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_askthebookbug 's review for:
Incantations and Other Stories
by Anjana Appachana
// Incantations by Anjana Appachana
Incantations was originally published in 1991 and the stories are set around that time or in the 80s. Anjana Appachana writes boldly, each of her her story hitting home. Out of the eight stories in the book, six revolve around women and all of them ended up being my favourite. It's surprising how Appachana wrote about unconventional women back when patriarchy was strongly present in most of the Indian families. The women in her stories are unforgiving, fallen, independent and opinionated. The two remaining stories are about the same middle-class man who struggles to keep up with his job. Appachana writes about women like us or of those we may know and perhaps this is why they all become relatable as one reads it. Her writing flows like a river, graceful and brimming with emotions. This book which I had never heard of before ultimately turned out to be my favourite short story collection till date.
By the time I finished reading the second chapter, I was well aware that this was no ordinary book. Although I did enjoy all the stories, two of them ended up being my favourite. In 'Bahu', we see a newly married woman struggling to breathe in a very suffocating environment. Neither her husband nor her in-laws care much about her desires and so she decides to take the matters into her own hands. The other story is of a woman who has been wronged but the emotional trauma of it is forced upon her sister. Appachana writes both of them very intricately, going into the details and in that process forges a bond between us and the characters. It's impossible not to delve upon these stories, few of them more relatable than the others. Women, have always been crushed under the wants of men and to write so boldly about the wrongness of it in the early 90s is a commendable thing to do.
Incantations is the sort of book that'll stay with you long after you've read it.
I highly recommend this.
Incantations was originally published in 1991 and the stories are set around that time or in the 80s. Anjana Appachana writes boldly, each of her her story hitting home. Out of the eight stories in the book, six revolve around women and all of them ended up being my favourite. It's surprising how Appachana wrote about unconventional women back when patriarchy was strongly present in most of the Indian families. The women in her stories are unforgiving, fallen, independent and opinionated. The two remaining stories are about the same middle-class man who struggles to keep up with his job. Appachana writes about women like us or of those we may know and perhaps this is why they all become relatable as one reads it. Her writing flows like a river, graceful and brimming with emotions. This book which I had never heard of before ultimately turned out to be my favourite short story collection till date.
By the time I finished reading the second chapter, I was well aware that this was no ordinary book. Although I did enjoy all the stories, two of them ended up being my favourite. In 'Bahu', we see a newly married woman struggling to breathe in a very suffocating environment. Neither her husband nor her in-laws care much about her desires and so she decides to take the matters into her own hands. The other story is of a woman who has been wronged but the emotional trauma of it is forced upon her sister. Appachana writes both of them very intricately, going into the details and in that process forges a bond between us and the characters. It's impossible not to delve upon these stories, few of them more relatable than the others. Women, have always been crushed under the wants of men and to write so boldly about the wrongness of it in the early 90s is a commendable thing to do.
Incantations is the sort of book that'll stay with you long after you've read it.
I highly recommend this.