''Zero Degree'' is a 1998 postmodern, transgressive,

lipogram A lipogram (from grc, λειπογράμματος, ''leipográmmatos'', "leaving out a letter") is a kind of constrained writing or word game consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is a ...

matic novel by

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

author Charu Nivedita, later translated into

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Awards and accolades

*''Zero Degree'' was longlisted for the 2013 edition of

Jan Michalski Prize Jan Michalski Prize for Literature (French: Prix Jan Michalski) is a Swiss literary prize for any work of fiction or non-fiction published anywhere in the world in any language. It is meant to recognize authors from around the world and world lite ...

. *''Zero Degree'' was inducted into the prestigious '50 Writers, 50 Books - The Best of Indian Fiction', published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

. * ''Zero Degree'' was selected as one of the fifteen incredible Indian novels. *

The Sunday Guardian ''The Sunday Guardian'' is an Indian Sunday newspaper, founded by journalist and politician M. J. Akbar, and currently owned by iTV Network. It was launched on 31 January 2010 from New Delhi and is printed in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. ...

considers Zero Degree an important novel in Metafiction genre.

Literary contemporaries on ''Zero Degree''

*In his foreword to the

translation of ''Zero Degree'',

Paul Zacharia Paul Zacharia, popularly known mononymously as Zacharia, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his body of literary works composed of short stories, novellas, travelogues, screenplays, essays, columns and children's books, Zacha ...

wrote, "It is like an open experimental laboratory. Amidst the smoke, noxious vapors, and beautiful imagery, I experienced a wondrous journey." *

Tarun Tejpal Tarun Tejpal (born 15 March 1963) is an Indian journalist, publisher, novelist and former editor-in-chief of ''Tehelka'' magazine. In November 2013, he stepped down as editor for six months after a female colleague accused him of sexual assault. ...

opines that Zero Degree is remarkable for its experimental voice and its varying and shifting tonalities. * Anil Menon considers Zero Degree bold and ambitious. He posits that the ancient fascination with language and reality continues to burst through the crust in Charu Nivedita’s works. *Noted translator Jason Grunebaum considers ''Zero Degree'' wildly exciting and complains that Charu does not write in Hindi, so that he would translate Charu's works to English. *Poet Vivek Narayanan says about ''Zero Degree'': "I think we should take Zero Degree not just as a playful, ironic “postmodern” novel but as a novel of oppositions and contradictions: a deeply autobiographical novel where the self has been scattered, an ironic pastiche novel that speaks to raw experience, a defiantly cosmopolitan novel than nonetheless pins a very particular kind of schizophrenic rage that perhaps—I could be wrong—any Tamilian will immediately recognise."

Universities on ''Zero Degree''

* ''Zero Degree'' was on the curriculum in Spring 2010 in a Comparative World Literature course, taught by Jordan Smith, at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). *

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

has included ''Zero Degree'' in its translation program.An interview of Rakesh Khanna of the Blaft Publications.http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/index.php?id=1911 * The Malayalam translation of ''Zero Degree'' is in the curriculum for postgraduate students at the Mahatma Gandhi University,

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...

Translations

* ''Zero Degree'' was translated into

in 1999 by Dr G.Balasubrahmanian and Dr P.M.Gireesh. * It was translated into

in 2008 by Pritham K. Chakravarthy and Rakesh Khanna. * Further translations into Telugu,

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

are on the anvil.

Reviews

Review of Zero Degree in Tehelka

Review of Zero Degree by Pallavi Rao

Review of Zero Degree in the Times of India

Special feature

Keeping with the numerological theme of ''Zero Degree'', the only numbers expressed in either words or symbols are numerologically equivalent to nine (with the exception of two chapters). This Oulipian ban includes the very common word one (only in Tamil edition).

References

External links

An excerpt from Zero Degree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zero Degree Tamil novels Lipograms 1998 novels Metafiction 1998 Indian novels