Identity: A Mere Play of Gender, Status & Aesthetics.

 

Identity (noun)-

the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.

"identity" seems like such a simple concept. But there are so many people who struggle with it, who struggle with coming to terms with their identity and then struggle when the world around them disregards it. A person's identity is a deeply personal concept. Arundhati Sahoo in this book tells a story of 2 people- a transgender man Sane and a prostitute Sunny.

Sane and Sunny cross paths at the brothel where Sunny lives and works. While Sane tries to find his way in the world, grappling with the uncertainties of life, Sunny joins him in the journey as she also faces the same. Transgender people and prostitutes are two of the communities most looked down upon in India. There mere existence is considered a blemish, while conveniently forgetting that they also are human, and perhaps more humane than those who look down at them.

The internal monologues are very well written. The whole book revolves around an uncertain uneasy feeling of not knowing what tomorrow will bring. The book seems very fast at times, and feels like it skipped over a lot. But considering it is just a 90 page read, it is really nice! If it had been a slightly longer book, it would have been more enjoyable.

We have to read it keeping in mind that this is a straight, privileged person's view of the "other" side. There are many things a writer cannot capture unless they have been through it, and they belong to the same class.

Genre- Contemporary Fiction

Ratings- 4/5

Highly recommend! 

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