Short and sweet

Contrary to some opinions, short fiction seems to be here to stay and more than one publishing house has launched a series. Mitali Saran reviews four novellas from Tranquebar

The Nalanda Chronicles (hits the sweet spot at the intersection between stry and thriller, between the noir and the comic. Ten residents of the Nalanda Coop Society flats, on their daily minibus commute to Nariman Point, find themselves hijacked by terrorists. Someone must die for the others to live. Their private burdens provoke public reactions that will dramatically reshape their personal lives when it's all over. Sharp, unsentimental characterization is backed up by fast-paced but high-quality writing, engaging and original yet uncluttered.
Price: Rs 150

The Peacock in the Chicken Run observes the complex dynamics within families stuck at Heathrow overnight in a storm that grounds and cancels flights including the Air France flight to Bombay. The baraat of the Sopal clan (Southall via East Africa) escorting the groom to his wedding; the childless bi-racial couple Alex and Khadija Goddard; and old wheelchair-bound Aruna Shinde taking her son's ashes to be scattered in India-all must deal with being stuck abroad when there is urgent business at home. A twist in the plot compensates for the rather predictable denouement.
Price: Rs 150

A single character dominates in The Happy Associate: young, competitive, homophobic Kirthi, tax accountant, who will stab professional threats in the back without blinking, and hopes to reshape his colleague Mandira-the carnivorous smoker with three spiders tattooed on her belly-into the modest tea-pouring bride his mummy would like in the house. Kirthi's Old India roots meet his New India ambition with peculiar and strangely endearing results. He's the wiliest, slimiest guy in the office, but it's difficult not to root for his can-do spirit.
Price: Rs 150

The Beast, beautifully translated from Urdu, enters the world of red-gram fields and cattle, village society and politics, and the larger world of wealth and power, through the story of the venal, grasping Thakur Udal Singh and the blue bull, Neela, that he raises from a calf. The bull grows to the stature of the mother goddess, along with the Thakur’s corruption, but-fed on an “unnatural diet” — becomes a menace to the village and the town. Murder and mayhem ensue, and the cry against Neela and the Thakur rises. This is a gripping allegory with many shades of gray.
Price: Rs 150