Boats on Land and Other Stories

Boats on Land A unique collection of fifteen stories that looks at India's northeast and its people against a larger canvas of world happenings Boats on Land is a unique way of looking at India's northeast against a larger historical canvas-the early days of the British Raj the World Wars the missionaries and conversions to Christianity. This is a world in which the everyday is infused with folklore and an unshakeable belief in the supernatural. Here a girl dreams of being a firebird. An artist watches souls turn into trees. A man shape-shifts into a tiger. Another is bewitched by water fairies. Political struggles and social unrest interweave with fireside tales and age-old superstitions. Winner of the Sahitya Academy Yuva Puraskar Award Janice Pariat quietly captures our fragile and awkward place in the world. About the Author Janice Pariat Janice is a writer from Shillong and is based between the UK and India. She is the recipient of the Sahitya Academy's Yuva Puraskar Award 2013 for Boats on Land. Her work including poetry fiction and articles on art and culture has featured in a wide number of national magazines and newspapers. She edits Pyrta an online literary journal and spends her time walking city streets in search of stories. Reviews 'Revelatory and original'- Jeet Thayil 'Poignant subtle and nuanced a writer to watch out for'- Manju Kapur 'These stories announce the arrival of a startlingly brilliant and compassionate writer whose book is as haunting as the world it emerges from'- Siddhartha Deb 'At almost her best Janice pulls off intelligent effortlessly moving stories that are reminiscent of early Alice Munro at her best her quiet particular voice is mesmerising and entirely original' Nilanjana Roy Business Standard 'With her debut book Janice joins the company of Anjum Hasan and Siddhartha Deb-Indian writers who have written evocatively about Shillong in English ... Where Janice differs from her forebears is in he