Aadujeevitham
Latest edition (Malayalam) | |
| Author | Benyamin |
|---|---|
| Original title | Aadujeevitham |
| Working title | The Goat Life |
| Translator | Joseph Koyippally |
| Illustrator | K Shereef |
| Cover artist | K Shereef |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Genre | Novel, survival, based on true events |
| Publisher | Penguin Books (English) Green Books (Malayalam) |
Publication date | 15 July 2008 |
| Publication place | India |
Published in English | 1 July 2012 |
| Pages | 255 |
| ISBN | 978-01-4341-633-3 (English), 978-81-8423-117-5 (Malayalam) |
| Preceded by | Abeesagin (Malayalam) |
| Followed by | Manjaveyil Maranangal (Malayalam) |
Aadujeevitham (English: The Goat Life) is a 2008 Malayalam-language novel by Indian author Benyamin. Its transliterated English version is also known as Goat Days. It is about an abused Malayali migrant worker employed in Saudi Arabia as a goatherd against his will.
The novel is based on real-life events and was a best seller in Kerala. According to media, Benyamin became an "overnight sensation" with the publication of this "hard-hitting story" and is currently one of the top sellers in Malayalam. The original Malayalam version of Goat Days has gone through over 100 reprints.
The novel depicts the life of Najeeb Muhammed, an Indian emigrant going missing in Saudi Arabia. Najeeb's dream was to work in the Persian Gulf region and earn enough money to send back home. But, he achieves his dream only to be propelled by a series of incidents into herding goats in the middle of the desert. In the end, Najeeb contrives a hazardous scheme to escape his desert prison. Penguin Books India's introduction describes the novel as "the strange and bitter comedy of Najeeb's life in the desert" and "a universal tale of loneliness and alienation".
The English translation of the novel appeared in the long list of Man Asian Literary Prize 2012 and in the short list of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2013. It won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel for Benyamin in 2009.