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THE OTHER : STORIES OF DIFFERENCE
Who is the Other? Is it you? Is it me? Is it all of us?
Childhood and teenage years—adults insist they are the best time. They cotton wool adolescence in soft lights, ignoring the heartaches and shadows. In this collection of stories, award-winning writer Paro Anand exposes the secrets and sorrows—and courage—that are part of today’s life.
A girl dealing with grief; another who is witness to a horrible assault on a woman in broad daylight; a boy who pushes himself to the brink of extinction; teenagers coming to terms with their otherness. Her stories ask, how do you tell a friend that you are different from everyone else in a deep, fundamental way? How do you go back to school and face friends and teachers when your own family has betrayed you? And when you put your faith in Superman, does he deliver when the bullies come calling?
Dark yet uplifting, unflinching yet deeply positive, these stories are a searing portrayal of the minds of today’s teenagers. In Paro Anand’s The Other, we are forced to examine our actions and inactions and every reader will find a fragment of themselves in the stories. It is a book every young adult and adult must read.
Childhood and teenage years—adults insist they are the best time. They cotton wool adolescence in soft lights, ignoring the heartaches and shadows. In this collection of stories, award-winning writer Paro Anand exposes the secrets and sorrows—and courage—that are part of today’s life.
A girl dealing with grief; another who is witness to a horrible assault on a woman in broad daylight; a boy who pushes himself to the brink of extinction; teenagers coming to terms with their otherness. Her stories ask, how do you tell a friend that you are different from everyone else in a deep, fundamental way? How do you go back to school and face friends and teachers when your own family has betrayed you? And when you put your faith in Superman, does he deliver when the bullies come calling?
Dark yet uplifting, unflinching yet deeply positive, these stories are a searing portrayal of the minds of today’s teenagers. In Paro Anand’s The Other, we are forced to examine our actions and inactions and every reader will find a fragment of themselves in the stories. It is a book every young adult and adult must read.
- GenresFiction
176 pages, Paperback
Published July 6, 2018
3 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Paro Anand
53 books43 followersParo Anand is the author of 18 books for children and young adults, including plays, short stories, novellas and novels. She is also published in several anthologies and has written extensively on children’s literature in the country. She headed the National Centre for Children’s Literature, The National Book Trust, India, the apex body for children’s literature in India. As a part of her work here, she set up libraries and Readers’ Clubs in rural India and conducted training programs on the use of literature.
She is a World Record Holder, for helping over 3000 children make the World’s Longest Newspaper (850 meters long) in 11 Indian states in 13 languages. The concept behind the project was to give a voice to those children who do not have a platform and to empower young people to create their own literature.
Paro Anand has been awarded for her contribution to children’s literature by The Russian Centre for Science and Culture. Dr. Kalam, the President of India, honored her for her writings on Republic Day, 2007. She has represented the country at various forums internationally, including in the UK and France.
She is a performance storyteller and has performed her stories in many parts of India, UK, France and Switzerland. She runs a program, Literature in Action on the use of stories in the holistic development of young people. She was part of an Indo-Swedish workshop and has co-authored a book for teenagers with special needs, with a Swedish writer.
She has been a resource person with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, working with children impacted by terrorist, separatist violence in Kashmir. Coming out of her experiences, she has written No Guns At My Son’s Funeral, a book that has had extensive critical acclaim. The book was nominated onto the IBBY Honor List, 2006, as the best book for young people from India. It is currently being translated into Spanish and German and talks are on for basing a film on the book. The book is about a young boy, seduced into becoming a terrorist. A follow up novel, also based in Kashmir, entitled Weed is the story of the son of a terrorist and his struggle to find an alternate life to sustain himself and his family.
She was a writer-in-residence at the Woodstock School, Mussoorie, India where she worked on writing her first novel for adults.
She is a World Record Holder, for helping over 3000 children make the World’s Longest Newspaper (850 meters long) in 11 Indian states in 13 languages. The concept behind the project was to give a voice to those children who do not have a platform and to empower young people to create their own literature.
Paro Anand has been awarded for her contribution to children’s literature by The Russian Centre for Science and Culture. Dr. Kalam, the President of India, honored her for her writings on Republic Day, 2007. She has represented the country at various forums internationally, including in the UK and France.
She is a performance storyteller and has performed her stories in many parts of India, UK, France and Switzerland. She runs a program, Literature in Action on the use of stories in the holistic development of young people. She was part of an Indo-Swedish workshop and has co-authored a book for teenagers with special needs, with a Swedish writer.
She has been a resource person with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, working with children impacted by terrorist, separatist violence in Kashmir. Coming out of her experiences, she has written No Guns At My Son’s Funeral, a book that has had extensive critical acclaim. The book was nominated onto the IBBY Honor List, 2006, as the best book for young people from India. It is currently being translated into Spanish and German and talks are on for basing a film on the book. The book is about a young boy, seduced into becoming a terrorist. A follow up novel, also based in Kashmir, entitled Weed is the story of the son of a terrorist and his struggle to find an alternate life to sustain himself and his family.
She was a writer-in-residence at the Woodstock School, Mussoorie, India where she worked on writing her first novel for adults.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 27, 2018
Excellent attempt at bringing the other into literature. The style of writing gets a little overwhelming at times.
October 29, 2018
The other is a book targeted for YA so at times the language can be very simple but it is a powerful book, written with great sensitivity. Has stories around disability, LGBT, incest, rape, grief and more. Every story has been dealt with care. I highly reco the book to everyone and if you have kids around 14-15 do give it to them, can lead to some brilliant discussions
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews