Kari is the story of its eponymous heroine, who leads a double life. By day, Kari is a writer in an ad agency, and at night, she’s a boatman.
The story begins with a double suicide. Two women jump off their respective roof tops. One, Ruth, is saved by a safety net, while the other, Kari, survives when her fall is safely broken by the sewers. Thus begins the double life as the ‘boatman’ who cleans up the sewers.
As the story goes on, you meet her roommates and their boyfriends. This is the real life, one you can accept. On her way to work, you see roads opening up where there aren’t any. This is her mythical world – the world that belongs to Ruth. Obsessed with life and death, Kari’s life deals constantly with both – whether in the form of comforting her colleague Lazarus at work, or in the form of Ruth finding fetuses in the gutter. This often entwines with the ad campaign that she’s working on for ‘Fairytale Hair’, and, the story does end on a fairytale note. Not the traditional ‘ever after’, but with a promise of ‘to be continued’.
What sets Amruta Patil apart, in my mind, is not the story – but the illustration style and the underlying religious undertones.
Patil’s style is dark; not ‘Sin City’ dark, but ‘Persepolis’ dark. Colour, is something she uses with a lot of care – its presence only conveys a certain mood that wouldn’t have been possible in the black & white which dominates the novel. Added to this, are the stark straight lines with hints of Cubism.
When you read Kari, read it twice. The first time, for the story. The second, for the religious undertones. The ones which shout out are the names – Ruth, Lazarus and Angel. The other cues are more subtle. Pay close attention at all times to what’s happening around Kari in the frames. For instance, you’ll spot how a newspaper spine has deftly been turned into a cross… and the accompanying text panel ends in ‘crossed over’.
This one is a must read. You can also take a look at her blog – Umbilical.
Interesting note about the newspaper spine… I have to take another look at that bit. Like you, I was most taken in by Patil’s artwork. It was great to also read a graphic novel about life in urban India as opposed to horror/mythology/violence that dominates the graphic narrative.
Agreed, Anisha. Amruta Patil’s work is definitely refreshing. If you liked that, you might also like “Bhimayana: Experiences of Untouchability” – which was featured on CNN earlier this year as one of the top 5 political graphic novels.
Oh yes. I’ve been meaning to get to Bhimayana. I was also recommended Parismita Singh’s ‘The Hotel At the End of the World.’ Have you read that yet?
Yeah, I’ve read it. It’s a nice collection of shorts all tied neatly together. The artwork is strikingly different – expressive, like Patil, but minus the colors. Do let me know how you liked it if you do get your hands on it. I’ve been planning to review it for a while now and, hopefully, I’ll get around to it soon.
I will definitely! I was actually just going to return here and suggest that you review it.