Title: August 17
Author: S Hareesh
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Cost: Rs 599

As Kerala enters a new phase of governance and one wonders about the future of the Left Front in the state, Malayalam novelist S Hareesh’s latest novel August 17 (Harper Perennial) reflects on its past. The kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor (Travancore) ruled independently, before joining hands with the Indian Union to form the present-day Kerala. However, in his novel, translated into English by Jayasree Kalathil, Hareesh imagines what it would be like had this integration not happened.

The novel is not a historical account but, in the process of speculating an alternative history, it helps readers understand the tendencies and politics that divided the people of the state. It is narrated from the perspective of an informant, “a CID officer”, who is initially looking out for ‘instigators’ and ‘troublemakers’ speaking against the government. His narrative position, under many disguises, enables readers to enter spaces and conversations that would otherwise be inaccessible. It is interesting, for instance, to read conversations among revolutionaries and political prisoners in confined spaces.