announcement of publication

[Robert J. Zydenbos]

Warning: blatant advertising follows

Announcement of a new publication:

_The Calf Became An Orphan - a study in contemporary Kannada fiction_ by
Robert J. Zydenbos. Pondicherry: Institut francais de Pondichery
(Publications du departement d'indologie), 1996. xvii + 301 pages.

This appears to be the first doctoral thesis on Kannada literature
submitted to and accepted by a university in the West (namely the
Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht in the Netherlands), and at the same time it
is the first longer study of twentieth-century Kannada literature by a
Western scholar.

The book is a study of culturally specific themes in modern Kannada
fiction. 35 short stories and novels have been analysed with a view to
learning how certain problems and questions which are specific for
Kannada literature (in the sense that these questions are not discussed
in the major Western literatures with which the author of the study is
familiar) are presented, analysed and dealt with by Kannada authors.
These themes have been divided and discussed in five chapters: the
position of women, religious themes, caste conflicts, contacts with
foreign people and influences, and modern socio-cultural change. Because
even in scholarly circles Kannada literature is as yet not widely known,
elaborate summaries of the discussed works are given to enable the
readers to follow the author's analysis. An introductory chapter gives
the reader some information about the Kannada language, Karnataka, and
Kannada literary history. The book ends with bibliographies of primary
and secondary literature and a five-page index of words and names
occurring in the text. It is hoped that the book will be useful not only
for readers with an interest in Kannada literature, but also for
students of other literatures, in the social sciences, etc.

Note for purchasers: unfortunately, in the last phase of the production
of the book, a few odd printing errors have crept in. If you wish to
receive a list of errata via e-mail, please let me know at
zydenbos at flevoland.xs4all.nl. Your request will be kept on file until a
full list of errata is prepared, and this will then be e-mailed to you.

Robert Zydenbos