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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
The first Zubaan book I picked up, this collection of short stories is a brilliant addition to the Indian speculative fiction genre. The stories in this collection fall everywhere in the speculative fiction spectrum, including magical realism, hard science fiction, and anthropology-based science fiction, as well as a few that don't seem to have much to do with speculative fiction at all!
The Stories
"Hunger"
A housewife who would rather be reading science-fiction novels is stuck preparing for a fancy dinner party (ostensibly her daughter's birthday party but actually a networking event with the higher-ups in her husband's company). Meanwhile, she worries about the next-door neighbor's ill and neglected father-in-law.
"Delhi"
Aseem has the strange gift of being able to see through time: as he walks around Delhi, he catches glimpses of the people and buildings from the past and from the future. One day he is contacted by an organization purporting to tell him the meaning of his life, which apparently has something to do with a picture of an unknown girl.
"The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet"
Ramnath Mishra's retirement is rudely interrupted when his wife suddenly announces one morning, "I know at last what I am. I am a planet."
"Infinities" (available online from Clarkesworld)
An old math teacher, Abdul Karim, is obsessed with understanding the infinite, a dream encouraged by the angels that he sees out of the corner of his eyes.
"Thirst"
Susheela is a housewife with all the accompanying responsibilities and a small son. But there is a history of madness in her family - her mother and grandmother both disappeared, and now she herself is dreaming of snakes.
"Conservation Laws"
Gyanendra Sahai, a new addition to a run-down Lunar boarding house, announces his true identity as a member of an early Mars exploratory team.
"Three Tales from Sky River"
A collection of three legends from human civilizations spread throughout the galaxy, including one about the Medusa, a parasitic organism that looks like hair.
"The Tetrahedron"
A strange object appears in the middle of a busy road in Delhi. No one can explain what it is, and strange things keep happening around it.
"The Wife"
After 23 years of marriage, Padma's husband has left her alone in rural America. Her thoughts go back to an inexplicable childhood experience.
"The Room on the Roof"
When the room on the roof of the 13-year-old Urmila's house is rented by a sculptor, the girl expects her life to magically change.
Home and life in India
One theme that repeats in a majority of these stories is the idea of home: whether home is a place that exists, and whether you can ever really return to it. In "The Tetrahedron," for example, people enter the strange structure and are found months later, wandering in the desert with no memory of what happened. In "Infinities," the main character is at home, but because of communal violence home is no longer what it used to be. So is it still home if it has changed so much? What is home, really?
Read the rest of my review here: http://thegloballycurious.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-woman-who-thought-she-was-planet.html
The Stories
"Hunger"
A housewife who would rather be reading science-fiction novels is stuck preparing for a fancy dinner party (ostensibly her daughter's birthday party but actually a networking event with the higher-ups in her husband's company). Meanwhile, she worries about the next-door neighbor's ill and neglected father-in-law.
"Delhi"
Aseem has the strange gift of being able to see through time: as he walks around Delhi, he catches glimpses of the people and buildings from the past and from the future. One day he is contacted by an organization purporting to tell him the meaning of his life, which apparently has something to do with a picture of an unknown girl.
"The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet"
Ramnath Mishra's retirement is rudely interrupted when his wife suddenly announces one morning, "I know at last what I am. I am a planet."
"Infinities" (available online from Clarkesworld)
An old math teacher, Abdul Karim, is obsessed with understanding the infinite, a dream encouraged by the angels that he sees out of the corner of his eyes.
"Thirst"
Susheela is a housewife with all the accompanying responsibilities and a small son. But there is a history of madness in her family - her mother and grandmother both disappeared, and now she herself is dreaming of snakes.
"Conservation Laws"
Gyanendra Sahai, a new addition to a run-down Lunar boarding house, announces his true identity as a member of an early Mars exploratory team.
"Three Tales from Sky River"
A collection of three legends from human civilizations spread throughout the galaxy, including one about the Medusa, a parasitic organism that looks like hair.
"The Tetrahedron"
A strange object appears in the middle of a busy road in Delhi. No one can explain what it is, and strange things keep happening around it.
"The Wife"
After 23 years of marriage, Padma's husband has left her alone in rural America. Her thoughts go back to an inexplicable childhood experience.
"The Room on the Roof"
When the room on the roof of the 13-year-old Urmila's house is rented by a sculptor, the girl expects her life to magically change.
Home and life in India
One theme that repeats in a majority of these stories is the idea of home: whether home is a place that exists, and whether you can ever really return to it. In "The Tetrahedron," for example, people enter the strange structure and are found months later, wandering in the desert with no memory of what happened. In "Infinities," the main character is at home, but because of communal violence home is no longer what it used to be. So is it still home if it has changed so much? What is home, really?
Read the rest of my review here: http://thegloballycurious.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-woman-who-thought-she-was-planet.html
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Some really charming and thought-provoking stories. The tetrahedron story reminded me of the tiny cubes episode of Dr. Who, but I thought it was mores satisfying and executed better.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
This is a beautiful, beautiful book.
Singh is such a fantastic prose artist. Don't look for tired phrasing here; her prose is imaginative, evocative, it brims with unusual images and juxtapositions. That imagination carries over to her stories. Singh has a real talent for making you invest deeply in her characters right quick; you find yourself caring, so much, about what happens. And what happens is always unusual and thought-provoking.
I normally find myself reading short story collections and feeling disappointed somewhere; some story disappoints. Nothing in here disappoints at all; every story is strong. I was especially found of "Infinities" and "Thirst," but really, this is a book I'll be returning to for sheer joy.
Singh is such a fantastic prose artist. Don't look for tired phrasing here; her prose is imaginative, evocative, it brims with unusual images and juxtapositions. That imagination carries over to her stories. Singh has a real talent for making you invest deeply in her characters right quick; you find yourself caring, so much, about what happens. And what happens is always unusual and thought-provoking.
I normally find myself reading short story collections and feeling disappointed somewhere; some story disappoints. Nothing in here disappoints at all; every story is strong. I was especially found of "Infinities" and "Thirst," but really, this is a book I'll be returning to for sheer joy.
This relates to the short story Delhi.
I quite enjoyed this short story. It was pleasant, but I cannot say it grabbed my imagination. Nevertheless, it did have something compelling to it that drew me in. Singh's narrative is very vivid, and one can identify with the despair and the confusion - the craziness - of the main character.
What I really did enjoy was the visions he had of Delhi in different times, the people he met and interacted with - or didn't. Singh portrayed these concepts very well, making it believable. Also, with her being a native of Delhi, although I've never been there, I felt I had through her words.
Very well written and enjoyable.
I quite enjoyed this short story. It was pleasant, but I cannot say it grabbed my imagination. Nevertheless, it did have something compelling to it that drew me in. Singh's narrative is very vivid, and one can identify with the despair and the confusion - the craziness - of the main character.
What I really did enjoy was the visions he had of Delhi in different times, the people he met and interacted with - or didn't. Singh portrayed these concepts very well, making it believable. Also, with her being a native of Delhi, although I've never been there, I felt I had through her words.
Very well written and enjoyable.
The first two stories are weak in the same way - they start strong, but the ending over-explains things that to me should have better been left suggested, strengthening the story and, even more importantly, not breaking the wonderful voice the stories are written in.
Then the stories pick up and are pretty much amazing. Also different. This is wonderful science fiction and at the same time a glimpse into India from the inside. This is a wonderful discussion of multidimensional space and projections and of the life as the fourth daughter, the youngest, in Delhi, one that does not villainize anybody, but we are all products of the society we grew up in. This is ... But I may accidentally end up giving too much away. Just read the stories, they are every much worth it.
Then the stories pick up and are pretty much amazing. Also different. This is wonderful science fiction and at the same time a glimpse into India from the inside. This is a wonderful discussion of multidimensional space and projections and of the life as the fourth daughter, the youngest, in Delhi, one that does not villainize anybody, but we are all products of the society we grew up in. This is ... But I may accidentally end up giving too much away. Just read the stories, they are every much worth it.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
totally decent. Like jumulaheiri meets Barbara Kingslover meets HG wells. Everything takes place in India-very original and creative ideas, and really good writing All the stories are decent, and there are a few winners too
A debut collection from one of my favorite short story writers. Singh's exploration of the fantastical and science-fictional in Delhi and other Indian locales opens up the vista for speculative settings and shines a wonderfully observational light on a culture with a vast history. Whether it's a housewife inhabited by insect creatures, a giant tetrahedron that appears without warning, or a sculptress who melts into mud during a monsoon, the premises and execution of these stories is pitch perfect, and can lead to hilarious, thoughtful, and horrifying results.