Cosmopolitan

by Akhil Sharma

Faber Stories, a landmark series of individual volumes, presents masters of the short story form at work in a range of genres and styles.

As he stood up, he suddenly felt aroused by Mrs Shaw's large breasts, boy's haircut, and little-girl sneakers. Even her nostrils suggested a frank sexuality. Gopal wanted to put his hands on her waist and pull her toward him. And then he realized that he had.

Gopal Maurya's wife has left him, preferring to seek enlightenment in an ashram in India. But when his neighbour comes to borrow his lawnmower, Gopal thinks he might find something similar right here in New Jersey. Armed with Cosmopolitan magazine as his bible, he embarks on a quest for suburban romance.

Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Contemporary, India, Literary Fiction

49 pages, Paperback

Published January 3, 2019

About the author

Akhil Sharma was born in Delhi in India and emigrated to the USA in 1979. His stories have been published in the New Yorker and in Atlantic Monthly, and have been included in The Best American Short Stories and O. Henry Prize Collections. His first novel, An Obedient Father, won the 2001 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. He was named one of Granta's 'Best of Young American Novelists' in 2007. His second novel, Family Life, won The 2015 Folio Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award 2016. Sharma is currently a Fellow at The New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently retired Gopal is abandoned by his wife, who’s gone to seek enlightenment in an Indian ashram, and his twentysomething daughter, who’s moved to be with her boyfriend in Germany. Alone in New Jersey and unsure how to fill his days, he unexpectedly finds himself in a relationship with his neighbour and fellow retiree Mrs Shaw and begins to read magazines like Cosmopolitan to brush up on courtship after many years of being married.

Charming is how I’d describe Akhil Sharma’s short story. I’m not gonna say it’s a great read or even something remotely impressive but nor is it a bad fiction. It’s a convincing, even cute, portrayal of a latter-day relationship made interesting by the difference in the degrees of love felt between the two: Gopal is quite young at heart and still shoots for sweeping romance while Mrs Shaw is much more grounded and unable at her age to get carried away.

It’s well-written and lightly entertaining in a very lo-fi way but “pleasant” isn’t the style of story that I’d say I love. Sharma’s narrative voice is competent if unremarkable, nothing much happens, the ending is very flat and I’m not really sure what the point was. Cosmopolitan is the inoffensive type of short story you’d find in any halfway decent anthology of contemporary fiction that won’t annoy or grip any reader but is unlikely to be remembered in the slightest.

[Gabby Humphreys · Rating 4 out of 5]

a delicious fifty pager on a mature shag

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

So after the last Faber 90 short fiction I needed something different and I will say that this series certainly gives you an eclectic mix. So now on to a story of loneliness, kindness and I guess a fair bit of misunderstanding (or at least miscommunication).

The story for me was a rather gentle one so much as to say the struggles described are so relatable that at times you do not know if I should be rooting for them and or embarrassed for them, either way an interest observation on how people connect.

This is a story that certainly falls in to the category of I want to know what happens next, although do not be mistaken this is self contained just as in real life - lives go one and the question what happens next is one that I would have loved to have found out more on

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is a "contented breast", Akhil?

[Spencer Fancutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An endearing short story about loneliness, identity, and hope. Gopal's efforts to return to society after the end of his marriage and to start a relationship gleaned from the pages of glossy magazines are treated with humour and sensitivity.

[Dibz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written short story about trying to find love after a break up.

[Marcus Hobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful short story in from the Faber Stories collection. It is taken from Sharma’s 2017 collection called A Life of Adventure and Delight.

Our central character is called Gopal Maurya, an Indian ex-patriot, now living in New Jersey. He has become reclusive, shutters down, sleeping on the living-room couch. His home is untidy and dusty. His wife has left him and gone back to India to seek enlightenment from an ashram. His daughter has left to live with her boyfriend in Germany. He has become a recluse.

Move forward to the ringing of his door bell by his neighbour Mrs Shaw. He describes her thus: “She was slightly overweight, and her nostrils appeared to be perfect circles, but her small white Reebok sneakers made Gopal see her as fleet with youth and innocence.” He lends her his lawnmower, but the encounter changes him. He begins to cook proper meals, goes to get his hair cut and walks around the local mall experiencing all the smells and sounds as if he has woken from a long dream.

Gopal is keen to have a relationship with Mrs Shaw. He likes her large breasts and her little sneakers. Unsure of himself and how he should behave, our hero seeks instruction from the pages of Cosmopolitan magazine. Encouraged by his success from there he moves on to Elle, Glamour, Mademoiselle and even Reader’ Digest. Along the way he picks up lots of jokes as well. He takes 1001 Polish jokes and makes them all about Sikhs. “The Poles became Sikhs, but the rest remained the same.”

His relationship with Helen Shaw develops and they have lots of sex. His feelings for her begin to grow and eventually he confesses to her that he loves her. She does not respond and he is hurt by this. For the first time he says that he is glad when she goes home, having spent much time trying to get her to stay. The story heads towards a confrontation, and Mrs Shaw says:
“I don’t think there is a right person. Not for me. To fall in love I think you need a certain suspension of disbelief, which I don’t think I am capable of.”
Then comes the inevitable:
“I love you,” she said again, and Gopal became nervous. “But I am not in love with you.”
They agree take a break from each other, which Gopal sees as his fault.

After spending some months avoiding both his own house and Mrs Shaw, Gopal can no longer sleep. He is awake watching in the night, believing that other men are visiting his neighbour. One night he creeps across the lawn and stands by Mrs Shaw’s car.
“The station wagon was so old that the odometer had gone all the way around. Like me, he thought, and like Helen, too. This is who we are, he thought – dusty, corroded, and dented from our voyages, with our unflagging hearts rattling on inside. We are made who we are by the dust and corrosion and dents and unflagging hearts. Why should we need anything else to fall in love? he wondered. We learn and change and get better.”
The next morning Gopal makes himself look smart and goes to see Mrs Shaw.

[tee · Rating 3 out of 5]

(4/30 faber stories)
nothing too great about the plot, but i enjoyed sharma’s well-written prose dealing with his idea of relationships and realism.

“mrs. shaw suddenly turned to gopal and said, ‘you really do love me, don’t you?’ although gopal had expected the question, he was momentarily disconcerted by it, because it made him wonder what love was and whether he was capable of it.”

[eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

the one where a retired divorcee has casual sex with the divorcee next door

i read a review of this that described it as a lo-fi romance and i SEE that!! it was a great tale of later life romance, the differences between loving, being loved & being in love, and the loneliness of getting older. i do love that gopal found a community he could be himself with, but i felt as though he was a very vulnerable character and was misused & misunderstood by Mrs Shaw, the author but also myself as the reader- which made for very uncomfortable reading

[buse · Rating 4 out of 5]

“This is who we are, he thought - dusty, corroded, and dented from our voyages, with our unflagging hearts rattling on inside. We are made who we are by the dust and corrosion and dents and unflagging hearts. Why should we need anything else to fall in love? he wondered. We learn and change and get better.”

[Suwitcha Chandhorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

เรื่องสั้น แต่อ่านนานหน่อยเพราะมักจะวางก่อนจะรู้สึกทนไม่ได้กับความอ้อยอิ่ง เป็นเรื่องความรักระหว่างชายเมียทิ้งกับหญิงที่ไม่กล้าผูกพัน ผู้ชายจะไปจีบผู้หญิงโดยอาศัยนิตยสารคอสโมฯเป็นคู่มือ (อันที่จริงก็ไม่ได้เยอะขนาดนั้น) เรื่องมันไม่ยาว แต่ทำไมอ่าน ๆ ไปไม่รู้สึกว่ามันเดินหน้าไปไหนเสียทีก็ไม่รู้สิ

[nideen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5)

[Zahra · Rating 1 out of 5]

meh

[Izma Anwar · Rating 1 out of 5]

dumb.

[Soh Li Min · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the read.

[Kiely · Rating 4 out of 5]

a cute short story that coincidentally takes place in my grandma’s town 😂

[GooseReadsBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an excellent short story, Sharma approaches the question of love with a tale that reveals the complexity of the emotion. Particularly, the story approaches the question of love, is it an emotion that is matched equally by those we share it with?

The story tells the story of a retired AT&T employee, deserted by his wife and daughter. It is the story of him finding comfort in a neighbour but learning that their affection might not be totally equal. The story reflects on what is love and what value is it in our lives.

I love a book that reveals much about the human condition but leads the reader to meditate on a subject rather than giving them a single glint of knowledge. I have read books that are angling for readers to come away with the same conclusion. Sharma writes perceptively without being patronising in his analysis of the human condition. There are many lines in this book that talk about love which ring true and raise questions about the nature of love.

A beautiful story that is a masterclass in how to pack a lot of greatness into something short.

[Omar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't fancy myself a critic but this was very bland to me.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faber and Faber turn 90 this year and as part of the celebrations, f & f are reissuing 20 short stories from authors on their rosters. At this point I’m not sure if I’ll review all of them but Cosmopolitan definitely deserves a mention.

Gopal’s wife and daughter have left him and after sometime alone he starts to fancy his next door neighbour. Armed with Cosmopolitan as his guide, Gopal tries his hardest to woo his neighbor.

Cosmopolitan is gently funny. I smiled a few times at Gopal recalling some Cosmo articles, with them actually working. Other than that the development of the relationship is serious and Sharma does a fantastic job of going into the politics of trying to date someone who has a passing interest in the other person. There’s also some descriptions of suburbia, a literary trope I like. Not to mention that cover!

So far I’ve read two stories in this collection and I’m impressed. I cannot wait for the remaining ones.

[Simon Jenkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

quite nice prose and some interesting cross-cultural stuff but ultimately it's just a pathetic male fantasy about being redeemed by a sexually liberated woman with no real personality of her own. two stars instead of one because at least she was age-appropriate.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first the words twisted in his mouth, and he spoke to Mrs. Shaw about skiing in general. Only with an effort could he tell her about his fight with Gitu. Mrs. Shaw did not say anything at first. Then she said, “It’s all right if you were that way once, as long as you aren’t that way now.” Listening to her, Gopal suddenly felt angry.

“Why do you talk like this?” he asked.

“What?”

“When you talk about how your breasts fall or how your behind is too wide, I always say that’s not true. I always see you with eyes that make you beautiful.”

“Because I want the truth,” she said, also angry.

[Richard Kettlewood · Rating 3 out of 5]

RA

On one level a remarkably bland read. But there was something readable about it. Something about the male character's lack of confidence and understanding, his self-recrimination and yet sheer boldness. It was as if his mind and body were at odds. Playing on the notion that a 'modern man' can learn about women from women's magazines. (Imagine women learning about men from lads' mags!) Both characters want to share love, but in very different ways. Of course there's sex: that aspect seems easy. And breasts feature largely. An unresolved exploration of free-love and free-sex; the male character being the most needy.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the book Faber short story "Cosmopolitan" book in one afternoon.

Akhil Sharma delivers on the beginning and middle content of the story. There is the accolade for this story.

The beginning was a great, it captures the voice of an Indian man and then expands on from there. Gopal is an interesting character.

In my opinion, I could be wrong but I feel the ending lets the reader and story down. It didn't have to be a happy ending or a sad one. Just an ending that it is a fitting to the story: by making it a bit more expanded in depth.

[Mark Will Never Cry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a reread and the first time I rated this book, I gave it one star. Things have improved mildly. In its core, it is a story about a lonely Indian man, who was just recently abandoned by his daughter and wife. He is also recently retired, so he is really all alone. He stops taking care of himself and just exists in his house, but then his neighbour comes to borrow lawnmover and he gets set on an idea to make them both fall in love. This is not an interesting thriller, the man is just being depressing to look at and I just hope that that was the idea.

[Gorab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highlights: Mid life romance, loneliness, human bonding, humor.

What's it about?
Gopal, a lonely man in New Jersey, whose wife and daughter have moved back to India, finds himself attracted to the next door divorced American neighbor Mrs. Shaw. This short book is Gopal's pursuits to woo her, getting dating tips from reading Cosmopolitan!

What i loved:
- Humor
- Gopal acting like a teenager
- The portrayal - of the underlying emotions created by loneliness. That yearn for human bonding!
- Apt ending

Overall:
A fast paced entertaining short read, with a deeper soul.

[Simon Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gopal, recently retired, finds himself alone after his wife leaves him and his daughter moves abroad. He becomes something of a recluse. A romantic relationship kindles between Gopal and a neighbour from across the street, with Gopal's courtship techniques learned largely from reading Cosmopolitan magazine.

This was a modern, calm, gently funny, pleasant and wholly competent short story to read. I'm not sure it is one that will lodge itself in my memory for long, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The attractive neighbour of a lonely retiree asks to borrow his lawnmower. He makes a grab for her in the garage but is fortunate in that she is receptive rather than horrified. A relationship develops between them, and the question is whether it's the kind of relationship he thinks he wants. He is not the most sympathetic of protagonists, but it's a well-written story that reveals his character, and develops it, in a variety of subtle ways.

[Justin Hughey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my own way, I want to give this book a 3.8 star rating. The writing was fantastic, the characters were well defined, and I was intrigued the whole time. What didn’t work for me was the ending. No spoilers, it just seemed abrupt. I think another few pages would have given the ending more impact. That’s just how I read it. Still, the book was a quick read and I’m curious to read more by this author.

[Nic (nicsbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You really love me, don’t you?”

Nothing that remarkable about the overall plot, but I enjoyed the way it was written. The characters were complex in the short time I got to know them and I think it’s a great insight into new relationships after old ones fall apart. It was like Normal People for married couples.

[Rama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the awkward instant groping and kissing would be a bit pervy to some, this seems to capture the first generation Indian village-raised immigrant's field of perception of love quite well. Too caught up in AT&T work-life prior to a premature retirement and the loss of his loved ones, Gopal adjusts to late changes in his views quite endearingly.