Happy Pub Day to this short story collection by debut Author Anuja Vargehese.

I got this book as part of my Anansi subscription last year and was very interested by the synopsis that bills the book as genre-bending, with tales that explore transformation and belonging, community, sexuality, and expectations.

The epigraph of this book reads “This book is for all the girls and women who don’t see themselves in most stories. You are worthy of reflection, despite what you have been told,” setting a powerful stage for the remainder of the book.

The short stories are mostly all on the shorter side, only a few pages in some cases, and they certainly blur the lines of genre. These fast-paced tales with such interesting combinations of characters and tropes had me devouring large parts of the book in single sittings, something I’ve struggled to do lately.

Any time a new story started, I had no idea what I was going to find. Some stories were pure literary fiction, and others had elements of magical realism. Chitra (Or: A Meteor Hit the Mall and Chitra Danced in the Flames) is a retelling of a European fairy tale, and one is horror, through and through. My favourite stories were Milk, Stories in the Language of the Fist, A Cure for Fear of Screaming, and Midnight at the Oasis, which run the gamut of genre. Each of these made me slow down and spend more time with them, and savour them. 

If you are a fan of short stories, or looking for something with a lot of diversity, or you like more unusual fiction that is weird in a very good way, be sure to check out Chrysalis.