Video: Stories - Softcover

Nair, Meera

3.36

121 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 038572103X ISBN 13: 9780385721035

Publisher: Anchor, 2003

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In ten stories that read like parables, Meera Nair depicts contemporary Indian life with fierce precision and an irresistible blend of humor, wit, and pathos, firmly establishing herself as a striking new voice in Indian fiction.

An American porn flick wreaks havoc on the life of an Indian man, much to the dismay of his wife. A young man’s uncanny gift for sculpting statues out of sand makes the women of his village swoon–until the men plot to put a stop to it. A small town of “utter inconsequence” prepares excitedly for a visit from President Clinton. This stunning debut collection offers brilliant snapshots of life’s small reversals and a broad-stroke portrait of our times.

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Review:

Although 9 of the 10 stories in this debut collection are set in the author's native India, it is Meera Nair's great achievement that all the characters in Video are as recognizable as next-door neighbors. From the hilariously impatient villagers in Bangladesh waiting for a visit from Bill Clinton in "A Warm Welcome to the President, Insh'Allah!" to the nasally gifted computer programmer who hails from Mangalore in "The Curry Leaf Tree," we feel we know these people. Even the ambiguous m�nage at a colonial resort in "A Certain Sense of Place" and the obnoxious yet bewildered husband from "Vishnukumar's Valentine's Day" are so finely drawn that we understand them. Family life with this extended cast of characters from Video is lovingly and humorously depicted, from the children's squabbles (one brother "hoarded complaints like sweets") to the family's favorite TV programs (the kids like Baywatch; the aged grandmother watches Understanding the Koran). The title story, in which a married man asks his wife to duplicate a sexual act he glimpsed in a pornographic video (and thus sets off a domestic uproar), is the collection's real standout. With this debut collection of short stories, a wonderful new writer is born. --Susan Biskeborn

From the Back Cover:

“Magical. . . . Video is that rarity, a first collection whose every story charts new areas in human relationships.” –The Washington Post

“Echo[es] the magic realism and mythic overtones of Arundhati Roy and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. . . . Video reveals the budding talent of an assured, accomplished writer.” –San Francisco Chronicle

“The writing is juicy; the details lovely, luscious bits of description that waft pungently from the Subcontinent with true Indian-style density.” –Los Angeles Times

“Sure-footed and telling, filled with powerful observations and sentences of lyric beauty. . . . [Video] revels in . . . the stunning collisions between ancient ritual and contemporary reality that are everyday occurrences in India.” –Chicago Tribune

“A gifted writer with a flair for storytelling, Nair creates passionate, distinctive characters, establishing herself as a writer to watch.” –USA Today

“Powerful. . . . Emotionally nuanced. . . . Flawlessly executed. . . . Taken together, [these stories] span a wide swath of Indian experience. . . . [An] accomplished collection.” –Vogue

“These stories are stunning: sensuous and touching and beautifully crafted. . . . I’ve never met Meera Nair, but I feel I’ll be listening to her for a very long time to come.” –Pico Iyer

“Memorable and moving. . . . Poignant. . . . Nair captures the voices of her countrymen to mesmerizing effect.” –The Oregonian

“Impressive . . . striking. . . . Comparable to Jhumpa Lahiri’s Pulitzer winner Interpreter of Maladies, and very probably the beginning of a fine career.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Indelible. . . . A quietly defiant work of gentle emotion.” –The Austin Chronicle

“Masterful. . . . Unflinching. . . . Abound[ing] with authenticity.” –The Washington Times

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