Jeevichirikkunnavarkku Vendiyulla Oppees

Description

Josy Pereira, a young church sacristan, finds a key of gold in a freshly dug grave that once held a woman who died at childbirth. It begins to haunt his waking life, and soon, his sleep. Is it in some way connected to a recurring dream he has, of a brutal celebration with echoes of animal—or is it human—sacrifice? The first Kochi-Creole work to appear in English, this novella is set in a community descended from the dependants of the Portuguese, who had ruled the city four centuries ago. It is a world that revolves around the church and the locals’ own peculiar brand of faith––one where the vicar is permanently drunk, the sacristan steals from the offering-box, and sainthood is a reality that can be touched. A very fresh sensitivity marks Johny Miranda’s fictional imagination.