The Boy Who Befriended a Ghost
Novel: Ghost of Malabar by Soumya Ayer
Ghost of Malabar is a horror novel. It is different from the ghost novels I have read so far. The novel is set in a coastal town of Kerala. The protagonist is a young boy named Edwin. Edwin fancies himself to be the skinniest person in the world. He is an introvert at home and school. The only person he interacts a lot with is his grandmother who has passed away recently. His father is not in good health and stays home. His mother had to work and earn for the whole family. Her mother is very strict with Edwin’s studies. Even if there was an earthquake or school or cyclone, her policy is that he had to attend school.
In the very first chapter, Edwin encountered a ghost named Velu. Now this ghost is visible only to Edwin. Edwin was clearly afraid of this ghost and was also scared to talk about this ghost to others. His grandmother once told him about a ghost which is visible only to a few people. He thought that Velu was that type of ghost.
Edwin knew an uncle, called Francis, who also saw ghosts. He went to his uncle and shared his experience. He asked his uncle to get rid of the ghost. But uncle asked him to just ignore the ghost. “If you start ignoring the ghost’s taunts and teasing, it will soon get bored of you and leave you.”
But Edwin could not ignore the ghost. It was so irritating. One day he was so fed up with the ghost that he started shouting back at the ghost. He didn’t see the ghost next day and he felt so relieved. But after a few days, he felt guilty of shouting at it and he was the one who got bored. So, he went to the beach to reunite with the ghost.
The rest of the novel is about how Edwin and ghost friendship grows and how Edwin is going to solve the ghost’s problems of the past.
August, 2024
