“The House of Kanooru”: Understanding Social Transformation through an Agrarian Novel
Abstract
Abstract In 2008, David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers, and Michael Woolcock, argued that “works of literary fiction” (2008: 199) combine the ‘art of storytelling’ with the significance of human experience. Taking cue from this argument, this essay focuses on The House of Kanooru (1999), a novel about Indian rural social life, and discusses its depiction of subjective experiences. We describe how this portrayal of subjective experiences, associated with family conflict, is important to understanding transformations in broader social relations, and therefore remains relevant to scholars of social change and development.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Social and Economic Development in India
South Asian Studies and Diaspora
Agriculture
Land Use
Rural Development
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Economic & Political Weekly
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 40
- Publication date
- 20 February 2026
- Language
- EN