LADY CHATTERLIYUDE KAMUKAN: D. H. Lawrence, Translated by K. P. Balachandran, Green Books, Little Road, Ayyanthole, Thrissur-680003.

Rs. 170.

BANNED IN England and the United States when first published in 1928, Lady Chatterley's Lover, which the author, D.H. Lawrence, himself once described as “the most improper novel in the world,” has now gained legitimacy, thanks to changes in the social mores as well as notions of obscenity.

The main characters are a nobleman, his wife and a gamekeeper caught in a destiny they cannot control. At a primary level, the story is that of a set of people alienated from life. The explicit treatment of sex — Lawrence defended it saying “I want men and women to be able to think sex fully, completely, honestly and cleanly” — somewhat clouds a true appreciation of the novel's basic theme — it has to do with the way the powerful forces in society work and how the hapless individuals respond to them.

At a deeper level, it is a story of people seeking to rebuild their lives amid the ruins of a devastating war. In Nobel Prize-winning novelist Doris Lessing's view, this is one of the most powerful anti-war novels ever written.

Balachandran's translation makes smooth reading. However, the reader is likely to miss some aspects of the novel for want of a proper understanding of the context in which it is set.--The Hindu, March 2, 2010