Crowdfund This: The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction, Volume 3

If you've spent much time browsing through this blog, you may have noticed how much of a Blaft Publications fan I am. This independent publisher based in Chennai, India specializes in translating the truly forgotten works of literature - the pulpy novels filled with violence, ghosts, detectives, curses, possessions, sex, drugs, and anything else that don't quite fit most people's idea of "quality literature."

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction series is probably the best example of Blaft's unique selection. The first volume, featuring a wide range of short stories that are primarily detective fiction, was one of Blaft's first publishing endeavors. The second volume featured longer stories, including a complete novel by one of my favorite authors. I have reviewed both volumes here and here.

Now you can help fund a third volume of this fantastic series via Indiegogo.

It will reportedly feature (according to the Indiegogo page) a science fiction epic involving "a race of nitrogen-eating aliens, a disembodied brain, and extraterrestrial encounters with Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie"; another novel by Rajesh Kumar, the world's most prolific living novelist; two detective stories, one involving a psychic informant; and a story by Indra Soundar Rajan, my favorite Tamil pulp author, about a murder and a possessed girl. Sounds exciting!

And, of course, since this is crowdfunding there will be perks! $5 buys you an ebook copy of the published novel. For $8 (India) or $15 (international), you can get a print copy of the published novel.

For $300, Rajesh Kumar will write a novel starring you!!!! Unfortunately, it will be in Tamil, so you're out of luck if you can't read Tamil.

Unless you give them $600, in which case they will translate the Rajesh Kumar novel starring you into English!!!

But wait, there's more! If you give Blaft $1200, you'll get 10 paperback copies of your novel translated into English, with a special painting of your face on the front!!! How cool is that?

Check out the crowdfunding page to see these and other perks. Please help out with getting the 3rd volume of this awesome series published.

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Sin Is a Puppy That Follows You Home by Balaraba Ramat Yakubu, translated by Aliyu Kamal

Source: Goodreads

Sin Is a Puppy That Follows You Home
Balaraba Ramat Yakubu
Translated by Aliyu Kamal (from Hausa)
Originally 1990, I read first English edition 2012
126 pages, social criticism, family drama, soap opera, pulp

Many thanks to Blaft Publications for providing me with a review copy of this book! 

In this book, I tell a story about a type of man found commonly in Nigeria who regards a married woman with children as a sort of slave to be bought or sold at the marketplace. These men think they may treat such a woman as poorly as they like, since they believe her to be completely worthless. They may be rich and comfortable themselves, yet refuse to feed and clothe their own families - while simultaneously denying anyone else the right to do so. - Author's preface

This short novel is the first example of the Hausa-language popular press to be translated into English. As such, it has the potential to introduce the reader to a world that they otherwise would never have realized existed.

Balaraba Ramat Yakubu is a Nigerian writer and filmmaker. In this book, as she states in the preface, she attempts to draw attention to a specific social phenomenon: men who neglect their wives and children in favor of spending money on themselves. I do not know how common this is in Nigeria, but the author's decision to focus on it indicates that it is (or was) probably more common than I expected.

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction: Vol. II, selected and translated by Pritham K. Chakravarthy and edited by Rakesh Khanna

Source: Goodreads

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction: Vol. II
Selected and translated by Pritham K. Chakravarthy (from Tamil)
Edited by Rakesh Khanna
Originally published 2010, I read 2011
467 pages, mystery, horror, detective, romance

In this second volume of Blaft's Tamil Pulp Fiction anthology, the editors have chosen to translate full-length novels and novellas from a variety of authors, including one from Singapore. Whereas a majority of the pieces in the first anthology were detective stories (a fact I mentioned in my review), this volume is mainly horror focused.

The stories include: 

"The Palace of Kottaipuram" (1990) by Indra Soundar Rajan 

The royal family has been haunted by a curse for generations: the men all die before they turn 30, and no female children survive for long after their birth. The younger prince of the current generation is well-educated and does not believe any of this nonsense - until his brother is killed by a cobra. Now the younger prince's girlfriend has to investigate the origins of the curse and the strange social order surrounding the royal family if she wants to save the man she loves.

"Highway 117" (1980) by Jeyaraj & Pushpa Thangadorai

This full-length comic book features Karate Kavita, a super-strong female hero, who teams up with an archaeologist to uncover the man responsible for stealing the treasures from several temples.

"Hold on a Minute, I'm in the Middle of a Murder" (1979) by Indumathi

Inspired by the Exorcist and similar movies, Indumathi's horror novella is a tale of demonic possession and murders by supernatural forces. When the doctor and head of a psychiatric institution finds one of his patients has killed his colleague, he is stunned. The police take up the investigation, but very odd things begin to happen to everyone even vaguely related to the doctor or his patient.

"The Bungalow by the River" (2000) by M. K. Narayanan 

A ghost story by a Singaporean Tamil author. A woman flees from her alcoholic husband when she learns about the affair that is consuming him. Years later, a lawyer contacts their son with the message that the father has died and left the property to him. The son wants nothing to do with it, but decides to visit the property with his lawyer before it is sold. Strange things start happening when they arrive. As they find themselves trapped by a sudden monsoon, will they be able to survive in the house until morning?

"Hello, Good Dead Morning!" (1986) by Rajesh Kumar

A detective wakes up to a phone call - the police have found a body, and they're not sure if it's a murder or suicide. As he investigates, we are introduced to a young woman who has recently become obsessed with "blue films" (i.e. pornography). To maintain and hide this obsession, she begins to lie to her brother and others, resulting in the murder of one of her brother's employees...

"Sacriledge to Love" (2009) by Resakee

A girl is plagued by unwanted suitors and an overprotective brother who violently punishes anyone who falls in love with her. Then she falls in love herself, and the former targets of her brother's ire conspire to help the lovers deal with him.

Buy from Amazon: 

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction - Volume 2 (The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction, #2)

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction Volume 1, Edited by Rakesh Kanna, Translated by Pritham K. Chakravarthy

Source: Goodreads

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction: Volume 1
Editor: Rakesh Kanna
Translator: Pritham K. Chakravarthy (from Tamil)
Originally published 2008, I read 2011
400 pages, pulp fiction (crime, noir, science fiction, fantasy)

Curious about the super-popular but untranslated books in other languages?

Have you ever wondered about the popular books in other languages, the ones that don't normally get translated into English but sell thousands or even millions of copies? This anthology of short pieces of pulp fiction gives you the opportunity to access those stories from one of the major South Indian literary scenes. These are the books that you could buy at the grocery store or gas station if you were in South India and spoke Tamil, all presented in wonderfully readable English with a spunky gun-toting heroine on the cover.

The collection covers a wide range of genres, so there is something for everyone who likes pulp! My favorites were "Matchstick Number One" by Rajesh Kumar (a tale about family and political corruption), "The Rebirth of Jeeva" by Indra Soundar Rajan (a college student on a field trip discovers the truth about her past life!), "Dim Lights, Blazing Hearts" by Ramanichandran (a sort of Pride and Prejudice love story where the woman makes assumptions and acts on stereotypes), and "Sweetheart, Please Die!" by Pattukkottai Prabakar (a mystery about a college student's disappearance).

First few pages available from the publisher.

Buy from Amazon: 

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction