Ocean Rimmed World

Interlacing the poignant story of three fishermen lost at sea with the larger narrative of a fishing community recounted over a period of five decades, Joe D' Cruz whips up a gripping novel of a breathtaking scale and intricate detail making it perhaps one of first authentic seafaring narratives to emerge from the Indian subcontinent. Redolent of the briny air of the sea and the quaint lore of the seashore, Ocean Rimmed World captures the struggles and changing fortunes of the Parathavars of the Tuticorin coast---a community of seafarers and fisherfolk renowned for their great courage, relentless toil, and tempestuous nature. Riveting descriptions of shark hunts and stirring accounts of courage and endurance at sea complement the sombre human drama that unfolds by its edge. The novel is at once a celebration of the myriad faces of the sea and an eloquent tribute to the human spirit that is battered but unvanquished by its ebb and flow. Looming large like comforting lighthouses over the dark narrative scape of the novel are the finely etched stories of Kagu Samiyar, Thomanthirai, Gothra Pillai, Thokalatha, Mary, Siluvai and finally, Soosai---extraordinary men and women who reveal the possibility of compassion and sacrifice even in the midst of the death and despair.The indigenous wisdom of the traditional fisher folk, the myths they live by, their mixed dialects and their deep, abiding love of the sea, their mother, make this novel a truly memorable read.