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Before, and Then After
In this sparkling collection of stories, Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan displays the perception, honesty and humour that marked her out as a writer to watch out for ever since she started her immensely popular blog 11 years ago.
A young girl embarks on a journey of discovery after years of living with her reclusive superstar father; a misspelled tattoo leads two friends into a discussion of loss and love; a bartender relates the secrets of his trade - Before, and Then After is an astute, sensitive exploration of loneliness, missed connections, revelations and relationships in an urban landscape.
A young girl embarks on a journey of discovery after years of living with her reclusive superstar father; a misspelled tattoo leads two friends into a discussion of loss and love; a bartender relates the secrets of his trade - Before, and Then After is an astute, sensitive exploration of loneliness, missed connections, revelations and relationships in an urban landscape.
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First published October 20, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 14, 2018
Was surfing Prime reading in Amazon and somehow the nook attracted me, perhaps due to it's vibrant colors.
Started reading on a whim, without checking the blurb or reviews, and found it to be a decent collection of stories ranging from parental separation, loneliness, contrariness, love and otherwise, and even animal and mythical creature stories.
Made for an enjoyable pot pourri.
Started reading on a whim, without checking the blurb or reviews, and found it to be a decent collection of stories ranging from parental separation, loneliness, contrariness, love and otherwise, and even animal and mythical creature stories.
Made for an enjoyable pot pourri.
October 3, 2018
Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan’s stories reminds one of this sincere, yet somewhat incomplete effort of presenting everyday situations as something more profound, something that tries to reveal a hidden layer of meaning, but this dug up hole holds lesser treasure than imagined.
A cat, who hangs out at a brothel, wants to reveal the pitiable lives of the women there. A girl receives a visit from her best friend’s ghost in “death friends forever”, where heaven is imagined as a physical space with a community and economy and politics of its own. It’s a little lame.
A struggling writer sleeps with an established one in “the irrepressible memory of silence”. A man writes a love letter at two in the morning, in the obviously titled “it is two in the morning and I am writing to you”. Two women have a casual conversation at the tattoo parlour, about texting a guy and talking about the guys they have been with, the whole banter revolving around a misspelt tattoo and inserting a carrot to correct it. In “one plus one”, a bartender in Chandigarh who talks about the what he does during the day and who he thinks of, and how he finds connection with a a DJ at the club . A teenager navigates the pressures of getting New Year eve right in “the biggest night of the year”.
-http://onwriting.in/before-and-then-a...
A cat, who hangs out at a brothel, wants to reveal the pitiable lives of the women there. A girl receives a visit from her best friend’s ghost in “death friends forever”, where heaven is imagined as a physical space with a community and economy and politics of its own. It’s a little lame.
A struggling writer sleeps with an established one in “the irrepressible memory of silence”. A man writes a love letter at two in the morning, in the obviously titled “it is two in the morning and I am writing to you”. Two women have a casual conversation at the tattoo parlour, about texting a guy and talking about the guys they have been with, the whole banter revolving around a misspelt tattoo and inserting a carrot to correct it. In “one plus one”, a bartender in Chandigarh who talks about the what he does during the day and who he thinks of, and how he finds connection with a a DJ at the club . A teenager navigates the pressures of getting New Year eve right in “the biggest night of the year”.
-http://onwriting.in/before-and-then-a...
February 21, 2018
This one I picked solely for the book cover - I am partial to greens. And I must say, it surprised me. The short stories are the kinds you will mull over. Layered and not in an in your face kinda way. You will think of the characters as someone you know, perhaps. Maybe you do know someone like them, after all. A book that cannot be hurried. And I took my time with it.
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April 25, 2018
I went right ahead and ordered this book on a whim, after seeing one or two friends rate this highly - and well, I dived in with no expectations, whatsoever. I mean, I love short stories. There’s that. But other than that, I don’t hold very many young-ish Indian authors in high esteem (except Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Amitav Ghosh, Anuja Chauhan and so). To be fair, the authors I mentioned are in a league apart from the rest... So, this is the first book I have read by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, and as you could tell where this was going (probably) - I really liked this collection. The stories were so nice!
I’m going to leave a line or word by the side of each story so you know what I thought about it, etc.
the irrepressible memory of silence: kind of nice, but ended too abruptly/quickly; really dug how it begun.
the man who refused to grow up: very enjoyable, very nice.
it is two in the morning, and i’m writing to you: made me think of someone I would like to forget about, etc. (not bad, this piece of writing.)
cat of the night: this was written very well.
insert a carrot: kinda breezy, light etc.
one plus one: nice.
death friends forever: very interesting, but hoped for a different ending?
the biggest night of the year: quite nice.
before, and then after: good one.
except for the sound of your feet: enjoyed this one a lot, because I could relate to Meera so much; such a real, well-written character.
short excerpts from my life as a mermaid by undine subramaniam: one of my favourites from the lot.
There is not much I could tell you about each tale for I might give away too much - there is a fine line between describing and reviewing art, I feel. It is subjective. What was most interesting to me is that as an author/writer, her voice and writing style is extremely appealing... I would be curious to read more short stories written by Meenakshi, if not entire books.
I’m going to leave a line or word by the side of each story so you know what I thought about it, etc.
the irrepressible memory of silence: kind of nice, but ended too abruptly/quickly; really dug how it begun.
the man who refused to grow up: very enjoyable, very nice.
it is two in the morning, and i’m writing to you: made me think of someone I would like to forget about, etc. (not bad, this piece of writing.)
cat of the night: this was written very well.
insert a carrot: kinda breezy, light etc.
one plus one: nice.
death friends forever: very interesting, but hoped for a different ending?
the biggest night of the year: quite nice.
before, and then after: good one.
except for the sound of your feet: enjoyed this one a lot, because I could relate to Meera so much; such a real, well-written character.
short excerpts from my life as a mermaid by undine subramaniam: one of my favourites from the lot.
There is not much I could tell you about each tale for I might give away too much - there is a fine line between describing and reviewing art, I feel. It is subjective. What was most interesting to me is that as an author/writer, her voice and writing style is extremely appealing... I would be curious to read more short stories written by Meenakshi, if not entire books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2020
A collection of short stories - TBH, I found the first one about a budding writer and an established writer, boring and clichéd. The second one was interesting, children growing up with a single parent, who has a Peter Pan syndrome and how his death affects them. I loved the parallel life of a woman in a brothel and her cat and two friends discussing relationships over a misspelled tattoo There was one with a bartender in Delhi, who finds a connection with a DJ, a ghost friend visits her friend (a lamp attempt at horror) a teenager's quest to having a perfect new year's eve and the last but not the least about an adorable dog Poppy and a broken home.
July 15, 2016
I picked up this book at the airport bookshop and it kept me entertained the entire flight. A collection of short stories, some of which, after so many months, are still with me. Especially love the one about the cat, Noor.
June 1, 2017
I cannot stop thinking about each of these short stories, and I'm writing this over a year later. They varied widely in style and topics. looking forward to her next book!
April 27, 2016
What a wonderful bunch of stories. I wasn't expecting this kind of variety in plot and style and form, so the book surprised me. I like how Reddy writes anyway, but these were especially good.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews