Play of Dolls The : Stories

Kunwar Narain’s unusual short stories broke new ground and rejuvenated the genre when they appeared on the Indian literary landscape in 1971. Half a century later in vivid English translation for the first time they seem just as far-reaching: sometimes in the novelty of their insight sometimes in their transcendence sometimes in the world views they together uncover.By turns allegorical satirical poetic poignant playful and bizarre Narain’s layered often deceptively simple tales unravel the existential and moral bewilderments of a society navigating the cold cruel worlds of its own creation while also allowing hope in the truly human. These bold sometimes comic often experimental and metaphysical stories weave love and otherness fantasy and history tenderness and silence leaving us both restive and redeemed at once.