From prayers to penance, potions to pilgrimages, Kali and Ponna's attempts to conceive a child have all failed. They are constantly harassed by the comments and insinuations of others around them while being in a loving and physically gratifying relationship. All of their ambitions and fears eventually coalesce around the chariot festival in the temple of the half-female deity Ardhanareeswara and the festivities that surround it.

Everything relies on one night when the rules are lifted and any man and woman can have a consensual relationship. This night has the potential to put an end to the couple's misery and shame. However, it will put their relationship to the ultimate test.

One Part Woman is a sharply observed novel that vividly conjures an intimate and frightening portrayal of marriage, love, and sex, stuck between the requirements of the societal convention and the tug of inner worries.

Perumal Murugan, an Indian novelist, wrote the Tamil book, One Part Woman. Originally published in 2010 by Kalachuvadu Publications, it was later translated into English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan and released by Penguin Books in India in 2013 and Grove Atlantic in the United States in 2018.

It is set during the colonial era in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, and it explores the societal shame that a married couple experiences as a result of their infertility, as well as the extremes to which they go to conceive.