The Intrusion and Other Stories

by Shashi Deshpande

A haunting new collection of short stories from one of India’s most acclaimed writers
Shashi Deshpande, in her new collection of short stories, explores a world darkened by the despair and unhappiness of women trying to break out of predefined roles. There is the newly married protagonist of the title story, whose self-respect and sense of self re violated by her crass and insensitive husband; the wife who finds herself involved in an affair because of her husband’s indifference; the mother who tries to forge a relationship with a hostile daughter.... These and other stories in this collection serve to reaffirm Shashi Deshpande in her reputation as a writer of acuity and compassion.

Genres: Short Stories

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1993

About the author

Novelist and short story writer, Shashi Deshpande began her career with short stories and has by now authored nine short story collections, twelve novels and four books for children. Three of her novels have received awards, including the Sahitya Akademi award for `That Long Silence'. Some of her other novels are `The Dark Holds No Terrors', `A Matter of Time', `Small Remedies', `Moving On', `In The Country of Deceit' and `Ships that Pass'. Her latest novel is `Shadow Play'.Many of her short stories and novels have been translated into a number of Indian as well as European languages. She has translated two plays by her father, Adya Rangacharya, (Shriranga), as well as his memoirs, from Kannada into English, and a novel by Gauri Deshpande from Marathi into English.
Apart from fiction, she has written a number of articles on various subjects - literature, language, Indian writing in English, feminism and women's writing - which have now been put together in a collection `Writing from the Margin.' She has been invited to participate in various literary conferences and festivals, as well as to lecture in Universities, both in India and abroad.

She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008.

List of books by Shashi Deshpande

Dark Holds No Terrors (1982)
That Long Silence (1989)
A Matter of Time
Moving On
Small Remedies
Shadow Play (2013)
The Narayanpur Incident
If I Die Today
In the Country of Deceit
The Binding Vine
Ships That Pass (2012)
The Intrusion And Other Stories
3 Novels : A Summer Adventure, The Hidden Treasure, The Only Witness
Come Up & Be Dead
Collected Stories (Volume - 1)
Collected Stories (Volume - 2)
Writing from the Margin: And Other Essays

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy, so happy I read this book!!!!
I mean wow. Feminism fiction?
Chill and read this one.

I discovered this book recently and yes, grabbed it inspite of the low ratings here. It's fine I told myself. I need to read this book because it screams 'women speaking for women.'

And yes, now I am so glad I trusted my instincts and actually started reading this collection as soon as I got the book.

First published in 1993 (and damn, it's still so relevant when it comes to women and the societal issues even after all these years!), this collection has 19 short stories which actually portrays vividly the lives of women in the country. The book delivered in showing a clear picture of what we feel, what we have to go through to make everyone around us happy (or at least to live together in peace) and to being a lesser 'burden' to them.

I love the writing so much! It has both the strength and the agility to grip the reader until the last page of the book.

Each story stood out. Women from Hindu mythology to the women we know of; women who were once girls to the women we have become; women who were made numb to the women who ultimately make up their minds to break all the chains which suffocate them, these stories have a lot more to offer.

These stories are mature and written in such a way that taboo topics are presented to us for us to grasp quickly, make us think and actually do something for ourselves.

The characters are developed so well. Even the girl child characters are presented with such a memorable aura that they would remain forever with you as we would be able to relate to them because all these issues will keep on happening no matter how 'developed' we are.

This short story collection is so important to read as youngsters, we women ourselves, men and the older generation need to understand what women go through; how and by whom women are made the so-called 'burden' and why we need to change our mindset which haven't changed since the time of The Ramayana. Yes, that long ago!

If you feel you haven't read a powerful women centric fiction, just read this one. Totally recommended.

🤦 So underrated!

[Lydia Ralte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved Shashi Deshpande's writings for a long time. Saying that, this was a heavy read content wise. It made you question your role of performing as a wife, a daughter, a grandmother, a mother - a woman. It was poignant and memorable. The words are crafted so beautifully together. I highly recommend reading this book

[Zak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb collection of short stories. Deshpande writes about the internal turmoils and conflicts of normal human beings (mostly women in this case) like few others I have encountered. Unsettling and often moving, the writing kept me riveted to the pages. The only shortfall is that some of the later stories were less impactful than the first few, otherwise I would give it 5 stars unreservedly. [Final rating: 4.5*]

[Payal Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of 19 short stories , all written by Shashi Deshpande.
These stories provide insights, a wealth of understanding and a reservoir of meaning. She mostly depicts the contemporary woman on the threshold of transition, her struggle in the context of society, to find and preserve her identity as wife, mother, and, most of all, as human being.

Her stories cover a vast range of topics and are mainly concerned with understanding emotions.

She deals with real life situations and the best part is when sometimes, she goes to the epics in search of some truths, and, in doing so, she has retold these old tales from another wonderful prospective.
In the process, her writing can be said to be questioning the place of Indian womanhood in the dharma of the land.

And being a fan of the Mahabharata, I loved it when she lend a voice to the silent characters of the epic: Amba and Kunti and Draupadi.

Now, I don't know what else to say, I am really finding it difficult to put it into words just how awesome the book is.
But why 4.5/5? why not 5/5? Maybe because I thought the author has represented the male as unresponsive characters most of the time, which I don't think is every case scenario

Personal favorites: Well, I liked every single on of them but to name some:
"Hear me Sanjaya"
"The stone women"
"The inner room"
" The pawn"

A must read. Happy reading!!!

[Poonam]

A collection that's moving as well as thought provoking at the same time is Shashi Deshpande's "The Intrusion and Other Stories". I've been a fan of Shashi Deshpande for long and I've read most of what she's written. This collection of stories is lovely in the way she conveys in little vignettes the dilemmas and the conflicts of women's lives -the overwhelming majority of protagonists of these stories are women- all the while providing insights into their minds. The women who inhabit her stories are a varied lot, not just in age and the lives they lead but also their milieu.

She depicts struggles which are exclusive to women and some which are simply human dilemmas. The protagonists of these stories come through the narratives, their voices ringing clear in your ears long after the stories have ended. They may, at times, be beaten, but often the most unlikeliest of characters manage to transcend their boundaries and circumstances.

I was pleasantly surprised to find in this collection, the tales of women ranging from ambitious career women and the lonely new widow who struggles with an empty nest. There's also the widow who will not let all the gossip or even the physical and verbal abuse from her extended family keep her from forging new paths for herself.

The housewife who is on the verge of adultery, or the bored first lady who scoffs at those around her, each bored out of her wits by her humdrum existence or even more interesting, the woman who has given up a full time job to relocate and become a housewife. Yet each woman asserts herself in her own unique way, usually quietly, sometimes not so much! But none of these women sees herself as a victim.

Each story is unique and told with sensitivity. More than a few of these tales left me with a lump in my throat. Vintage Shashi Deshpande and a thoroughly enjoyable read!

[Lester · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in two minds with this book. One the one hand, the writing is as beautiful as is to be expected from Mrs. Deshpande. I still prefer her brand of 'feminist' writing to that of western standard feminism such as that of Doris Lessing. The stories too, were extremely varied, almost all written in the first-person form, all of them a story of a woman in a stereotypical Indian situation. Stories such as the 'Intrusion' of the title were incredibly moving. a couple of tales told by protagonists from the Mahabharta add to the variety.

On the other hand, I was troubled by the depressing ends that almost every story had. Emotionally powerful yes, but after a while, I had to pause between stories to prevent myself from shooting myself in the head.

[Parth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shashi Deshpande is an amazing writer, no doubt! She has a great eye for details and beautifully portrays the Indian culture rather than exploiting it like the diasporas. Her sense of writing is deep, funny and often philosophical but ironically she often herself "intrudes" into her stories providing commentary to enlighten the story but ends up making them more distant from the readers.

Intrusion is a remarkable story and hats off to Shashi Deshpande for exploring the issue of marital rape when even the word was a hush hush. It is a great symbolic piece. Other stories in the collection however failed to be that moving or thought provoking.

It's that Shashi Deshpande has an idea and she goes on to craft the entire story on the basis of it which is where some of the stories feel like a drag or to be simple boring. The stories try to appear deep but they are not.

However there are some of them that are crafted with style and simplicity and two or three really blew me. It is for these stories that Deshpande deserves much more recognition than many other writers.

My personal favourites from the collection were:

The Intrusion
My Beloved Charioteer
An Antidote to Boredom
It was the Nightingale
The Pawn

And my personal favourite: The Cruelty Game where the writer portrays the world of children with an amazing eye of detail and which will really move you to tears.

[PARWAAZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would describe them not as stories but as poignant incidents, superbly narrated and exquisitely crafted. Most of the protagonists are females. Strong thinking individuals, not a drab oppressed mass. This is exactly what sets Deshpande aside from most other writers.

Her stories are a narration of thoughts, of struggles, of battles, of dilemmas and of love...all in the brains of the characters. The characters are introduced and described through their thoughts, successfully uncovering the many layered individuality of each human.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and well written stories centering around women, and their emerging from their predefined roles.

[Somen Bala · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow awesome this app i have helped. .

[Tehreem Jamal]

🧚

[Suruchika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories on women