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A review by serendipitysbooks
Selected Short Stories by Rabindranath Tagore
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I can’t believe I haven’t posted my thoughts on this book yet since I read it way back in January. It’s a collection of short stories, most written in the 1890s, by Bengali author Rabindranath Tagore. I was lucky enough to read it as part of the #AsianClassicsReadAlong with a group of very intelligent readers whose thoughtful and informed comments really enhanced my reading experience. In his poems “Passing Time in the Rain” Tagore gives a much better overview of his stories than I can.
“Small lives, humble distress,
Tales of humdrum grief and pain,
Simple, clear straightforwardness;
Of the thousands of tears streaming daily
A few saved from oblivion;
No elaborate description,
Plain steady narration,
No theory or philosophy.
No story quiet resolved,
Not ending at the end,
But leaving the heart uneasy.”
I thought his sense of place was excellent and I appreciated the way he highlighted social issues like the dowry system, child marriage, poverty, the frustrations of the rising middle class and corruption. Not every story worked for me but overall I’m glad to have learnt about and then read this Indian classic, which vividly depicted different facets of life in a changing Padma River community.
“Small lives, humble distress,
Tales of humdrum grief and pain,
Simple, clear straightforwardness;
Of the thousands of tears streaming daily
A few saved from oblivion;
No elaborate description,
Plain steady narration,
No theory or philosophy.
No story quiet resolved,
Not ending at the end,
But leaving the heart uneasy.”
I thought his sense of place was excellent and I appreciated the way he highlighted social issues like the dowry system, child marriage, poverty, the frustrations of the rising middle class and corruption. Not every story worked for me but overall I’m glad to have learnt about and then read this Indian classic, which vividly depicted different facets of life in a changing Padma River community.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Misogyny