Book Review 50: Preeto & Other Stories: the male gaze in Urdu. Edited and introduced by Rakhshanda Jalil.

A collection of thirteen short stories, originally written in Urdu, translated into English: Preeto & Other Stories is a book which makes you contemplate and leaves a huge impact. Each one of the stories is thought-provoking and unique in its own way.
Female characters in stories and novels have always been viewed by male authors through a monochromatic tinted glass. There can be no in-between, no 'grey' area in the female characters.

This book brilliantly portrays how famous male authors, who mainly write in Urdu, has depicted female characters in their works. Often the primary idea of the original work gets lost in the translated version. However, this has not been an issue here. Each of the stories has been impeccably translated and has retained the original idea and feel. I personally liked most of the stories. Among all the thirteen stories, I liked Preeto by Krishan Chandar, Man by Gulzar and Driftwood by Deepak Budki the most. There is one single thread that connects all the thirteen stories - portrayal of the female characters in a particular way. Each of the women in the stories has their own set of difficulties and problems in the course of their lives.

The stories are very well narrated and described. The readers can relate to most of them and feel the different feelings and emotions that the characters go through in the stories. Some of them are indeed very deep and thought-provoking.

Overall, I really liked reading the intriguing and gripping tales. I definitely recommend this book to my fellow bibliophiles! You'll absolutely love reading the stories.

About the author: Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, critic and literary historian. She has published over 15 books and written over 50 academic papers and essays. Her book on the lesser-known monuments of Delhi, Invisible City, continues to be a bestseller. Her recent works include: Liking Progress, Loving Change: A Literary History of the Progressive Writers Movement in Urdu (OUP, 2014); a biography of Urdu feminist writer Dr Rashid Jahan A Rebel and her Cause (Women Unlimited, 2014); a translation of The Sea Lies Ahead, Intizar Husain’s seminal novel on Karachi (Harper Collins, 2015); Pigeons of the Domes: Stories on Communalism (Niyogi Books, 2015) and Krishan Chandar’s partition novel Ghaddar (Westland, 2017); and most recently an edited volume of critical writings on Ismat called An Uncivil Woman (Oxford University Press, 2017). She runs an organisation called Hindustani Awaaz, devoted to the popularisation of Hindi-Urdu literature and culture.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Publisher: Niyogi Books.

First Published: September 2018

Pages: 204

Price: ₹450/-

Buy this book from Amazon.

Thanks to the publisher, Niyogi Books, for the review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.