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A review by ankita_g
His Father's Disease: Stories by Aruni Kashyap
5.0
About 5 years ago, I had picked up Aruni Kashayap's 'The House With A Thousand Stories' on my mom's recommendation. Considering that a very few writers from our region (Assam) wrote in English, I was excited to read a book based in Assam and about its people in a language I was (embarrassingly) more comfortable reading in. I loved the book. It was well-written and also refreshing because it focused on people and issues I was familiar with, but didn't read about much (in English). I also liked the way he contrasted life in bigger cities with life in villages in Assam. Five years on, I still remember the story quite well and continue recommending the book to other people from my state.
‘His Father’s Disease’ is “refreshing” in the same way; all the 10 stories in this collection are essentially Axomiya. The characters probably feel more familiar to me because I am an Assamese, but the relatability only varies slightly if you are an outsider. Irrespective of your place of origin, the book remains enjoyable, and the author makes some interesting observations on expectations outsiders have from writers from "conflict-ridden areas" (like the Northeast), about the life of an immigrant in the US, and life under the AFSPA. I particularly liked that some characters make an appearance in other stories as well. Also, there are Assamese homosexual characters which is probably a first in literature and it made me shed some happy tears.
My favourite of the lot is the second story ‘Bizi Colony’ (followed very closely by 'Skylark Girl' and 'The Umricans') which is about a family living with a problematic child. The story excellently captures the emotional conflict parents and siblings go through every day while dealing with a member who has gotten out of hand. My least favourite story is ‘The Love Life of People Who Look Like Kal Penn’, but this could also be because I had insanely high expectations from the story based on its title (the title is so perfect……and so is Kal Penn!) It turned out to be a standard falling-in-love story, which I didn’t think was as refreshing or exciting as the rest of the stories in this collection (not that it was bad by any means). All in all, I loved the book! The stories are well-written, gripping and “cozy” (like home).
‘His Father’s Disease’ is “refreshing” in the same way; all the 10 stories in this collection are essentially Axomiya. The characters probably feel more familiar to me because I am an Assamese, but the relatability only varies slightly if you are an outsider. Irrespective of your place of origin, the book remains enjoyable, and the author makes some interesting observations on expectations outsiders have from writers from "conflict-ridden areas" (like the Northeast), about the life of an immigrant in the US, and life under the AFSPA. I particularly liked that some characters make an appearance in other stories as well. Also, there are Assamese homosexual characters which is probably a first in literature and it made me shed some happy tears.
My favourite of the lot is the second story ‘Bizi Colony’ (followed very closely by 'Skylark Girl' and 'The Umricans') which is about a family living with a problematic child. The story excellently captures the emotional conflict parents and siblings go through every day while dealing with a member who has gotten out of hand. My least favourite story is ‘The Love Life of People Who Look Like Kal Penn’, but this could also be because I had insanely high expectations from the story based on its title (the title is so perfect……and so is Kal Penn!) It turned out to be a standard falling-in-love story, which I didn’t think was as refreshing or exciting as the rest of the stories in this collection (not that it was bad by any means). All in all, I loved the book! The stories are well-written, gripping and “cozy” (like home).