Author: Talat Abbasi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 154
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195796241
Description
Talat Abbasi's powerful stories explore the worlds of Pakistanis, largely in Karachi and its environs.
This charming collection of stories moves as deftly as a minuet. While Talat Abbasi’s tone is delicately understated, quietly ironic, the images in these tales are as haunting and arresting as the present tense of their narration.
REVIEWS
…beautifully written and choreographed, ‘Bitter Gourd and Other Stories’ will certainly have a lasting impact on contemporary South Asia literature.
— Sara Suleri Goodyear, Yale University
Talat Abbasi’s stories “The Birdman” and “Mirage” appealed to me the moment I read them. The vividness and immediacy of the writing made them ideal for radio, especially for an international audience.’
— Elisabeth Edwards, Producer, “Short Story” BBC World Service
Talat Abbasi…can pack more narrative and more complexity into a few pages than any writer I know.
— James Hurt, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
‘Abbasi’s stories attain and proclaim the identity of wonder even in the midst of diversity.
— Martin Tucker, Editor-in-Chief, Confrontation
It is all an intricate web of honeyed words followed by a brisk splash of acid in the face: shocking, delicious, eccentric and cooked to perfection.
— Francine Ringold, Editor-in-Chief, Nimrod International Journal
Talat Abbasi is one of the best story writers in English today – many of these stories in ‘Bitter Gourd and Others Stories’ are contemporary classics….
— Robert Shapard, Coeditor, Sudden Fiction International
Contents
Introduction
1. Bitter Gourd
2. Granny’s Portion
3. A Bear and Its Trainer
4. Pumice Stone
5. Facing the Light
6. Sari Petticoats
7. Mango Season
8. The Birdman
9. Pye-dog
10. Going to Baltistan
11. The Cock Crowed Again
12. Ticketless Riders
13. Sin is Sin
14. Swatting Flies
15. Simple Questions
16. A Piece of Cake
17. Mirage