Author V J James.
Anti-Clock by V.J. James is a portrait of a grief-stricken man through the lens of his occupation. The novel, translated from the Malayalam by Minithy S, tells the story of Hendri, a coffin maker. In this novel, James demonstrates the way in which religion messily permeates the life of his protagonist.
Each chapter begins with a verse from the Bible, and the book itself begins with Hendri’s explanation of his ritual around Biblical verses – a ritual he associated with his father. He says that his father instructed him to always skip seven lines and then begin reading the Bible, which he did even on the day his father died, in accordance with his wishes.