Aerogrammes: and Other Stories

by Tania James

From the highly acclaimed author of Atlas of Unknowns (“Dazzling . . . One of the most exciting debut novels since Zadie Smith’s White Teeth ”— San Francisco Chronicle ; “An astonishment of a debut”—Junot Díaz), a bravura collection of short stories set in locales as varied as London, Sierra Leone, and the American Midwest that captures the yearning and dislocation of young men and women around the world.
   In “Lion and Panther in London,” a turn-of-the-century Indian wrestler arrives in London desperate to prove himself champion of the world, only to find the city mysteriously absent of challengers. In “Light & Luminous,” a gifted dance instructor falls victim to her own vanity when a student competition allows her a final encore.  In “ The Scriptological Review : A Last Letter from the Editor,” a young man obsessively studies his father’s handwriting in hopes of making sense of his death. And in the marvelous “What to Do with Henry,” a white woman from Ohio takes in the illegitimate child her husband left behind in Sierra Leone, as well as an orphaned chimpanzee who comes to anchor this strange new family.
   With exuberance and compassion, Tania James once again draws us into the lives of damaged, driven, and beautifully complicated characters who quietly strive for human connection.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, American, Adult

180 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Tania James is the author of three works of fiction, most recently the novel The Tusk That Did the Damage (Knopf). Tusk was named a Best Book of 2015 by The San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, and NPR, and shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. Her short stories have appeared in One Story, The New Yorker, Granta, Freeman's Anthology, Oxford American, and other venues. James is an associate professor at George Mason University, and lives in Washington DC. Her forthcoming novel, Loot, will be published by Knopf in June 2023.

Reviews

[Solistas · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

Μόλις τελείωσα τους Πληροφοριοδότες του Βάσκεζ, το πρώτο βιβλίο που έπιασα στα χέρια μου ήταν η Ναζιστική Λογοτεχνία στην Αμερική του Μπολάνιο. Απ'την μια ήθελα να παραμείνω κοντά στο θέμα του Κολομβιανού απ'την άλλη με είχε ταλαιπωρήσει τόσο η ανάγνωσή του που ήθελα κάτι που θα ήμουν σίγουρος ότι θα κυλήσει με μεγαλύτερη ευκολία. Κι επειδή είδα ότι φέτος δεν είχα διαβάσει πολλές γυναικείες πένες έπιασα τη βιογραφία της Gordon κι αυτή εδώ τη συλλογή διηγημάτων της Ινδο-Αμερικανής, μιας κ το πρώτο διήγημα που είχα ήδη διαβάσει όταν με κούρασαν οι Πληροφοριοδότες, ήταν αρκετά καλό με πιο ωραίο χαρακτηριστικό την άμεση γραφή της James που σε δύο σελίδες ζωντάνεψε στο μυαλό μου τους ήρωες της.

Τα 9 διηγήματα της συλλογής έχουν ένα κοινό νήμα που τα ενώνει, την αναζήτηση ταυτότητας και την προσπάθεια των μεταναστών να νιώσουν ότι ανήκουν στο νέο τόπο που αναγκάστηκαν ή επέλεξαν να ζήσουν. Σχεδόν όλοι οι ήρωες της έχουν έντονη την αίσθηση της απώλειας (μιας σχέσης, της μνήμης, της δουλειάς, του γονέα, ενός συζύγου ή ακόμα και του σώματος) κ η James έχει ένα ρομαντικό και λεπτεπίλεπτο τρόπο να την αναδεικνύει κ να τονίζει τη δυσκολία των ηρώων της να τη διαχειριστούν. Έχει αρκετά πρωτότυπα storylines και διακριτικούς συμβολισμούς αλλά γέρνει πολύ εύκολα στους συναισθηματισμούς με αποτέλεσμα σχεδόν τα μισά διηγήματα να με αφήσουν αδιάφορο (το ομώνυμο καθώς κ τα Ethnic Ken, Girl Marries Ghost κ The Gulf).

Υπάρχουν όμως δύο υπέροχα διηγήματα με πρώτο και καλύτερο το Light & Luminous που αφηγείται την ιστορία μια καθηγήτριας παραδοσιακών χορών που δυσκολεύεται να τα βγάλει πέρα. Από κοντά, η πολύ ωραία γραμμένη ιστορία του πιτσιρικά που γίνεται ειδικός στους γραφικούς χαρακτήρες προσπαθώντας έτσι να κατανοήσει γιατί πέθανε ο πατέρας του. Εξισού ελκυστικά είναι και τα Escape Key και What To Do With Henry.

Η James έχει μια μελαγχολία στη γραφή της αλλά κ ταλέντο στην σκιαγράφηση των χαρακτήρων της. Είναι όμως δύσκολο να πεις ότι η λογοτεχνία της ξεχωρίζει, γι'αυτό κ δεν νομίζω ότι θα την πρότεινα σε κάποιον. Ίσως οι εμμονικοί της μικρή φόρμας να βρουν κάτι παραπάνω εδώ. Εμένα μου φτάνει να κρατήσω το όνομά της στα τεφτέρια μου κι ίσως μέσα στην επόμενη χρονιά να δοκιμάσω ένα απ΄τα δύο μυθιστορήματα που έχει βγάλει.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things first. Tania James is just a terrific writer. In a few short sentences, she can capture a relationship, make you care about a character, or present a weighty idea.

In this set of short stories, I would say the dominant theme is "melancholy sweetness," if there is such a thing. Almost all the stories deal with issues of loss -- of status, or memory, or relationships, or physical ability -- but that is not to say that these short stories leave you depressed or unhopeful.

For making full use of the short story form, I give the highest plaudits to "The Scriptological Review," in which a young man with some kind of emotional disorder is consumed by his self-published handwriting analysis journal, which in its final issue he wants to devote to the scraps of handwriting left behind by a father who died; "Ethnic Ken," in which a young girl struggles with acceptance by other students and shares a special relationship with her demented grandfather, who believes she is the child version of his dead wife; and "Girl Marries Ghost," a brilliant piece that takes the ancient Asian practice of women "marrying" men who had already died and thus becoming part of the dead man's family, and modernizes it with a woman who signs a contract to marry the ghost of one of the richest men in town. This last story of the book shows off James' creative brilliance, because the characters are so real and the lessons of loss and jealousy so poignant that the bizarre construct of the story seems perfectly natural.

There were also a couple of stories that deeply engaged me in the characters, but left me frustrated when the endings dangled me in midair with no resolution.

Tania James is very talented, but I have to confess I'm a novel lover, so I'm happy to know that she intends to return to that form for her next book.

[Qube · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tania James’ Aerogrammes is a series of short stories (brief aerogrammes, if you will) about the emotional displacement experienced in physically displaced families (i.e. immigrants). Except for the first two stories, the book paints brief portraits of lives of second generation Indian-Americans. Each one is unique, and each crafted meticulously to deliver a psychological punch in surprisingly few pages.

In my current quest to sample modern Indian fiction, I came upon this book after reading five ‘popular fiction’ novels, some of which that have sold in large numbers. The stark contrast in language and writing skills was moving, and a reminder of how good fiction should be written, for language is the very basis of writing.

James writes with great flair to produce smooth-flowing language that is both poignant and humorous at the same time. It is a serious, succinct style that does not accommodate frills or frivolity. It can be a little ponderous at times, but it does not jar in a short story as it potentially could in a full-length novel.

The theme of the book is likely to appeal to Indian diaspora and their relatives they have left behind in India. The situations the author writes about are all too familiar – fissures in immigrant families that are in transition, some of which are caused by the clash of cultures and values in a new land. And there is a feeling of living in two worlds simultaneously. There is also loneliness that is reminiscent of being away from home, a resignation of not having an extended family to fall back upon. The stories reminded me of the long discussions my wife and I had before our deciding not to settle overseas.

There is a thread of melancholy that runs through the book that makes reading a little tiring towards the end.

Overall, a recommended read. Do take breaks between stories to reflect upon them.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the stars say--I really liked this book. I saw it sitting at the library's new items table. I picked it up but saw that it was short stories and (remembering my last run-in with a volume of short stories), put it down instantly. But a few seconds later I decided that the cover art was charming enough for me to give it a try.

Here's my story-by-story rating of the book:
5 stars: Lion and Panther in London, The Scriptological Review: A Last Letter from the Editor, Ethnic Ken
4 stars: What to Do with Henry, Light & Luminous, Escape Key
3 stars: The Gulf, Aerogrammes, Girl Marries Ghost

There's not really a bad story among them, although Ethnic Ken was my faaavorite, and I also loveloveloved the Scriptological Review.

A review on the back of the book said that these stories were "by turns rib-shakingly funny and poignant..." Well they're not exactly rib-shakingly funny--I don't think I laughed out loud once. But there are definitely humorous bits and parts that made me smile and happy and chuckle on the inside.

If I ever come across another short story by Ms James, you can bet I will read it. Even the ones I didn't ~adore~ were still evocative and gave me stuff to think about. She's an excellent short story writer--and I'd love to read her novel too.

[Vonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that there was always some sort of twist that I wasn't expecting in these stories. Which I'm sure exemplifies the short story form, but it always took me by surprise. I'm going to read more of Tania James' stories as I figure out the craft of short stories myself. She's brilliant, and I love that she writes about people of color just being themselves. (I did enjoy this; it took me forever because I kept reading memoirs for my own book after I started reading this one, but I really did like this one!)

[Shayzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cage, selected shorts, September 11, 2025

[Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a good cover. The first story in here is about two professional wrestlers, Gama the Great and his brother Imam, hanging out in London in 1910. I liked it a lot. It made me want to train to be an Indian wrestler. I've started eating lots of almonds and sometimes doing squats and push-ups, but feeling cooler about myself because I think of them as bethaks and dands. So my pehlwani training has been very slightly more rigorous than the time I briefly got excited about William Faulkner's Canadian Air Force regimen but then never attempted it even once. Anyway, the first story is good. The second one is a little bit like RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, except I cried three times during that movie and this story didn't make me cry at all, I just felt mildly despondent at the end. The rest of the stories in here are inoffensive and mostly unmemorable.

http://tymelgren.com/books/october2012bookreport.html

[Danica Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a really well-written book. The prose is crystal-clear, beautiful, and compelling. But it happens to fall into my least favorite genre: really realistic, detailed stories about people's emotional landcapes and inner lives that are almost uniformly depressing.

I'm sure there's a word for this. Something about nihilism. People who write this way probably call it some kind of realism, the way pessimists always say they're being realistic. I didn't finish it, and I don't want to. But you may enjoy it a great deal.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

5***** says it all. Mostly, the stories are about personal relationships, about the joys and hardships of being different, about kinship (brotherhood especially), marriage, coming of age, in short, about life. Tania James is so young but she already masters the most difficult of prose genres, the short story.
(My personal fav is "Ethnic Ken" but "Light and Luminous" is another 5*****)

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read over 100 pages of this book and I was unimpressed. The stories are very bland and left me scratching my head. There does not seem to be any real meaning behind them and they are not in any cohesive pattern. I recommend passing this one by.

[Sean Carman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this book on the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-ca...

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. A touch sentimental at times, but overall, a masterful collection.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved these short stories, even though I'm not normally a fan of the format. All of them are about people searching for a human connection. All of them are heart wrenching and sad and beautiful.

[Bookslut · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fan-freaking-tastic. I am having to seriously reassess why I "don't like short stories". Great book! And I love the cover.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Every essay stuck a chord with me in some way. Beautiful.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. I could have read an entire book about each short story.

[missy jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, one story about the emotional history of a chimpanzee and another story about handwriting analysis? I'm in.

[Lisa Findley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite part about this collection of short stories is that while all of them are concerned with relationships, only one of them is about a romantic one; the others are about siblings, grandparents and grandchildren, parents and children, aunts and uncles and nephews and nieces. I love that Tania James explores these oft-neglected relationships. There's a melancholy that runs through every story, which is a little overwhelming if you read them all in a row, so I recommend taking some breaks, so that you can sit with the weight of what James is sharing in each story and not have them run together.

Favorites: Ethnic Ken, Escape Key, Light and Luminous
Not so much: What to Do With About Henry, The Scriptological Review

[Inderpal · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was surprising how good, short, and bittersweet these stories were! I did NOT expect the book to be... well, interesting. Reading these was such a pleasure, I found myself pitying the characters, as all of them were sad stories. As I was reading along, I could imagine these being made into short films and how the scenes would pan out. A lot of south Indian vibe, the stories tackled issues from how Indians feel about their skin colour to their marriages. The variety in stories is done pretty well with the still consistent theme of sadness. A quick and light read, Tania James is certainly a writer I will now look out for.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book grabbed my eye at a secondhand shop despite being well outside my typical reading interests. I enjoyed many of the short stories that provided brief insights into multicultural and generational concepts, but I found the last story to be really odd and a sour note at the end of a nice collection of stories.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were interesting and give little bits of insight into the culture at the time of the story. I like the short story format as it gives me the chance to read a variety of things in a short time and if I start one and it doesn't catch me, I just move one.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

James' storytelling is somehow straightforward and elaborate. Each of her characters are relatable. I was particularly touched by What to Do with Henry, which was so cleanly and simply told that I was sad to see it end (I went back and read it again)

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow, this was great! I don't usually like short stories because they're, well, too short, but these were great reads, each to itself. Most of the characters are from Kerala in India, but located all over the world, living a different life, reflecting on identity, family, culture.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good, smart writing. There is so much loneliness in these stories...so many unfulfilled dreams and unexpected turns. Most of the time there is an element of humor or happiness that offsets these hard emotions. But it all feels real. It feels like life.

[Sanjana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tania James is a master - both creative and a beautiful writer. She inhabits her characters so well. I complete believe them, and unlike some story collections, the protagonists of these stories don't ever feel like avatars of the author. I wish she'd put out another collection.

[Jason Lundberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tania James is a wonderful writer. I first encountered her work in A Public Space, and loved it so much that I had to pick up this book. One of the best short story collections I’ve read in some time.

[Barry H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, really really good collection, read in one sitting

[ML Downie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written but depressing

[Catherine Quillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the diverse settings and the author’s ability to tell insights about certain cultures including that of Indian Americans