What do you think?
Kata Katha: Gossip, Rumours & Idle Talk
Kata Katha is a collection of witty, bold, and experimental short stories which rests on the premise that "Kata Katha" or "gossip," a form of oral knowledge system, "is the cornerstone of civilization". The stories, or 'Kata Katha' in this collection meander through the absurd, the magical, and the irrational, offering readers a cast of young characters from varying walks of life through an ingenious lens and narrative that deftly balances tragedy with satire…
125 pages, Paperback
Published August 16, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 10, 2026
I am in genuine disbelief that this won the Gratiaen. The only sense in which the writing could be considered "experimental" is
how strongly it reads like someone's first attempt at writing something ever.
how strongly it reads like someone's first attempt at writing something ever.
June 2, 2026
I picked this book up because the author was Sri Lankan, and if my memory serves me well, I hadn't read an English book written by a Sri Lankan author before.
What I like
- The cover: The cover promised something interesting and made me invested enough to purchase it.
- The format: The book is a collection of short, anthology-style stories, which made it easy to finish.
- The plot twists and the unique and uncommon POVs: The book took a strong start with the story "Unmasked". I liked the completely unexpected POV in this one. The thought process of the protagonist in the "Bed" was incomprehensible and downright bizarre, right until the middle of the story, which explains why he was actually thinking that way, which I really liked. Then there is "Hukana Love," another story with a brilliant plot twist, which creeps in slowly and takes you by surprise. It actually took me a while after finishing the story to realize that it's the same girl both men were talking about.
What I don't like
- Stories with a strong theme, but poor execution: The biggest letdown was "Dukai! Vedanai!" It's unclear what genre the author intended for the story. Part of it (the sounds coming from the next room) made it feel like a horror story, while it ended abruptly with the protagonist being beaten and his story cut short. Also, the "Resurrectionist" didn't have the punch and shock value it should have. I feel "Walk, then run" ended just too quickly.
-Stories that made me go WTF did I just read? (not in a good way)
"Oedipus Rex on his honeymoon" gave me the biggest ick, and the question lingers: Why the hell would that guy bring his mom along to his honeymoon after he saw something like that? The multiple, changing POVs of "The Bus" were too confusing to understand and just destroyed an otherwise brilliant story. "Everyone became a suspect" followed the same route. Maybe I am too much of a simpleton to understand, but the storyline was just too confusing.
-Pointless, boring stories
"A love letter" doesn't sound like a love letter, but a lesson in English literature. However, if that's the same girl he's talking about in the next story, "Hukana Love," now that would be interesting! The story "Myself" feels like it was just added to reach a certain word count, and not to express how the author actually felt. We already get that he's a guy with a twisted, creative imagination, and the story "Myself" would have explored it more.
FINAL VERDICT: I loved the first story, but as the book progressed, I wanted to finish it off quickly and be done with it. As a writer, I enjoyed the ideas and concepts explored, but as a reader, the stories were too grim, disjointed, and all over the place for me.
What I like
- The cover: The cover promised something interesting and made me invested enough to purchase it.
- The format: The book is a collection of short, anthology-style stories, which made it easy to finish.
- The plot twists and the unique and uncommon POVs: The book took a strong start with the story "Unmasked". I liked the completely unexpected POV in this one. The thought process of the protagonist in the "Bed" was incomprehensible and downright bizarre, right until the middle of the story, which explains why he was actually thinking that way, which I really liked. Then there is "Hukana Love," another story with a brilliant plot twist, which creeps in slowly and takes you by surprise. It actually took me a while after finishing the story to realize that it's the same girl both men were talking about.
What I don't like
- Stories with a strong theme, but poor execution: The biggest letdown was "Dukai! Vedanai!" It's unclear what genre the author intended for the story. Part of it (the sounds coming from the next room) made it feel like a horror story, while it ended abruptly with the protagonist being beaten and his story cut short. Also, the "Resurrectionist" didn't have the punch and shock value it should have. I feel "Walk, then run" ended just too quickly.
-Stories that made me go WTF did I just read? (not in a good way)
"Oedipus Rex on his honeymoon" gave me the biggest ick, and the question lingers: Why the hell would that guy bring his mom along to his honeymoon after he saw something like that? The multiple, changing POVs of "The Bus" were too confusing to understand and just destroyed an otherwise brilliant story. "Everyone became a suspect" followed the same route. Maybe I am too much of a simpleton to understand, but the storyline was just too confusing.
-Pointless, boring stories
"A love letter" doesn't sound like a love letter, but a lesson in English literature. However, if that's the same girl he's talking about in the next story, "Hukana Love," now that would be interesting! The story "Myself" feels like it was just added to reach a certain word count, and not to express how the author actually felt. We already get that he's a guy with a twisted, creative imagination, and the story "Myself" would have explored it more.
FINAL VERDICT: I loved the first story, but as the book progressed, I wanted to finish it off quickly and be done with it. As a writer, I enjoyed the ideas and concepts explored, but as a reader, the stories were too grim, disjointed, and all over the place for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2026
I read this book a while back. I have no idea why I hadn't posted my thoughts earlier (maybe the book wasn't on goodreads at the time? hmmm). I re-read it today.
I absolutely love Savin's writing style in this collection; it is conversational and there was sort of, for-lack-of-a-better-word, a distinct warmth to it. Each of the thirteen stories in the collection truly felt like listening to, as the name stands, kata katha. It keeps you captivated eagerly waiting to "hear" moree, just like, you guessed it right, - *gossip*. HaHa.
My favourites out of the 13 in the collection are: Everyone becomes a suspect, Hukana Love, Oedipus Rex on his honeymoon.
I absolutely love Savin's writing style in this collection; it is conversational and there was sort of, for-lack-of-a-better-word, a distinct warmth to it. Each of the thirteen stories in the collection truly felt like listening to, as the name stands, kata katha. It keeps you captivated eagerly waiting to "hear" moree, just like, you guessed it right, - *gossip*. HaHa.
My favourites out of the 13 in the collection are: Everyone becomes a suspect, Hukana Love, Oedipus Rex on his honeymoon.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews