Book review
A boy, a fat ghost, some terrifying forest spirits and a sacred ancient pact about to be broken…

Pappudom is a normal run-of-the-mill village on the banks of the Tarangam River—or so everyone thinks. But Pappu, a boy living in the village, knows better. He visited the past once, with the ghost of his great granduncle, Grand Pappu, after whom the village is named, and together they had defeated the British army using the ‘Forces of the Future'. But now, events are taking a turn for the worse.

In ancient times, the most horrific spirits known to man had been sealed in Chekuthan Thodi, or Devil's Garden, the forest adjoining the village. A pact between the humans and the spirit world had ensured a boundary between Pappudom and Devil's Garden. But someone from the village has violated the pact and ventured into the forest. Now the spirits too want to break the pact and enter Pappudom, which can only lead to havoc and destruction. And, to add to everyone's concern, a boy has gone missing…

Pappu goes into Devil's Garden, looking for the lost boy. But there are some ghastly shocks awaiting him there, and he finds himself confronting armies of marching trees, a tapping spirit that will sap his soul, and the crafty Transformer Spirit. Will Grand Pappu reach him in time to save him? And how does Jolly Jones of the British army fit into all of this? Can the Guard of the Bridge repair the breach, or is this the beginning of the end . . .

• Published by Penguin Books India
• Published: July 2006
• Imprint: Puffin
• ISBN: 0143335375
• Edition: Paperback
• Format: A
• Extent: 224pp
• Classification: Children/Fiction
• Rights: World



About the author Shreekumar Varma is a novelist, award-winning playwright, poet and newspaper columnist. His books include Lament of Mohini (Penguin, 2000) and the children`s book, The Royal Rebel (Macmillan, 1997). He won the Charles Wallace Award in 2004 and was writer-in-residence at Stirling University, Scotland. He teaches creative English and has written stories and poems for children, which have appeared in anthologies and periodicals. He lives in Chennai with his wife, Geeta, and two sons, Vinayak and Karthik. He can be contacted at www.shreevarma.com.