Zero Degree is a 1998 postmodern, transgressive, lipogrammatic novel by Tamil author Charu Nivedita, who is based in India. It was later translated into Malayalam and English.
Zero Degree follows the life of a protagonist who navigates through a series of surreal and chaotic events. The narrative is non-linear and fragmented, reflecting the protagonist's fragmented psyche. The story delves into themes of identity, sexuality, and existential angst, with vivid and often disturbing imagery. The protagonist encounters various characters and situations that challenge conventional norms and societal expectations.
The novel is known for its experimental style, incorporating elements of phone sex conversations, nightmarish torture scenes, tender love poems, numerology, mythology, and compulsive name-dropping of Latin American intellectuals. It's a journey through the deepest psychic wounds of humanity, exploring the boundaries of human experience and consciousness.
| Year | Awards and accolades | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Jan Michalski Prize [1] [2] | Longlisted for the 2013 edition |
| 2013 | 50 Writers, 50 Books - The Best of Indian Fiction | Book published by HarperCollins [3] [4] |
| 2014 | important novel in the Metafiction genre [5] | Considered by The Sunday Guardian |
| 2017 | Fifteen lesser known but incredible Indian novels. [6] | Selected in by Mensxp.com |
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).