Eating Wasps

by Anita Nair

In a small town by the river Nila, a thirty-five year old writer kills herself. No one knows why.

Fifty-two years later, an antique cupboard in a private resort opens to reveal a frightened child. And the mystery begins to unravel.

From the bestselling author of Ladies Coupe comes an unusual new novel about the intensity – and consequences – of desire.

Genres: Fiction, India, Indian Literature, Roman, Mystery

255 pages, Hardcover

Published September 24, 2018

About the author

Anita Nair is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of the novels The Better Man, Ladies Coupé, Mistress, Lessons in Forgetting, Idris: Keeper of the Light and Alphabet Soup for Lovers. She has also authored a crime series featuring Inspector Gowda.

Anita Nair’s other books include a collection of poems titled Malabar Mind, a collection of essays titled Goodnight & God Bless and six books for children. Anita Nair has also written two plays and the screenplay for the movie adaptation of her novel Lessons in Forgetting which was part of the Indian Panorama at IFFI 2012 and won the National Film Award in 2013. Among other awards, she was also given the Central Sahitya Akademi award and the Crossword Prize. Her books have been translated into over thirty one languages around the world. She is also the founder of the creative writing and mentorship program Anita’s Attic.

Reviews

[Ahtims · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very powerful book which moved me.
Anita Nair has become one of my favourite authors of recent years , and I love the fact that she is one of the rare few who can effortlessly churn up a variety of genres .

This book deals with womanhood -mostly the angst of womanhood , how women can't escape from problems peculiar to them , and how their mindset and the censure of the society hinders them from being as free as men, many a time.

These are loosely interwoven stories , with the ghost of Srilakshmi , the writer who committed suicide ( not a spoiler since this information is plastered on page 1) acting as the bond between the various characters .
It made me think, empathise , agree, disagree and be with each character , almost like a second ghost

This indeed was one powerful book.

Would recommend it to all women, especially those who yearn to break out from the invisible yet strong chains of societal code of conduct .

The intense emotions in this book floored me, and I am one person who doesn't take upto emotional storylines or sappy romance ...

[Asha Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

One-word review: Poignant
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Originally reviewed on www.themusingquill.com
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And thus begins the story of Sreelakshmi that's bound to stay with me forever.
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This is the story of Sreelakshmi. But it is also the story of Megha, Urvashi, Maya, Liliana, Sisters - Theresa and Thomasina, Brinda, Najma. Their lives, their decisions and the choices they made, and what led them all to Sreelakshmi, the award-winning writer, the one-who-committed-suicide writer, the ghost of Sreelakshmi; the secret-keeper of their darkest stories.
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Sreelakshmi has always lived life on her own terms. She is quite a rebel but when she falls in love with Markose, there is nothing she would not bend to, to be with him. But deceit is the last thing on her mind. And when it comes knocking at her door, she is shattered and death is the only escape from the series of disappointments that have clouded her life for a while now.


I scraped my face into the semblance of a smile as I walked through the gate. My mother was in the front yard, looking at the bitter-gourd creeper and telling Karthu to add wood ash to the roots. Everything that had happened to me seemed like it had happened to someone else. I had no more agency or standing than that of a voyeur.


Sreelakshmi's story is heart-warming and heart-breaking, at the same time. Her story is perhaps, the mirror to many a lives that live in condensed silences for all of their live. One minute you feel yourself soaring high with her resolute determination, the other minute you are falling, sinking, then buried deep in a pit of melancholy.


Young love does not distinguish between the hunger of the body and the spirit. One feeds off the other with a natural ease and an insatiable appetite. But as the years go by, the intimacy unravels bit by bit, until everything you do together leaves a residue of dissatisfaction, coating words and kisses.


So are the stories of the other women; stories that form the subplots within the plot; which tends to get confusing but the essence is never lost on the reader.
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Anita Nair has a way with her words and I admit, how much I admired her from the eloquent diction she employs to tug at the hearts of her writers. There are words that I came across for the first time and as a reader and writer, I love getting introduced to new words.

How she made me run with my mind and heart after each of her characters was quite incredible too. You are not only listeing to their stories but living them too. That's the power of Nair's vocabulary. After, Sreelakshmi, I loved Urvashi and then, my heart went out to the miseries of Maya.


But she felt a crack appear each time a stranger eyed her 95-kg son as if he was an ungainly animal, a baby hippo perhaps. Mostly they turned the other way when she spotted them staring at him. But if it was an acquaintance, the voice would ring with a "Hello Naveen!" Unnatural, syrupy sweet and laden with false emotion: 'Let's show Maya that we are blessed with a benevolence of heart, and how much we feel for her.' Sometimes she felt as though she couldn't bear to go on any longer.


Even as I write this review I wonder why I rate this book a four when some other books, with comparatively fresher stories or intriguing plots got rated a three. I could attribute that to Nair's subtle style that acts as a bait and you fall for it knowing full well that she ain't gonna let you off. Not that easily. But you don't mind!

That said, it was a battle between four stars and five stars and what it lost to, was the lack of empathy that Sreelakshmi's mother could have portrayed and that could've helped her character survive. But I also think that then this book would've never happened. But whatever!


Once after I helped myself to the kanji we have for dinner every night, I dropped half a bottle of salt into what was left in the vessel. I am a blind woman. Such accidents are bound to happen. I thought it was time she tasted some of the salt from all the tears she had made me shed.

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To Ms Nair,

I am looking forward to reading more of your books.
I am an admirer, through and through.

Asha
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*****Copyright The Musing Quill*****

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Anita Nair, and I'm amazed by her writing. I loved a good suspense novel, and Eating Wasps was one brilliant story with topics that'll leave a mark on your heart and will stay with you forever.

Many stories of women interconnect, and forms one meaningful read. Though these ladies don't know each other, there's something which links their life, their fierceness, and the way they handled everything, I just didn't want this book to get over. There's acid attack survivor, a writer, and many other women who had flaws in their character, but the author didn't hide it, in fact those flaws made the characters even more real.

I finished the book in one sitting, as pages just flew by reading this heartwarming book. I was hooked as soon as I started the book, then few hours later, I had finished it and was contemplating a lot things in my life and the things that happens with the characters in this book.

What I loved about this book was that it focused on women, strong, women, who has faced many problems, but never gave up on life.

Ghost and writers are more alike than you think. We can be what you want us to be. We can hear your thoughts even if you don't tell us. We can read the silences and shape your stories as if they happen to us, and I was both: a ghost and a writer.


Those lines spoke to me. There are so many more quotes and lines that I have highlighted because I'm sure I'm gonna reread it someday. The reference here of Ghost is not out of blue, it holds a meaning, which you'll find out when you read it.
This was a beautiful yet heartbreaking story. I’m definitely a fan of Anita Nair after this book, and am definitely going to read more by her! If you love suspense, and books which focuses on strong women, do check out this book!

[Apoorva · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with an intriguing title and a promising start. What could possibly go wrong? “Eating Wasps” begins when a famous writer Sreelakshmi kills herself, and no one knows why. Fifty-two years later, her finger bone is discovered in an antique cupboard in a private resort, and the mystery starts to unravel. Though the book has supernatural elements, the main story has nothing to do with that.

The ghost of Shreelaksmi narrates the stories of the women she comes across, women of different ages and walks of life. These are poignant stories of women going through hardships and trying to take control of their lives. The book is woman-centric; it highlights women's struggles in day-to-day lives, restrictions put on them by society, the physical and mental anguish, and how they try to deal with it. As the book progresses, you learn about the secret behind Shreelaksmi’s death.

The stories are realistic and heartbreaking. There’s no doubt that the author is a fantastic writer; her writing is poignant and mesmerizing, and you find yourself empathizing with the characters. Some stories are pretty impactful, and it keeps you reading to understand the motivation behind these women's actions.

Sadly, my high expectations for the book were shattered in the next half when the writing lost its charm and turned distorted and confusing. At first, you feel like there’s a pattern to the stories, and they’re interconnected, but it all gets jumbled because the stories don’t go well together. I feel there was no need to include so many narratives because some don’t serve any purpose, and I don’t understand why they were included in the first place.

It was a letdown because the book had the potential to be an excellent story, but it seemed like a wasted opportunity. I’m not saying the book is terrible per se, and the first half of the book, along with the mystery behind the death of a famous writer, are all worth a read. However, the plot got messy towards the end, so I had to drag myself to keep reading, and that wasn’t a very satisfying experience for me.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it loved it loved it...Though it is the lives of many women I loved the narrator best and on finishing realised she is based on a famous Malayali writer of yesteryears.. I think many characters from her stories also appear here..Have been obsessed with her and am searching high and low for her books. I think Anita Nair writes for me.

[Archana Amaragandhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a story lifts off the pages of a book and teleport us to another place, another time and in another’s mind, it is a story no more. It becomes an experience. When words weave the experiences of many relatable characters into a colorful fabric, it becomes that veil between the imagined and the real, the different shades acting as a multi-colored lens.

I shared my last three days with many women in the 'Eating Wasps', showing me their lives, through Anita Nair's choicest vocabulary and storytelling. I sympathized with them, empathized with them and even judged a few. At one point, I became paranoid if I was reading those stories through the eyes of the spirit in the book or if I became that spirit myself. How can an author mesmerize a reader like me, who didn’t know the meaning of half the words and yet understood them implicitly because of their placement within the context? Perhaps, the realness of the story brought the meaning home.

I did not eat a wasp and yet, ‘Eating Wasps’ had stung me with a venom that kept me glued to the book until I finished reading it. The aftertaste made me go down my memory lane, reliving flashback, both mine and that of people I knew. I hate wasps, but I loved this one.

[Gorab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a grim and gripping book, showcasing the reality in terms of what all troubles most women have to face in their regular life.
Its like a series of short stories 'chalk'ed along by connecting the dots.
Quite sensitive - dealing with child molestation, acid attack, stereotyping sportswomen, extra marital affair, stalking… a lot of physical and mental stress!
This was my first read by Anita Nair. Turned out to be a winner and will read more of her works.

Recommended!

[Anupama C K(b0rn_2_read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is told from the POV of Urvashi, who is a journalist past her prime, Sreelaksmi, a ghost who was a writer in her life, and various girls/women whom they both encounter.
Each chapter is divided into 3 subsections, the first two are POVs of Urvashi and Sreelaksmi and last one by a different woman each time. In the first 2 chapters last subsection hits you hard. The rest of the stories didn't feel as impactful, but do make you question.
I couldn't connect with Urvashi much.
Sreelaksmi was a really interesting character

[Srujan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If books chose a word to represent themselves, Eating Wasp would choose Poignant. Because it leaves you restless and sad, akin to a traumatic experience where you feel a little shaken, gasping while you still try to make sense of what elapsed. Like the protagonist, who actually eats a wasp as a kid, it leaves you a little stung and tainted with the venom. You only try to scratch the itch thereby making it worse, but it is not until much later that anything makes sense. I did feel that the book and its stories were exceptionally sad and brought out emotions even as I was reading it. At first, I thought it contributes to literary merit of the book that every woman who reads this will relate to it. But now that some more time has elapsed, the fact it is so relatable horrifies me. What does it say about us as a society if the intersection of our individual sets of horrific experiences is so wide, let alone that ideally it should've been a null set.
Eating Wasps is my 3rd book by Anita Nair. And in full honesty, I like her woman characters because they are more relatable to women of all ages, especially so to young women, than the British or American counterparts that we grew up reading and admiring. I am yet to find a better character who embodies the spirit of nonchalant acceptance of things beyond our control and a zest for like that her Komathi in Alphabet Soup for Lovers. And it would be unfair if I single out a woman from her Ladies Coupe, because at the end of the book, you look at each of them and see nothing from bravery. In the same way, Eating Wasps is not just about one women. Although it does start with a frightened child tumbling upon the skeletal remains of a woman hidden in a false back in an antique cupboard in a resort. The woman, Srilakshmi, used to be a writer and it is through her 'ghost'/ haunted first person narration that we travel through the story. The book is, like its characters, imperfect. But the characters are extremely real. It would be easy to judge a woman in the book because the story telling happens in a non sequential order. Sometimes, I felt like one particular thread of the story ended abruptly and left me wondering what happened to the woman. Have you ever watched anonymous women on trains and tried to weave a story around them from the data points you pick up sitting across their berth? Then suddenly the lady who is the focus of your observation gets down or stops that insightful ( to you ) conversation she was having on a phone call. And suddenly you feel mildly bereft, like you were forced to abandon the story. That is how I felt about a few stories. May be, the author wanted to highlight their frailties and less than goddesses perfection, because these women are not dolled up or adorned, aren't worshiped and aren't even completely etched out. They meet you in the book to tell you their story and occasionally bring make a sting or two from your own past. There is a woman who feels not satisfied in her marriage. There are two sisters thrown into a perpetual conflict by fate even when they don't want spar. There is an acid attack survivor who painstakingly collects the pieces of her life and resolves and endeavours to move on with her head held high. There is also Liliana who And several other stories of abuse, hardship, endurance and survival.
But while the story is potentially unsettling, scratching at the soul with sharp nails, it is also engrossing. May be 'un-put-downable' depending on the kind of reader you are. If you like anthologies tied up a common thread narrated by soulful narrator, Eating Wasps would be a good fit for you. A disclaimer that I would like to add though is that how deeply you connect or relate to this book will depend proportionately to the amount of empathy you can muster for women. After I finished writing my thoughts, I scrolled through the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. The commonality in both the cases was that most women seen to relate to the stories, even if they weren't blown away by the book. But at the very least, they found the stories moving. And hence most positive reviews are from women. Then come the favourably appreciative reviews from men, with a sensitive tone and sincere appreciation for the attempt at putting down how the sufferings of women who have been wrong by society and / or fate. And the least helpful kind of feedback, in the most crude ways is by men, whom though I do not know apart from their 4 sentences of reviews, but who successfully manage to convey to me their apathy and callousness towards women. I don't expect anyone, men or women, to be blown away by the book, just because I liked it. I don't even expect everyone to share my view with it, because our tastes in literature are bound to different. But when men seem to call the book a mad rambling, there I strongly disagree. I am sure this will sound like a harsh hurried judgement, but if you get through the book, perhaps it will make sense as to why I feel so strongly about it.

[Aritri Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted in The Liquid Sunset

A book like this is intended to reach most human beings. A book like this can cloud your heart with the darkness that is seeping through its pages and engulf you in a shroud. Anita Nair’s brilliant piece of work, Eating Wasps is a book dedicated to finding the missing links in our lives that have been taken apart due to the weight of the inevitability of tragedy. Eating Wasps, the title is an apt description of how one feels after reading this book. Like tiny wasps that end up in our mouth accidentally, Nair’s book talks about how accidental choices can leave us bitter and traumatized yet somehow we need to keep moving forward.

The story starts with the death of Sreelakshmi, an esteemed writer, who has been given the accolade of being Kerala’s Virginia Woolf. Her relationship with Marcose goes downhill and we see glimpses of what it was like and how she drove herself to death. It is through Sreelakshmi’s ghost that we travel through the lives of various women and younger girls and how anomalies in their lives decide their path. Urvashi’s seemingly perfect married life drives her bitter and she leaves her house and starts living in a resort to unwind herself. Megha, the young girl, who is sexually assaulted by a predator, has to live with the trauma. Najma, who has survived the acid attack by her stalker, scrapes through each day but tries not to let her past affect her future and aspires to become something worthwhile in her life. These and many other women in the book are prime examples of how patriarchy demolishes the feminine spirit and tries to replace it with a toxic domination.

What stands out for me in the book is Anita Nair’s writing. She is a conjurer, weaving magic through her words and making the reading experience a beauty altogether. Her writing style is the reason why I felt like I was with the women when their worlds were crashing down. Nair is a brilliant author, no doubt and this book doesn’t fall short in proving that.

What didn’t work out for me was how the book became a little predictable at places and how the enormous number of characters made little sense by the end of the book and I only wish she had stuck to a few and helped us understand more about them.

Nevertheless, if you are looking for great books on feminism written by Indian authors in the contemporary times then Eating Wasps would be a perfect choice.

ALSO RECOMMEND ON THE SAME LINES : WHEN I HIT YOU BY MEENA KANDASAMY, THE HIGH PRIESTESS NEVER MARRIES BY SHARANYA MANIVANNAN, THE POISON OF LOVE BY K. R. MEERA

[Chitra Ahanthem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eating Wasps by Anita Nair is a book that is astounding in the way it is structured and the way it dwells on the lives of women and the way they go about facing the upheavals that surround them, some of their own making, some not so much. The plot unfolds through the lives of ten different women but the deeper nuance for me is the question of how much of real life women and their inner world get reflected in the writing by women authors with a searing intensity that is unique to them. The protagonist here is unconventional: it is the ghost/soul of a woman author, an Akademi award winner no less who lingers on earth because part of her last remains has been kept locked in an almirah. The unlocking is proverbial: it brings out her story and through the adventure of the remains, the story of the other women.
The narrative reads like a short story collection on the lives of the other nine women who have converged at a resort. Each story brings out a facet of a woman: one pulling through life after a physical scarring, another at an advanced age who has a middle aged autistic son, an accomplished athlete who has no more adversary to defeat on court except maybe her own self, a woman of privilege who is in a seemingly perfect marriage that holds no meaning. Each of the women sound familiar, as if you know them, their desire for something beyond their grasp is something the reader can relate to. Each of the women are unforgettable, they make you want to root for them.

Those of you who have not read this: please do so for the way in which so many contemporary themes like stalking, online videos that thrive on objectifying women, shaming women for writing on desire etc has been effortlessly woven without making them tropes. The story that unfolds behind the title of the book is really the main theme. Go read!

[Krutika · Rating 5 out of 5]

{ Book Recommendation } - Eating Wasps.
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"Once, I had a name : Sreelakshmi. Once, I was a woman. Once, I was a writer whose stories evoked love as much as disgust, inciting anger as often as they offered solace, a writer whose words sawed their way through the conventional. Once, I had withstood the sting of wasps". - Anita Nair.
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A powerful book about women and how they're unfairly treated in the society, Eating Wasps is a coming of age novel. It hits a raw nerve for you can relate to the unjustness of it all. Anita Nair is a master of narrating stories that are honest and crude, beautiful and ugly without making us feel uncomfortable. Probably this is what makes her one of my favourite writers. Eating Wasps is a series of stories that are linked by a common character, ghost of a woman who killed herself and all that's left of her now is a skeletal index finger.
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The story starts off with the death of Sreelakshmi who then becomes to be the narrator for most part of the story. Sreelakshmi being a significant writer, zoologist, Akademia winner and a spinster dies at the age of thirty five as she feels a deep sense of betrayal settle over her. The other women in the book are trapped either in loveless marriage, an affair, girl who was molested in her school truck, a seventy year old woman tending to her thirty year old autistic son etc. None of these stories are happy ones but they do make you think about how the World is full of people who go through millions of hardships every day and how they find the strength to move on. Najma, the acid attack survivor relives her story and it hurt me deeply knowing how a man with such hatred decided to ruin a life forever.
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Read this book to know how well @anitanairauthor writes about the different facets of a woman's life. I loved this book from the very first page and it didn't waver till I reached the last. A must read to all of the women who are seeking resilience and strength.
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Rating -5/5.

[AG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is simply brilliant work of literature. The language is lucid and succinctly put-together. I was not expecting much from this one as I haven't perceived this book being picked up by many readers.
It revolves around half-formed thoughts, sorrows, unfulfilled desires and the anguish cries of women 'unrelated' yet fastened together by same despondency.
The unrestrained thoughts, I have been chewing on for weeks, I want these thoughts to linger in my head even after the words have evanesced because the thoughts are penetrative enough to not unfetter its hold.
A little disclaimer for those who want to dive into this one that it isn't for escapism because it will lead you through hell and let you be hungry wafting between thoughts and the meagerness of life of women, crawling over your reflection like maggots in a 'WASP'S NEST.'

[Reethu Ravi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When award-winning writer Sreelakshmi commits suicide, she believes her life to end there. But, in a strange turn of events, a part of her is whisked away to be cherished and eventually forgotten. When fifty-two years later she emerges to a world that is peculiar to her in every which way, she is dragged into the lives of several women; their stories keeping her alive in a strange way. Eating Wasps is the story of a writer, a mistress, a child, two sisters, a badminton player, a mother, a wife and a divorcee. And they all have one thing in common-desire; some the perpetrators, some the victim.

Now, where do I begin? How do I dissect a novel that is so unusual in its narrative that its nothing like anything I have ever read before? And the strangest part is that I realised the peculiarity of the novel only on the last page. The book began like all books with a captivating opening line do- it had me hooked and madly devouring it at 3 am. The looming suspense prevented me from keeping the book down; it had me gasping and often, my skin crawling. Until just over half of the book, when monotonicity sank in.

The book is more of a collection of short stories that are interwoven, with the characters no more related than two passersby on the road (here, a resort in Kerala) Each of Nair's characters is a powerful woman who has a compelling tale to recall- tales that changed their lives for the better or for the worse (the latter in most cases) All of these stories are rooted in desire, and while some showcase how the women evolved through the adversity, others show their downfall. All these characters, be it Sreelakshmi or Urvashi who has just left her house or Najma who is an acid attack survivor, have been portrayed with all their flaws intact. The characters are as real as it gets; you would have come across a Rupa or a Markose or a Molly and Thomasina. The character that most stirred my emotions was the six-year-old Megha, whose innocence drove home her pain. 

This was the first time I read Anita Nair and I was spellbound by her writing. Her words have the power to move and shatter her readers and had me holding on to her each word like dear life. I loved the analogies she drew, like that of a ghost and a writer.

If you have read my reviews before, you will know how much I love book titles that are shrouded in mystery. Those titles that will slowly reveal its meaning to you as you read through the books are what impresses me the most -like The God Of Small Things. After knowing the significance behind Eating Wasps, I don't think the book could have had a more fitting title. Kudos to Nair for this! 

What disappointed me about the book was that, despite having such a brilliant start and so much potential to be a great read, somewhere in the second half of the book, the writer faltered. For instance, though the characters where spectacular, after a point, it felt like there were just too many that were not even necessary. For example, the sisters Thomasina and Molly, or Liliana, whose relevance I failed to understand, as they were just barely there. And when I finished the book, it felt like there were too many loose ends. Nair does not tell us what happens to most of the characters in the end. I wanted to know what happened to Megha or Brinda or Maya. I was so furious at her for offering me a full-fledged meal, but only letting me have the starter. But now when I look back, I guess that is what makes this book a unique read.

Eating Wasps by Anita Nair, in all its unusualness, is a heart-wrenching read that will move you and often break you. Like most of the characters in it, the book is not perfect. But trust me, this is one of those books that will leave you with so many questions and refuse to leave you even when the last word is said and forgotten.

[Romanticamente Fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simo G - per RFS
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Oggi vi parlo di un libro molto particolare, con un incipit a mio parere bellissimo, che riempie il lettore di aspettativa:

Mi suicidai in un giorno limpido e luminoso. Era un lunedì. Giorno feriale.

25 ottobre. Un giorno uguale a tanti altri, se non per il fatto che io ero morta e che, quando la notizia si diffuse, il mondo improvvisamente s’arrestò.

Non aspettatevi di leggere un romanzo, non è niente di tutto ciò.

Si tratta di una serie di storie che hanno come protagoniste alcune donne indiane, dalla bambina alla signora anziana che soggiornano o lavorano in un resort sul fiume Nila.

La voce narrante appartiene a Srilakshmi, il cui dito, non solo in senso figurativo, ci accompagna e ci fa addentrare nelle diverse vite di cui viene a far parte.

La protagonista della prima storia, Urvashi, entra in possesso dell’indice della mano destra della narratrice, o meglio del suo osso, non accorgendosi di preciso di che cosa realmente si tratti.

Questo dito era stato trafugato dalle ceneri di Srilakshmi dal suo amante Markose, e tenuto per anni in un armadio come ricordo. Peccato che in questo osso sia rimasta intrappolata una parte dell’anima della donna e quindi lei non può riposare in pace.

Attraverso questo indice accompagniamo alcune donne per un pezzetto del loro cammino.

Incontriamo Urvashi, non solo giornalista sposata a un uomo di successo, ma anche in realtà, moglie insoddisfatta che cerca di fuggire da un amante stalker.

Incontriamo Megha, una bambina di sei anni, che a causa di un errore di valutazione da parte dei genitori, è purtroppo vittima di una violenza.

Incontriamo Najma, bellissima insegnante, sfregiata con l’acido da un corteggiatore respinto e poi costretta a lasciare tutto ciò che le è caro.

Ce ne sono poi altre, che non sto a elencarvi, ma ugualmente tutte figure di donne molto belle. Non intendo solo fisicamente, soprattutto per come si pongono nei confronti della vita. Tutte soffrono in qualche modo e tutte trovano una dimensione per vivere e affrontare il loro dolore.

Una frase forse riassume in sé tutto il concetto del libro:

L’amore svanisce. Sì, svanisce, qualunque cosa possiamo pensarne.

Non restano che i rimpianti.

Ho amato particolarmente la storia di Pussy Mouth, forse l’unica ad avere un lieto fine. Liliana, in una festa tra amici ad alto tasso alcolico, si trucca da gatta e scherzosamente tira giù con i denti la lampo a un amico. Il tutto dovrebbe finire semplicemente con una risata, ma il video, che uno dei partecipanti alla festa aveva girato, diventa virale in rete e Liliana viene riconosciuta solamente per essere “Pussy Mouth”. Leggete la sua storia, vi farà a suo modo sorridere, soprattutto nel finale.

Non posso dire che si tratti di un libro leggero, anzi, affronta temi molto pesanti.

Ripercorre infatti, a mio parere, tutti i tipi di violenza, fisica, psicologica, mediatica che possono subire le donne in ogni parte del mondo. È sorprendente quindi vedere come, anche in un paese culturalmente molto diverso dal nostro come l’India, le donne abbiamo gli stessi problemi e subiscano gli stessi soprusi.

Vi dico di leggerlo perché è comunque bellissimo, è scritto con una prosa meravigliosa, ci sono frasi formulate talmente bene che personalmente sono rimasta incantata.

Fatelo leggere anche ad amiche e amici, ci sono un sacco di spunti di riflessione interessanti.

[dunkdaft · Rating 2 out of 5]

Umm ... What was it ? Where was this heading ? Where was the mystery? I mean come on. Why write such deceiving blurb ?

The writing style made me urrghhhhh at mostly all of second half of the book. It has 3 sub chapters in each chapter. And each third subchapter introduce a new set of character. And each character comes and goes in flashback, in almost each para. Pfffftttt.... Why such torture on reader's mind ?

It set of beautifully and kept pace till almost 80 pages. But sorry to say, couldn't hold it together. Totally lost in words, gibberish.

[Pranjal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, Compelling, unsettling, poignant, Riveting, Bold all at the same time. A must read.

[Purnata · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have scarcely come upon books that leave the reader shaken out of the trance of the written word so often as this book does. This book is an extensive mural, the Guernica of the written feminist word. It is enigmatic and filled with the author's powerful personality. Anita takes up space the width of which is the entirety of this novel, and girl, she does it with pizzazz.

This book is a collection of women who are at first resigned riders of their preprogrammed horses of life, till they wake up, fiercely tug the horse's mane and force it to move the direction they want to. In doing of the same, they might fall off the horseback, but they are long past care. I love them. I hope little Megha grows up to be the girl who bit the hairy hand, like Sreelakshmi was the girl who ate a wasp.

[Roma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Eating Wasps

Author: Anita Nair

Length: 261 pages

Publisher: Context Publisher

Genre: Fiction, Short Stories, Feminism

My rating: 3.5/5

Summary:

The book is a compilation of short stories based on Women characters and the situations they face which alter their life

My Take:

I had read a lot of rave reviews about this book so when I saw this book available for Prime Members I didn’t think twice before picking up this book. The title itself is quite intriguing and so is the cover. However what lay inside was completely different.

The book is narrated by a ghost writer who comes across various women characters and narrates their stories. Some of the stories created quite an impact and some were average stories. The stories are very heavy and does make you think about the characters agony.

The story that did create an impact on me was that of a school girl named Megha. That story will remain with me for some time. Apart from that all the other stories I found them to be one time read.

The stories are short but due to its content, I won’t say it’s a quick read, rather it’s a heavy read. I wanted something light to read and this book didn’t fit the criteria. Probably if I had picked this book at some other time, my rating would have been different.

If you are interested in reading stories of women characters, you may definitely pick this book. For me this is an OK read.

[Swetha - a chronically perturbed mind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lemme get one thing outta the way first. When it comes to Anita Nair, I maybe be biased. So if u have conflicting opinions, i respect that, but nothing you say can change the fact that my head was like this 🤯, after I read the ending line.
And even so, I did not give it full on 5/5 because not all the stories in this appealed to me equally.
Sreelakshmi was an acclaimed writer, an award winning one too. But she is found dead one day, in her house. Ater her cremation, a man takes a small bone, the one of her right index finger to be specific, and carries it with him, as a memory.
The bone, which was buried behind the almirah, is found by a small girl. And changes hand over and over, and Sreelakshmi, in her death, goes on collecting their stories. Each story, each woman or female that holds her, shares a part of their life with her unknowingly . And thats what forms the book, ending with her own story.
Some, despite the gravity, did not hold onto my mind much, but then Megha’s and Molly’s stories were like a punch to the gut. Sreelakshmi’s plight takes you through emotions and questions that every woman has at some point of her life. And the book delivered in every sense.

[Anusha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful narration of complex lives of simple women; Of women who listen to their heart, make mistakes, but (in most cases) are strong enough to emerge out of these situations stronger, and take control of the direction of their lives.

It is unsettling and gripping, and leaves you heartbroken at the end.

"Time will heal every cut, every blow, ever dripping wound. The mind will find within it the strength to say : This Too Shall Pass"

[Gayathiri Rajendran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has stories of many women which are interconnected with each other and the author takes us on a journey to know about the lives of these women.I loved the language of the author.This book is mainly about how women try to break free from societal bonds and embrace who they really are.
It was intriguing in the beginning but kind of fell flat at the end.Overall,it was a good read.

[Elina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a wonderful read. Poignant, lyrical and ironic. Relished every page. I was very moved by the book and its honesty. These are the stories of our everyday. And we have all been some part of the women in this book.

[Tulika · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know what’s the best feeling in the world? To pick up a book you’ve not heard of, to pick it up without any expectations, any background, any social media hoohaa. And then to find in it a story that by turns hits you hard, touches you, empowers you. That’s what Eating Wasps did for me.

I was driven to read it simply by its stunningly gorgeous cover. Then the opening line reeled me in:

“On the day I killed myself, it was clear and bright.”

How can you ignore that?

If you’ve read Anita Nair’s Ladies Coupe you’ll know how adept she is at bringing together women centric stories. That’s what she does with Eating Wasps too.

The book opens with an award winning author Sreelakshmi committing suicide. And yet her life doesn’t end. She lives on as a ghost, a piece of a bone. As she flits from the hands of one woman to another she sees, she feels and she tells their story, bringing them together in a delightful read.

The book has multiple characters – girls, teens, women – each the protagonist of her own story, with her own challenges – sometimes internal, sometimes familial, sometimes societal.

My heart broke for Megha while Najma, who had the saddest story, made my heart soar. Maya was only too real bringing home the frustrations of a mom. Urvashi, Liliana, Brinda – each one had a story to tell.

The book isn’t perfect. The stories don't come together as seamlessly as I'd have liked them to. Also, it could have done without a character or two while I’d have liked to know more about some of the others. Some of the stories are explored only too briefly, leaving me dissatisfied. And yet it’s a book worth reading because each story is special.

Last thought: Definitely worth a read.

[Rajul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once upon a time, I wanted to steal a Laddoo from kitchen. It was completely dark but I knew where the tin was kept and I just went ahead relying on the memory of my fingers.

When I came to the drawing room, I saw that the Laddoo was infested with ants and I had ingested couple by mistake. I could not get over the fact for several days and the memory disgusts me still.

Sreelakshmi is 4 year old and in attempt to ingest honey directly from the bees, eats a wasp accidentally. She goes on to become a zoology professor and a writer.
Eating wasp becomes a metaphor through out the novel.

A woman trapped in a loveless marriage, seeking intimacy outside, which goes wrong, a small girl faces molestation from a pedophile, a woman wanting to make a career for her and her mother's sake gets acid thrown on her face, a mother, worried about her autistic son, who is planning to kill her son on his birthday, a diplomats wife, realises she was friends with a terrorist, a young badminton player realising the futility of it all, 2 sister's, one blinded by jealousy towards the other - these are the guests of a Riverside resort. Narrated through the finger bone of Sree lakshmi, which her lover preserved after her suicide.

A very realistic view of what women go through during the various phases of their lives.

[Ambika Chandrasekar · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Anita Nair book, and to be honest, I did not much care for it and I did grow impatient with it. I would not call it a mystery so much as a book on desire in women. Some lovely observations and turns of phrase, but not a book I will go back to.

[Sneha Dey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished the book, or did the book finished me!
Now I've to collect all books by Anita Nair and read them.

[Prriyankaa Singh | the.bookish.epicure · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eating Wasps is my stepping stone into Anita Nair’s works and I have fallen head over heels with her writing. The book isn’t about one woman or a thriller as the short description will lead you to believe.

It is a tale of poignancy. A tale of womanhood. A celebration of stoicism.

Eating Wasps is a series of loosly connected stories, each dealing with a sensitive topic; meaningful and deep in its message. The common factor between all the stories are women who didn’t cow down to the societal pressures and made a path for themselves despite the odds in a patriarchial world.

It’s not easy to read about child abuse, acid attack by a jilted lover, stalkers, extra-martial affair turned to blackmail, a social media sensation for wrong reasons. It was a sad reading about these horrific experiences because it is so relevant to women today; across ages, across cultures. Accidental choices and seemingly inconsequential actions that lead to matters of gravity.

What drew me in was the grace with which they accepted the matters that was out of their control and focused on what could be done. These women refused to give into stereotypical world that shames women for working on their desires. The difference of a chromosome and what lies between the legs does not give one power over the others to dicate how one should behave, or where one’s honor lies. That’s a load of crap and Nair tells it effortlessly.

Nair’s words don’t show, they tell. They stun you into place like the sting of a wasp. They will crave empathy from the depth of your souls because you will relate to the each woman at some level, yes each one of them. At some point you become the ghost floating above the characters as the body lives through the words. Nair is a magician when it comes to conjuring beauty.

The book is imperfect like its characters. Aren’t the rough diamonds that shine the prettiest? It is a book that you will treasure even when you’ve turned the last pages, traces of the venom running through the bloodstream leaving a dizzying, electrifying feeling.

[Sujata · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a cause for excitement when a new Anita Nair book comes out and I was really looking forward to reading Eating Wasps. I loved how the author narrated the stories of so many women but only a few were seen through to their conclusion. There were 10 characters so that is understandable. I would have preferred fewer characters and better resolution but then it's not my book. It is a brave book, a very powerful one but I still prefer Ladies Coupe to this one. It is so much more hopeful and the characters appear to be in control of their destiny.

Anita Nair’s women have always crossed boundaries and been their own people in spite of what the society dictated and paid the price for it. How easy it is to vilify a woman because she is different from what is the norm or what is expected of her. I didn’t know I will meet a subject I love but had left behind nor had I ever imagined I would see a zoologist, a lecturer no less, as the sutradhar in a book.

‘You say the cell is the building block but tell me, where did that first cell come from?’ He cocked an eyebrow at me as he asked, ‘How did mitosis and meiosis happen?’ I smiled, struck by the fact that it wasn’t often I met someone who used words like mitosis or meiosis and knew the difference between them.

Teacher, writer, ghost all rolled into one.

Ghosts and writers are more alike than you think. We can be what you want us to be. We can hear your thoughts even if you don’t tell us. We can read the silences and shape your stories as if they happened to us. And I was both: a ghost and a writer.

Sree had never been accepted for who she was, and except for her father no one believed in her. Hence, she grew up to be a very vulnerable adult.

In hindsight, we are all philosophers who know how to separate the chaff from the grain. But while you are in it, the truth of the moment overrides everything else. I wished there was some way to flee all that haunted me.

Intelligent women making dumb decisions because society jumps at the chance to crucify them is something patriarchal societies like ours take pride in doing. It was all too familiar how quick we are to lay the blame at the feet of women for anything bad that happens to them and others associated with them. An easy scapegoat is all we have ever looked for. Even a ghost of a woman is haunted by her past. Is there no justice in this godforsaken world?

 I felt a sense of unease while reading Eating Wasps and even though I knew the end from the beginning I somehow felt let down by the reason why it ended the way it did. Suicide is a topic I am not comfortable with. Killing yourself is not being in control of your destiny. It is the opposite of it. This was for me in a way going backward from the ending of Ladies Coupe.Perhaps I am biased and burdened by what hangs in my past. But isn’t that what reading is, intensely personal because of the people we are and what we bring to the book. I  felt unsure and the sensation that something is incomplete as I turned the last few pages. Maybe I was supposed to feel that given how the book ended.

Literature teaches you that you can make peace with anything. Time will heal every cut, every blow, every dripping wound. The mind will find within it the strength to say: This too shall pass. But some of us just don’t have it in us to go on. To invest in the chimera that our tomorrows will somehow be better than the here and now. Some of us sew stones into our hemlines and step into the river, some of us choose to put our heads into an oven and breathe in death, but each must find her own way to sail to stillness, to that quiet place where there are no crippling upheavals.

[Jubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work will make you feel a lot of things and the author has shown such empathy to each of the characters which is so beautiful. I would say, open your mouth and let the wasp in.