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A review by libbysbookshelf
Father May Be an Elephant and Mother Only a Small Basket, But... by Gogu Shyamala
FATHER MAY BE AN ELEPHANT, AND MOTHER A SMALL BASKET, BUT… by GOGU SHYAMALA
India 🇮🇳
A title with punctuation and a cliffhanger, how could I not purchase and devour this book? And that cover art? It had me at hello.
This is my first completed book for Women in Translation Month because a certain book prize got in my way.
It was a great way to kick off because it’s a collection of short stories translated from Telagu by various writers. The stories are so culturally different from almost anything else I’ve ever read, so it took me a few stories to get into it, but once I got the hang of it, I was hooked.
Mostly, these stories are about a lower caste of Indian people; people who tend the land, and by birth are inferior to other castes in society. This can mean that, in some cases, they can’t even make eye contact with those more superior. Patriarchy also seems to rule the lives of these characters. But among all of that, there was an everyday life, and sometimes, real beauty.
Approach these stories with the expectation that you’re going to enter a new culture (assuming you don’t know much about south eastern India) and you will be quietly swept away.
#witmonth #womenintranslation #telaguliterature #telagu #gogushyamala #book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookreviewers #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk
India 🇮🇳
A title with punctuation and a cliffhanger, how could I not purchase and devour this book? And that cover art? It had me at hello.
This is my first completed book for Women in Translation Month because a certain book prize got in my way.
It was a great way to kick off because it’s a collection of short stories translated from Telagu by various writers. The stories are so culturally different from almost anything else I’ve ever read, so it took me a few stories to get into it, but once I got the hang of it, I was hooked.
Mostly, these stories are about a lower caste of Indian people; people who tend the land, and by birth are inferior to other castes in society. This can mean that, in some cases, they can’t even make eye contact with those more superior. Patriarchy also seems to rule the lives of these characters. But among all of that, there was an everyday life, and sometimes, real beauty.
Approach these stories with the expectation that you’re going to enter a new culture (assuming you don’t know much about south eastern India) and you will be quietly swept away.
#witmonth #womenintranslation #telaguliterature #telagu #gogushyamala #book #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookreader #bookreviewer #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookreading #bookreviewers #bookrec #bookreviewersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramuk