw in his dream, a world in ruins and bereft of women—was that going to come true soon? If he could get married, he would live the way people lived in the old days. He wanted to have at least ten children, and he wanted them all to be girls. The world should never again witness the sorrow of a man like him.
It might be a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, or at least a piece of land, must be in want of a wife, but Marimuthu’s path to marriage is strewn with obstacles big and small. Inward-looking, painfully awkward, desperately lonely and deeply earnest, Marimuthu is fuelled by constant rejection into an unforgettable and transformative matrimonial quest. Enter a series of marriage brokers, horoscopes, infatuations, refusals and ‘bride-seeing� expeditions gone awry, which lead Marimuthu to a constant re-evaluation of his marital prospects.
But this is no comedy of manners, and before long we find ourselves reckoning with questions of agricultural change, hierarchies of caste, the values of older generations and the grim antecedents of Marimuthu’s poor prospects, as decades of sex-selective abortion have destroyed the fabric of his community and its demographics.
Perumal Murugan’s Resolve is both a cultural critique and a personal journey: in his hands, the question of marriage turns into a social contract, deeply impacted by the ripple effects of patriarchy, inequality and changing relationships to land and community. In this deceptively comic tale that savagely pierces the very heart of the matter, translated with deft moments of lightness and pathos by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Perumal Murugan has given us a novel for the ages.
It might be a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, or at least a piece of land, must be in want of a wife, but Marimuthu’s path to marriage is strewn with obstacles big and small. Inward-looking, painfully awkward, desperately lonely and deeply earnest, Marimuthu is fuelled by constant rejection into an unforgettable and transformative matrimonial quest. Enter a series of marriage brokers, horoscopes, infatuations, refusals and ‘bride-seeing� expeditions gone awry, which lead Marimuthu to a constant re-evaluation of his marital prospects.
But this is no comedy of manners, and before long we find ourselves reckoning with questions of agricultural change, hierarchies of caste, the values of older generations and the grim antecedents of Marimuthu’s poor prospects, as decades of sex-selective abortion have destroyed the fabric of his community and its demographics.
Perumal Murugan’s Resolve is both a cultural critique and a personal journey: in his hands, the question of marriage turns into a social contract, deeply impacted by the ripple effects of patriarchy, inequality and changing relationships to land and community. In this deceptively comic tale that savagely pierces the very heart of the matter, translated with deft moments of lightness and pathos by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Perumal Murugan has given us a novel for the ages.
- GenresFiction
400 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2021
19 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
About the author
Perumal Murugan
96books334followersPrimary profile for this author.
Do NOT merge author profiles in different languages/spelling.
Per GR policy, books published in another language/script should have the name on that book as secondary author, with Perumal Murugan as primary author.
Perumal Murugan is a well-known contemporary Tamil writer and poet. He was written six novels, four collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry. Three of his novels have been translated into English to wide acclaim: Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Kiriyama Award in 2005, Current Show, and most recently, One Part Woman. He has received awards from the Tamil Nadu government as well as from Katha Books.
Do NOT merge author profiles in different languages/spelling.
Per GR policy, books published in another language/script should have the name on that book as secondary author, with Perumal Murugan as primary author.
Perumal Murugan is a well-known contemporary Tamil writer and poet. He was written six novels, four collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry. Three of his novels have been translated into English to wide acclaim: Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Kiriyama Award in 2005, Current Show, and most recently, One Part Woman. He has received awards from the Tamil Nadu government as well as from Katha Books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 8, 2021
Perumal Murugan has such a talent for taking a small and seemingly simple issue and writing a wonderful novel out of it! It is like he goes into a situation with a microscope and finds out all the little things that contributed to the whole. The picture becomes clearer and clearer to us as he goes about setting the scene through various little anecdotes.
There were times initially when I felt that the novel was not going anywhere. Especially when it started, I felt more invested in the story of Kuppan and his son than in Marimuthu and felt a little disappointed that it was going to be about Marimuthu. I started out hating Marimuthu, a very standard straight man very much shaped by the casteist, patriarchal world. But as the novel progresses, I grew to see the good things about him and sort of forgave him his faults. It really felt like he was working towards improving himself and finding himself as an adult man. It is definitely a credit to Perumal Murugan that he brings about this transformation. However, the novel could have done with a little editing. There are moments of ennui.
Another aspect of the novel that I thoroughly enjoyed was towards the end.
Perumal Murugan has a really great talent for writing characters too. This book is populated with so many people who come and go. They are all, almost without exception, shaped fully well. He puts in some deft little touches that gives us a full picture within a few small strokes. It is this, along with how he structures the novel through multiple anecdotes that sometimes makes me feel like I am reading a short story collection. The collection does form a cohesive whole though and it all comes together in the end wonderfully.
Overall, this book is a joy to read. I found it very relatable, funny and also poignant in its notes!
There were times initially when I felt that the novel was not going anywhere. Especially when it started, I felt more invested in the story of Kuppan and his son than in Marimuthu and felt a little disappointed that it was going to be about Marimuthu. I started out hating Marimuthu, a very standard straight man very much shaped by the casteist, patriarchal world. But as the novel progresses, I grew to see the good things about him and sort of forgave him his faults. It really felt like he was working towards improving himself and finding himself as an adult man. It is definitely a credit to Perumal Murugan that he brings about this transformation. However, the novel could have done with a little editing. There are moments of ennui.
Another aspect of the novel that I thoroughly enjoyed was towards the end.
Perumal Murugan has a really great talent for writing characters too. This book is populated with so many people who come and go. They are all, almost without exception, shaped fully well. He puts in some deft little touches that gives us a full picture within a few small strokes. It is this, along with how he structures the novel through multiple anecdotes that sometimes makes me feel like I am reading a short story collection. The collection does form a cohesive whole though and it all comes together in the end wonderfully.
Overall, this book is a joy to read. I found it very relatable, funny and also poignant in its notes!
April 25, 2024
Perumal murugan has painted an extraordinary image of the woes of an unmarried young man. How Marimuthu faces the mockery of the society, the reasons his family gives for rejecting a girl,thus delaying his marriage and scam of the match makers are portrayed amazingly. But climax was guessable.
May 20, 2015
குறிஞ்சிநெட்டில் என� புத்தக அறிமுகக் கட்டுர�. பெருமாள்முருகனின� கங்கணம� நாவல�.
/மறந்து போவத� வயதாவதன் சாதாரண அறிகுறியாக இருப்பினும� அதன் உச்சத்தில் கடந்தகாலம், நிகழ்காலம், எதிர்காலம் மூன்றும் கலந்துவிடுகின்றன. நிறைவேறா� ஆசைகளைச் சுமந்துகொண்டிருக்கும� ஆழ்மனத�, மூளை பலவீனப்படும் இந்த இறுதிக்காலத்தைப் பயன்படுத்திக்கொண்ட� மேலே வந்த� தன� ஆட்டத்தை ஆரம்பிக்கிறத�. உச்சமா� போதையின் பிடியிலும் இத� நிகழ்வதைக் காணலாம�/
/மறந்து போவத� வயதாவதன் சாதாரண அறிகுறியாக இருப்பினும� அதன் உச்சத்தில் கடந்தகாலம், நிகழ்காலம், எதிர்காலம் மூன்றும் கலந்துவிடுகின்றன. நிறைவேறா� ஆசைகளைச் சுமந்துகொண்டிருக்கும� ஆழ்மனத�, மூளை பலவீனப்படும் இந்த இறுதிக்காலத்தைப் பயன்படுத்திக்கொண்ட� மேலே வந்த� தன� ஆட்டத்தை ஆரம்பிக்கிறத�. உச்சமா� போதையின் பிடியிலும் இத� நிகழ்வதைக் காணலாம�/
January 28, 2018
Very interesting to read.
Subject : 30+ year young guy looking for marriage.Alliance begins at the age of 22.how people are refusing to give girl to him finally what happened?
This book speaking about the kongu region(erode,Namakkal,karur,Salem,Coimbatore,Triuppur)people farming culture. It will be close to heart, if this region people red it they can correlate many situations to their life.
Subject : 30+ year young guy looking for marriage.Alliance begins at the age of 22.how people are refusing to give girl to him finally what happened?
This book speaking about the kongu region(erode,Namakkal,karur,Salem,Coimbatore,Triuppur)people farming culture. It will be close to heart, if this region people red it they can correlate many situations to their life.
January 16, 2022
A book that makes the reader look into the various aspects in a village, farming family and issues that affect marriage - community, caste, relatives, property, and other aspects around which the story written by the author reflects the Indian village.
January 18, 2023
I am attracted to the Tamil story as it is a culture very familiar that incites nostalgia and ability to enjoy the idiosyncrasies with a knowing smile. So I picked up this book at "The White Crow" bookstore in Mumbai which is cosy with a coffee shop but with bookshelves too high even if I was not as vertically challenged.
This is the story of Marimuthu, a 35 year old affluent agriculturist who has not a lot to want for except a mate to share his life with. Owing to a generally low male to female ratio, a meddling family and other factors, he faces challenges in that aspect. The book deals with his quest for a wife with several socio-economic themes as the background : female infanticide, dynamics of multi-generational families, changing interests away from agriculture in India to name a few.
I really enjoyed the first 30% of the book as well as the last 20%. It was a tad repetitive and dull in the middle with some difficult pacing. I would have rated it a 4 instead but will go for 3-3.5 stars.
Considering the rave reviews also from NYT and other international media,
I am also curious how easy is it for someone not familiar with Indian culture to follow and appreciate it.
This is the story of Marimuthu, a 35 year old affluent agriculturist who has not a lot to want for except a mate to share his life with. Owing to a generally low male to female ratio, a meddling family and other factors, he faces challenges in that aspect. The book deals with his quest for a wife with several socio-economic themes as the background : female infanticide, dynamics of multi-generational families, changing interests away from agriculture in India to name a few.
I really enjoyed the first 30% of the book as well as the last 20%. It was a tad repetitive and dull in the middle with some difficult pacing. I would have rated it a 4 instead but will go for 3-3.5 stars.
Considering the rave reviews also from NYT and other international media,
I am also curious how easy is it for someone not familiar with Indian culture to follow and appreciate it.
January 9, 2023
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. Maybe because I’d read so much about the author I went into it with unrealistic expectations.
It was a good read detailing the life of a man who wants to get married in a time when female infanticide has wiped out the female population. The story delves into his resolve to get married while taking us into each tale of his previous efforts.
I found the ending predictable too.
I wonder if things were lost in translation - happy to hear another perspective from someone who has read the original Tamizh version or thinks I should have started with another Perumal Murugan book.
It was a good read detailing the life of a man who wants to get married in a time when female infanticide has wiped out the female population. The story delves into his resolve to get married while taking us into each tale of his previous efforts.
I found the ending predictable too.
I wonder if things were lost in translation - happy to hear another perspective from someone who has read the original Tamizh version or thinks I should have started with another Perumal Murugan book.
July 1, 2023
An intricate look at the social fabric of village life - family life complications and relationships between men and women.
October 21, 2024
Loveeeed it , such a hearty story
December 23, 2024
captures nuances of indian society very well.
March 3, 2022
Our man Marimuthu has land, home, finances, flair for agriculture.
Except that Lady Luck was never on his side.
A glaring lack of bride prospects mainly because of female infanticide - a traditional practice in these terrains. Sons were a boon bringing wealth through dowries when they grew up to wed. The male to female ratio in Marimuthu's village was one such plight of the misproportion.
Our man Marimuthu experiences the tiresome ordeal of seeking a wife. Man surely loves the darkest complexions of women. A string of potential alliances did not materialize mainly due to his relatives (read toxic) who enjoyed running their filthy mouths, secondly caste hegemony, thirdly a possible superstitious belief that he was cursed, and then the marriage-broker scammers with their obsession over horoscope matches who cheated him once they got their payment.
He swore and cursed mentally at his circle of folks always out there to ruin his marriage endeavours. Parents who failed.
Over time, he became lonely and desolate. Nevertheless, yearning for a woman - a wedded wife to start a family with, to settle down and have a companionship for the rest of his life. He became the butt of humiliating mockery by those around him. Jeering at his inability to find a woman.
Our man reminisces his school days romances, the brief infatuation with a few promising ladies, right up to the first kiss. He craves for a physical intimacy with a woman yet has no pluck to express or engage.
In between came the splitting of ancestral land to divide among his kinsman. Perumal Murugan gave a visual imagery through his writing on the arable, red soil land which saw through the cultivation of a variety of crops, measured and tilled according to seasons, rainfall, the irrigation route through wells and the deft hands of both the women and men working the soil.
Set in a luscious village in Tamil country, landscapes of coconut plantations, huts, bathing in wells, cooking of simple curries, the delicious mention of toddy sent cool breezes my way while reading the story. Transported me to a different time and place.
Bittersweet journey of our man in his desperate resolve to be married. A cousin and a childhood friend became his sidekicks in making this happen.
#Tamil #translatedworks #fiction #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #readersofinstagram
Except that Lady Luck was never on his side.
A glaring lack of bride prospects mainly because of female infanticide - a traditional practice in these terrains. Sons were a boon bringing wealth through dowries when they grew up to wed. The male to female ratio in Marimuthu's village was one such plight of the misproportion.
Our man Marimuthu experiences the tiresome ordeal of seeking a wife. Man surely loves the darkest complexions of women. A string of potential alliances did not materialize mainly due to his relatives (read toxic) who enjoyed running their filthy mouths, secondly caste hegemony, thirdly a possible superstitious belief that he was cursed, and then the marriage-broker scammers with their obsession over horoscope matches who cheated him once they got their payment.
He swore and cursed mentally at his circle of folks always out there to ruin his marriage endeavours. Parents who failed.
Over time, he became lonely and desolate. Nevertheless, yearning for a woman - a wedded wife to start a family with, to settle down and have a companionship for the rest of his life. He became the butt of humiliating mockery by those around him. Jeering at his inability to find a woman.
Our man reminisces his school days romances, the brief infatuation with a few promising ladies, right up to the first kiss. He craves for a physical intimacy with a woman yet has no pluck to express or engage.
In between came the splitting of ancestral land to divide among his kinsman. Perumal Murugan gave a visual imagery through his writing on the arable, red soil land which saw through the cultivation of a variety of crops, measured and tilled according to seasons, rainfall, the irrigation route through wells and the deft hands of both the women and men working the soil.
Set in a luscious village in Tamil country, landscapes of coconut plantations, huts, bathing in wells, cooking of simple curries, the delicious mention of toddy sent cool breezes my way while reading the story. Transported me to a different time and place.
Bittersweet journey of our man in his desperate resolve to be married. A cousin and a childhood friend became his sidekicks in making this happen.
#Tamil #translatedworks #fiction #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #readersofinstagram
December 18, 2021
Full review
Resolve is a typical Perumal Murugan story that takes us into rural Tamilnadu, where, in
urban parlance, there are no girls for Marimuthu to swipe. In a community where class and caste rule, female foeticide, and sex-selective abortions are rampant and this has resulted in a dire situation where there are only four girls left in a village of twenty eligible boys; the bald, leftover thirty-something men excluded.
Resolve is a typical Perumal Murugan story that takes us into rural Tamilnadu, where, in
urban parlance, there are no girls for Marimuthu to swipe. In a community where class and caste rule, female foeticide, and sex-selective abortions are rampant and this has resulted in a dire situation where there are only four girls left in a village of twenty eligible boys; the bald, leftover thirty-something men excluded.
January 22, 2022
As is the case with many good books, only halfway through, do you realise what the book is doing to you. Only halfway through you realise, why the writing and story, common as is, still starts revealing a quality, in places you didn't expect. This book ends with such huge letdown and yet reached a poignant conclusion in my head. Reminded me of Malayalam writer Sreenivasan's stories.
If you enjoy the mundane and it's various pulls, this book is a delight.
If you enjoy the mundane and it's various pulls, this book is a delight.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.