The Bengali Book of Short Stories -- two reviews in one!
(Arunava Sinha (ed.), Penguin, £14.99)
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
Published version
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If you’re looking for a way to address the English Programme of Study’s requirements to include a range of sources and world literature, and want to get ahead of the incoming new curriculum’s emphasis on diversity and different cultural perspectives, look no further. These stories provide glimpses into the history of Bengal and the everyday lives of the area’s population – and at first, seem quite different in terms of style and subject matter than what ‘western’ readers may be used to.
Many stories have a gentle, even matter-of-fact way of depicting situations, and some are deeply moving.The only frustration with this volume is the lack of dates for the stories, which might have helped readers establish their historical context. Nonetheless, it’s a lovely collection, and one sure to provide plenty of material for discussions of writing technique – as well as being an enjoyable read.
My original version
If you are looking for ways to address the current English Programme of Study’s requirements to include a range of sources and world literature, and the forthcoming curriculum’s emphasis on diversity and broader representation of cultural perspectives, look no further. These stories reflect some of the history of Bengal and Bangladesh, and the everyday lives of the people who have lived in these areas.
They are very different in both style and subject matter from the kind written by western writers. Many have a gentle and matter-of-fact way of depicting situations, and some are deeply moving even though nothing dramatic seems to have happened. The only frustration is that the stories are not dated, which would have helped to establish each one in its historical context.
Nonetheless, it’s a lovely collection, and provides material for discussion of writing technique as well as an enjoyable read.
Highly recommended.
