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A review by starryeyedenigma
THE GREATEST ODIA STORIES EVER TOLD by Paul St-Pierre, Leelawati Mohapatra, K. K. Mohapatra
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
I think the title for this book is misleading, or maybe I'm just not the right audience for this book even if I'm Odia myself, because I didn't find the short stories in this collection to be the greatest stories I've read. What might have been better was to remove the word 'Greatest' to just an anthology of translated stories from Odia. Simple and not misleading.
Most of the stories here are either written in the Raj era or just post independence. As a reader from the current age, I found the stories set more in history than in present. Most of the stories were set in rustic backdrops such as villages, with superstitious beliefs or extremely poor protagonists. I mean I know Odisha has this sector but as a 21st Century woman with roots in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela, and having seen the advances the state has made, I found the themes in the stories unsettling and unsatisfactory.
I did like maybe one or two stories and I liked how there are a lot of cultural references, but again, one cant paint a correct picture of Odisha by reading just these stories.
Most of the stories here are either written in the Raj era or just post independence. As a reader from the current age, I found the stories set more in history than in present. Most of the stories were set in rustic backdrops such as villages, with superstitious beliefs or extremely poor protagonists. I mean I know Odisha has this sector but as a 21st Century woman with roots in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela, and having seen the advances the state has made, I found the themes in the stories unsettling and unsatisfactory.
I did like maybe one or two stories and I liked how there are a lot of cultural references, but again, one cant paint a correct picture of Odisha by reading just these stories.