father to die soon so that he could sell the family home and assets. Francis hates his mother Therese and Livy for their diabolical plans to sell of the family home. Dependent on the spiteful family for even minor needs and consumed by guilt and self-pity, Ponnu Peruvattar begs his assistant Kunhi for poison. He is visited by his old friend, the simple and noble Kangaani, a tribal who had roamed the forest land with him in his youth. Kangaani's grandson Lawrence is a doctor and social worker. The novel ends with the passing away of the patriarch and the salvation of family scion Francis who joins Lawrence. Themes Rubber, the new species that sucks up all the nutrients from the land is contrasted with the Banana that has a more symbiotic relationship with the environment. This is a constant metaphor in the novel for how commercialization destroys the basic idealism and values in human life. In its pages, Rubber weaves a textured portrayal of the cultural and social history of a changing land and the values it represents. Reception and awards Rubber was awarded the Akhilan Memorial Prize 1990 for Best Literary work. Well-known critics and authors like Indira Parthasarathy and Ki Rajanarayanan were part of the prize committee and they commended the work for its theme and depth. A week after the prize was announced, Vijaya Publications' Velayudham hosted a felicitation event for the debut novelist in Coimbatore, which was attended by many luminaries of the Tamil literary world including Sa Kandasamy and Gnanakoothan. In the event, Jeyamohan made a speech about the Novel form and its state in Tamil. The award and the speech created lot of attention for Rubber and Jeyamohan in Tamil. Jeyamohan further refined the developed the theme of his speech into his critical work Novel. Noted writer Jayakanthan has praised Rubber as his most favorite of Jeyamohan's works. References External links "Publishing Rubber: memories" (http://www.jeyamohan.in/?p=17086) Environmental fiction books 1990 novels Tamil novels Novels set in India Novels set in Tamil Nadu Novels set in Kanyakumari 1990 Indian novels