Tears for Rahul Dutta

by Gaurav Monga

A surreal, existential and dreamlike story cycle, following the life of the mysterious Rahul Dutta.

ebook

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Gaurav Monga is an author originally from New Delhi, India. He taught himself German to read the works of Franz Kafka. His debut book Tears for Rahul Dutta was published by Philistine Press in 2012. He is also the author of Ruins (Desirepaths Publisher, 2019), Family Matters (Eibonvale Press, 2019), Costumes of the Living (Snuggly Books, 2020) and My Father, the Watchmaker (Hawakal Publishers, 2020)

Much of his writing has appeared in various literary magazines such as: B O D Y, Fanzine, Tammy Journal, Birkensnake, Queen Mob's Teahouse, Juked, Dismantle Magazine, Spurl Editions, The Fabulist, Ethos Literary Journal amongst others

Reviews

[Kristine Muslim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gaurav Monga's Tears for Rahul Dutta is a contemporary myth of urban life. This is Monga's debut collection. And it is a promising one!

[Jason Rolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tears for Rahul Dutta both introduces and establishes the uniqueness of author Gaurav Monga. That a short collection of interconnected tales does so is testament to Monga’s authorial talent, and suggests a depth of philosophical belief in the underlying absurdness of the narrative. The six stories contained in this collection flow through the death and life of the mysterious Rahul Dutta. While the stories ‘Tears for Rahul Dutta,’ ‘Rahul and Kishore,’ ‘Rahul,’ and ‘Last Wishes’ were published previously, I suspect they appear here (with ‘The Foundling’ and ‘Missing Parts’) in the author's preferred context.

I find it easy to compare likes with likes. When one author admires another, she or he often re-creates that authors work, and then it can be said that so-and-so brings to mind so-and-so. Such works are, more often than not, a pastiche, and defeat the avant garde idealism of the original. While it is clear, upon reading Tears for Rahul Dutta, where the author’s literary roots reside, Gaurav Monga embraces the ideological point made by the writers he admires by crafting a narrative that is uniquely his own.

There are far too few unique voices in literature. I wholeheartedly applaud Philistine Press for sharing Gaurav's voice with us. It is clean and refreshing, both reflective and illusory and worthy of a broader audience. From a personal perspective, I cannot wait to read more of Gaurav’s work.