Backlash

AN UNPUTDOWNABLE SLOW BURN ABOUT THE LIFE OF A RETIRED COP IN SMALL-TOWN KERALA. Having retired from the Kerala State Police, Shreedharan Nair seeks a quiet life in a small village. But the peace he has just begun to savour is shattered one night when stones clatter against his tiled roof. As the stone-pelting becomes routine, Nair—once feared as the ruthless Kaalan Shreedharan, Kaalan being Yama, the god of death—suspects that retribution may finally be at his door. While some well-wishers see in it the handiwork of supernatural forces, others point to ghosts from his mercenary past. Driven by fear and curiosity, Nair begins retracing his career, compiling a grim list of those he once brutalised, stitched up, turned into scapegoats and nailed to the post. Devadas V.M.s Backlash unfolds through Kaalans encounters with figures entangled in Indias darkest chapters—the Emergency, the rise of religious fanaticism, fake encounters and mob violence—events that changed the nations social fabric. A haunting meditation on the toxicity of power and the terror of powerlessness in a hyper-masculine society, this gritty novel will hold you taut with suspense until the final page. About the Author V.M. Devadas was born in 1981 in Wadakkancherry, Kerala. A prominent voice in contemporary Malayalam literature, he has authored five novels and seven short story collections, two of which have already been translated into English. His writing is characterised by a distinct, experimental approach to narrative structure and a deep exploration of the socio-political and philosophical complexities of modern society. Devadas has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the Malayala Manorama Novel Carnival Award, the O.V. Vijayan Memorial Literary Award and the Vaikom Muhammad Basheer Malayala Padana Kendram Award. He currently lives in Chennai and works as an IT professional. About the Translator Nandakumar K.s co-translation of M. Mukundans Delhi Gadhakal (Delhi: A Soliloquy) won the JCB Prize for Literature in 2021. His other translations include A Thousand Cuts (Attupokaatha Ormakal), the autobiography of Professor T.J. Joseph; The Lesbian Cow and Other Stories by Indu Menon; In the Name of the Lord (Karthavinte Namathil), the autobiography of Sr Lucy Kalappura; Elephantam Misophantam (Aanaththam Piriyaththam), Anthill (Puttu) and Blackened (Karikkottakkary) by Vinoy Thomas; and Zin by Haritha Savithri. Nandakumar is the grandson of Mahakavi Vallathol Narayana Menon. He lives in Dubai and works for a shipping line as a business analyst.