Series Edited by Mini Krishnan. Translated by Leelawati Mohapatra, Paul St-Pierre and K.K. Mohapatra

Consider for example Fakir Mohan Senapati’s ‘Rebati’, published in 1898. Hailed as a double triumph, ‘Rebati’ not only inaugurates the first modern Odia short story, but also subtly advances a reformist vision through a young girl’s desire for education. The story, however, unfolds as a quiet tragedy and not as a tale of triumph. Rebati’s aspiration to study is portrayed as the spark that sets in motion a catastrophic chain of events.


Reviewed by: S Deepika
By Vincent Delecroix. Translated from the original French by Helen Stevenson

Delecroix’s choice of the naval officer as the protagonist of this work is a refreshingly intelligent one as it simultaneously hooks the reader—who is now keen to understand the rationale behind the narrator’s actions which have been largely interpreted as monstrous—and also opens up other critical and reflexive possibilities. Contrary to our expectations, the narrator does not accede to responsibility for the migrant deaths or express guilt of any kind. She defends her attitude and actions on multiple grounds including the objective and logical disposition which her professional training as a naval officer demands, and other technical arguments such as that the migrants were in the English territorial waters and not that of the French when the boat capsized.


Reviewed by: Ann Susan Aleyas
Edited by Angelie Multani, Swati Pal, Nandini Saha, Albeena Shakil and Arjun Ghosh

Sub-theme IV has three chapters dedicated to ‘Translation and Transcreation’. In ‘An Equal Music’, CS Lakshmi offers a personal reflection on translation both as a creative process and as a relationship between the author and translator. Somdatta Mandal in ‘Translation, Interpretation, and Transcreation’ explores the various dimensions of translation in the Indian context and also raises important questions about the concept of the ‘ideal translator’.


Reviewed by: Anita Singh
By Ruth Vanita

In the unstaunchable proliferation of interpretations and re-interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays and personae, it is not always possible to convince critics of the new, and while the book offers many provocative highlights, all may not be fully persuasive. For instance, while Vanita’s close attention to Celia and Rosalind’s bonding is suggestive (Shakespeare plays up ambiguities everywhere) but selective;


Reviewed by: Poonam Trivedi
By Ruchir Joshi

The novel is driven by its varied and eclectic characters—from the idealistic Nirupama, bound in her Left ideology, to Imogen, the young English lady, and Kedar, the art lover, to Gopal—the street-smart pickpocket turned gangster. Their lives, as different as they are, intertwine with others at the hotel—Jeremy Lambert, working on war intelligence, the French chef Paul Bonnemaison, and others who frequent the titular hotel, including sex workers. This wide variety of characters ends up creating a dynamic interplay between personal ambitions, history and memory. Their lives are framed by a first-person narrator, the son of Nirupama,


Reviewed by: Madhumita Chakraborty
By Alina Gufran

Thematically, No Place to Call My Own is a palimpsest of pressing concerns—gender, religion, and the precariousness of artistic ambition in a mercurial world. Gufran situates Sophia’s personal travails against the backdrop of seismic socio-political upheavals: the #MeToo movement, the Citizenship Amendment Act protests, and the global pandemic. These events are not mere historical markers but active agents that exacerbate Sophia’s sense of unbelonging.


Reviewed by: Intaj Malek