‘The Menon Investigation’: In Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari’s novel, there is no escape from caste

Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari’s much-awaited second novel to be published, The Menon Investigation , has arrived at bookstores a year and a half after his audacious debut, Chronicle of an Hour and a Half . Hailed as one of the best of the year, Kannanari’s first published novel was not just a hit amongst readers but also lauded by prize juries for its literary merit. Kannanari already has a distinct voice, full of wit and anger, moulded by years of reading illustrious writers. In a conversation with Scroll , he admitted to being a “ great admirer of 20th-century American literature ,” a reverence that manifests itself in his writing.

Smelling out crime

Kannanari has a nose for crime – or at least, the making of it. He is interested in the bits and the pieces, the nightmare