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Each of Us Killers
A Foreword INDIES 2020 Book of the Year Winner in the Short Stories category and a finalist in the Multicultural Adult Fiction category.
These are stories woven at the intersection of labor and our emotional lives. Set in the American Midwest, England, and India (Mumbai, Ahmedabad, rural Gujarat) the stories in Each of Us Killers are about people trying to realize their dreams and aspirations through their professions. Whether they are chasing money, power, recognition, love, or simply trying to make a decent living, their hunger is as intense as any grand love affair. Straddling the fault lines of race, class, caste, gender, nationality, globalization, and more, they go against sociocultural norms despite challenges and indignities until singular moments of quiet devastation turn the worlds of these characters—auto-wallah, housemaid, street vendor, journalist, architect, baker, engineer, saree shop employee, professor, yoga instructor, bartender, and more—upside down.
"Challenging assumptions, confronting power, manipulating barriers whenever possible-even at grave personal cost-Bhatt's cast surprises, inspires, frightens, beguiles, but never disappoints." ~Shelf Awareness (starred review)
Most anticipated debuts of 2020 at Electric Literature, Literary Hub, The Millions, Kirkus Reviews, Entropy Magazine, Debutiful, Ms. Magazine, Bustle. Best story collections of 2020 at Bustle and Largehearted Boy. Best collections of 2020 by Asian authors at Book Riot.
". . . rich debut . . . a powerful expression of the hunger for success on one's own terms." ~Publishers Weekly
". . . nuanced, clear-eyed tales of unvarnished humanity. [...] A formally diverse collection with exquisitely crafted stories about longing, striving, and learning what we can control." ~Kirkus Reviews
"With this powerful, complex work, Bhatt should be launched into a wider readership that is fully deserved, and the literary world should rejoice in discovering a bright new star." ~Dallas Morning News
. . . you will feel that you have encountered this level of skill, craft, and complexity before in reading the masters of the short story genre--even while the author subverts what we so often encounter in the genre about notions of loss and lonely voices and who gets to tell their own stories." ~Texas Public Radio
". . . Bhatt peels back shells of self-awareness, revealing understandings of the often subtle distinctions of gender, race, and family expectations that define and confine them." ~The National Book Review
". . . Bhatt gets under the skin of her characters with an ease that is difficult to achieve when creating characters beyond the pale of capital and caste. [. . .] using lively, sculpted language that avoids the stilted, literary English often afflicting Indian English writing." ~The Hindu
". . . variety of literary techniques of plot, style, and voice--including the refreshing second-person singular and first-person plural--Bhatt's stories effortlessly straddle class, caste, gender, and race divides spanning the US, England, and India." ~Open The Magazine
"Taken together, [the stories] show Bhatt's wide range, both in theme and style, and her ability to inhabit characters who couldn't be more different from each other." ~New York Journal of Books
"Interspersing loss and longing, survival and success, in an array of memories, shades, moods, dreams [. . .] Bhatt packs in a powerful compilation, rich in prose and poetry . . ." ~NRI Pulse
". . . brings a range of lived experience, experimentation, and stylistic variety, which announces a seasoned practitioner rather than a newcomer to fiction." ~India Currents
". . . a collection that is as important in the telling as in remembering the times we live in and the times to come." ~The Hindu Business Line
"Bhatt's deliberate expansion of established tropes about Indians and the Indian diaspora deserves special accolades." ~Leonard Prize 2020 Nominations, National Book Critics Circle
" . . . exploration of South Asian identity in the workplace through a wide lens instead of the traditional representations. . ." ~Puerto del Sol
". . . characters who are bound to their work, either by choice or circumstance, as they attempt to thwart societal expectations and break down barriers . . ." ~Phoebe Journal
". . . as compulsively readable as it is sharp and as enjoyable as it is thought-provoking [. . .] an accomplished and impressive debut." ~Vagabond City
"[. . .] interact with multiple voices, listening to the struggles of various characters, and enjoying cultural details through the incredible use of language and literary techniques [. . .] the entire collection is an enlightening voyage." ~Platform Magazine
"Jenny Bhatt's gorgeous stories in Each of Us Killers remind me why I love to read a good book. It is such a pleasure to be immersed in the worlds of her characters, in their hunger for love or money, and in their local and g...
These are stories woven at the intersection of labor and our emotional lives. Set in the American Midwest, England, and India (Mumbai, Ahmedabad, rural Gujarat) the stories in Each of Us Killers are about people trying to realize their dreams and aspirations through their professions. Whether they are chasing money, power, recognition, love, or simply trying to make a decent living, their hunger is as intense as any grand love affair. Straddling the fault lines of race, class, caste, gender, nationality, globalization, and more, they go against sociocultural norms despite challenges and indignities until singular moments of quiet devastation turn the worlds of these characters—auto-wallah, housemaid, street vendor, journalist, architect, baker, engineer, saree shop employee, professor, yoga instructor, bartender, and more—upside down.
"Challenging assumptions, confronting power, manipulating barriers whenever possible-even at grave personal cost-Bhatt's cast surprises, inspires, frightens, beguiles, but never disappoints." ~Shelf Awareness (starred review)
Most anticipated debuts of 2020 at Electric Literature, Literary Hub, The Millions, Kirkus Reviews, Entropy Magazine, Debutiful, Ms. Magazine, Bustle. Best story collections of 2020 at Bustle and Largehearted Boy. Best collections of 2020 by Asian authors at Book Riot.
". . . rich debut . . . a powerful expression of the hunger for success on one's own terms." ~Publishers Weekly
". . . nuanced, clear-eyed tales of unvarnished humanity. [...] A formally diverse collection with exquisitely crafted stories about longing, striving, and learning what we can control." ~Kirkus Reviews
"With this powerful, complex work, Bhatt should be launched into a wider readership that is fully deserved, and the literary world should rejoice in discovering a bright new star." ~Dallas Morning News
. . . you will feel that you have encountered this level of skill, craft, and complexity before in reading the masters of the short story genre--even while the author subverts what we so often encounter in the genre about notions of loss and lonely voices and who gets to tell their own stories." ~Texas Public Radio
". . . Bhatt peels back shells of self-awareness, revealing understandings of the often subtle distinctions of gender, race, and family expectations that define and confine them." ~The National Book Review
". . . Bhatt gets under the skin of her characters with an ease that is difficult to achieve when creating characters beyond the pale of capital and caste. [. . .] using lively, sculpted language that avoids the stilted, literary English often afflicting Indian English writing." ~The Hindu
". . . variety of literary techniques of plot, style, and voice--including the refreshing second-person singular and first-person plural--Bhatt's stories effortlessly straddle class, caste, gender, and race divides spanning the US, England, and India." ~Open The Magazine
"Taken together, [the stories] show Bhatt's wide range, both in theme and style, and her ability to inhabit characters who couldn't be more different from each other." ~New York Journal of Books
"Interspersing loss and longing, survival and success, in an array of memories, shades, moods, dreams [. . .] Bhatt packs in a powerful compilation, rich in prose and poetry . . ." ~NRI Pulse
". . . brings a range of lived experience, experimentation, and stylistic variety, which announces a seasoned practitioner rather than a newcomer to fiction." ~India Currents
". . . a collection that is as important in the telling as in remembering the times we live in and the times to come." ~The Hindu Business Line
"Bhatt's deliberate expansion of established tropes about Indians and the Indian diaspora deserves special accolades." ~Leonard Prize 2020 Nominations, National Book Critics Circle
" . . . exploration of South Asian identity in the workplace through a wide lens instead of the traditional representations. . ." ~Puerto del Sol
". . . characters who are bound to their work, either by choice or circumstance, as they attempt to thwart societal expectations and break down barriers . . ." ~Phoebe Journal
". . . as compulsively readable as it is sharp and as enjoyable as it is thought-provoking [. . .] an accomplished and impressive debut." ~Vagabond City
"[. . .] interact with multiple voices, listening to the struggles of various characters, and enjoying cultural details through the incredible use of language and literary techniques [. . .] the entire collection is an enlightening voyage." ~Platform Magazine
"Jenny Bhatt's gorgeous stories in Each of Us Killers remind me why I love to read a good book. It is such a pleasure to be immersed in the worlds of her characters, in their hunger for love or money, and in their local and g...
195 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2020
21 people are currently reading
2195 people want to read
About the author
Jenny Bhatt
9 books63 followersJenny Bhatt is a writer, literary translator, and book critic. She is the founder of Desi Books, a global forum that showcases South Asian literature from the world over. And she teaches creative writing at Writing Workshops Dallas and the PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship Program. Her debut story collection, Each of Us Killers: Stories (7.13 Books; Sep 2020) won a 2020 Foreword INDIES award. Her literary translation, Ratno Dholi: Dhumketu’s Best Short Stories (HarperCollins India; Oct 2020), was shortlisted for the 2021 PFC-VoW Book Awards. One of her short stories was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021. Her nonfiction has been published in various venues including NPR, The Washington Post, BBC Culture, The Atlantic, Publishers Weekly, Dallas Morning News, Literary Hub, Poets & Writers, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Star Tribune, and more. The US edition of her Dhumketu translation, The Shehnai Virtuoso and Other Stories, was released in July 2022. Find her at https://jennybhattwriter.com. Sign up for her popular, free, weekly newsletter, We Are All Translators.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
August 15, 2021
A few 4.5-5-star stories in this collection, several 3-3.5, and a couple around 2.5. I enjoyed this short story collection focusing on Indians living both abroad in the United States and England as well as in India, featuring a diverse array of perspectives and narrative frames. I feel like Jenny Bhatt’s stories excelled the most when they centered on a well-developed character with a consistent voice. I most loved “Life Spring,” a story about a woman operating her own bakery after a divorce, who fights to overcome both sexism in her business ventures as well as her own broken heart. I also enjoyed “Neeru’s New World,” about a maid in India who risks experiencing sexual assault her workplace, “Pros and Cons,”’ which highlights yoga instructors and their and their students’ inner desires, and “Time and Opportunity,” about a shopkeeper whose complicity in discrimination backfires against him. With each of these stories, especially “Life Spring,” I felt intimately equated with the protagonists’ even after only a few scenes, and I felt connected in their struggles to advocate for their own desires amidst the forces of sexism, classism, and casteism.
A few other stories I considered more “make a point” stories. With these stories, they made strong and compelling points about social injustices such as casteism or gender discrimination, though I did not connect with the characters as much. Some of these stories either felt too short or the writing device came across as more prominent than the characters’ inner and outer lives. Overall, I would still recommend this short story collection for those interested in realistic fiction and to those who want to read more about Indian folks’ lives, portrayed in a three-dimensional way.
A few other stories I considered more “make a point” stories. With these stories, they made strong and compelling points about social injustices such as casteism or gender discrimination, though I did not connect with the characters as much. Some of these stories either felt too short or the writing device came across as more prominent than the characters’ inner and outer lives. Overall, I would still recommend this short story collection for those interested in realistic fiction and to those who want to read more about Indian folks’ lives, portrayed in a three-dimensional way.
February 18, 2022
well who can resist such a pretty cover 🤪 but this was quite a let down.
a debut collection of stories - featuring diverse settings, characters & conflicts from india. the author describes them as tales "woven at the intersection of labour and our emotional lives".
⭐️⭐️/5. the writing is probably just not for me but again, not generally a fan of short stories in the first place ((which is why i rarely read them)) so its hard for me to get along with these stories. some even makes up into only 2 pages so there were a few times where i went wAit wHattTttt~ just HapPenneddd 🥲
might have to go with the minority here but if you enjoy reading short stories with various themes, this might be it. dont really understand certain parts which i thought will be better if its longer/elaborated more. theres so much potential and just wished i would enjoy this as much 🥲
a debut collection of stories - featuring diverse settings, characters & conflicts from india. the author describes them as tales "woven at the intersection of labour and our emotional lives".
⭐️⭐️/5. the writing is probably just not for me but again, not generally a fan of short stories in the first place ((which is why i rarely read them)) so its hard for me to get along with these stories. some even makes up into only 2 pages so there were a few times where i went wAit wHattTttt~ just HapPenneddd 🥲
might have to go with the minority here but if you enjoy reading short stories with various themes, this might be it. dont really understand certain parts which i thought will be better if its longer/elaborated more. theres so much potential and just wished i would enjoy this as much 🥲
August 9, 2021
This collection is doing a lot, in terms of sharing stories of people from many walks of life, and that becomes evident with some distance from having read it. It's a slow burn, for me. Reading each story was enjoyable, but finishing and stepping back, Bhatt's ability to set stories in America and overseas, about people from all classes and professions, and have them all cohere into a thematically tight collection is impressive.
January 26, 2020
Subtle, enjoyable, intriguing stories.
April 8, 2021
I don't normally read all of the short stories in a collection, but this time I did. These engaging stories let us see into the lives of both highly educated, wealthy people in India and the U.S., as well as the lower class in India. One of my favorite stories is "Neeru's New World," about a maid in India who is at risk of sexual assault in the household where she works. The ending surprised me. I must say that the beginning of the first story, "Return to India," confused me. I thought it did not have anything to do with Indians, but it turns out that "Dan" is actually "Dhanesh," and the story unfolds as a series of interviews by the detective investigating his death. One of the most unusual stories is "The Waiting," narrated by the dead. The characters in each story are unique and well-developed.
October 26, 2020
Moving stories about how our professions and occupations are more than just livelihoods and mold our entire lives. The writing style is engaging and lucid and transports us easily into each story's world.
May 11, 2021
Yaaaay finally found a short story collection that kept my interest
April 1, 2022
Each of Us Killers | Jenny Bhatt | 25Mar2022
-------------------------
One-Sentence Review
For someone who doesn't always connect with short stories, this was impeccably well laid out and impressively deep.
---------------------------
Published/Pages : 23Jul2020 | 195 pages
Location: Michigan, Chicago (Illinois), Santa Clara (California) | London (UK) | Mumbai (India), Ahmedabad (India)
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Anthology, Short Stories
TW: casual racism, casteism, scenes of dead bodies being dragged, suicide, toxic masculinity
Characters: Kristin Loomis, Vanessa Vandemark, Brad Stanton, Charlie Withers, Nirali Rainer, Walter Dejong | Kay | Urmi | Pavan | Rafi | Heena | Nawaz | Neeru | Nikhil | Vidya | Kunwari, Gaban
-------------------------------
Rating Analysis (Anthology)
Return to India
5/5 - Brilliant
Disappointment
4/5 - Intriguing
Fragments of Future Memories
2/5 - Meandering
Pros and Cons
4/5 - Charming
The God of Wind
2/5 - Clipped
Mango Season
5/5 - Atmospheric
Life Spring
5/5 - Wholesome
Time and Opportunity
3/5 - Decent
Separation Notice
3/5 - Funny
Neeru's New World
4/5 - Engaging
The Prize
4/5 - Unfulfilling
12 Short Tales of Women at Work
5/5 - Hard-hitting
Journey to a Stepwell
3/5 - Obtuse
The Waiting
3/5 - Flat
Each of Us Killers
4/5 - Thought-provoking
TOTAL: 56/75 (7.5 Stars = 3.75 Stars ~ ★★★★)
--------------------------------
Reaction Section
-------------------------
One-Sentence Review
For someone who doesn't always connect with short stories, this was impeccably well laid out and impressively deep.
---------------------------
Published/Pages : 23Jul2020 | 195 pages
Location: Michigan, Chicago (Illinois), Santa Clara (California) | London (UK) | Mumbai (India), Ahmedabad (India)
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Anthology, Short Stories
TW: casual racism, casteism, scenes of dead bodies being dragged, suicide, toxic masculinity
Characters: Kristin Loomis, Vanessa Vandemark, Brad Stanton, Charlie Withers, Nirali Rainer, Walter Dejong | Kay | Urmi | Pavan | Rafi | Heena | Nawaz | Neeru | Nikhil | Vidya | Kunwari, Gaban
-------------------------------
Rating Analysis (Anthology)
Return to India
5/5 - Brilliant
Disappointment
4/5 - Intriguing
Fragments of Future Memories
2/5 - Meandering
Pros and Cons
4/5 - Charming
The God of Wind
2/5 - Clipped
Mango Season
5/5 - Atmospheric
Life Spring
5/5 - Wholesome
Time and Opportunity
3/5 - Decent
Separation Notice
3/5 - Funny
Neeru's New World
4/5 - Engaging
The Prize
4/5 - Unfulfilling
12 Short Tales of Women at Work
5/5 - Hard-hitting
Journey to a Stepwell
3/5 - Obtuse
The Waiting
3/5 - Flat
Each of Us Killers
4/5 - Thought-provoking
TOTAL: 56/75 (7.5 Stars = 3.75 Stars ~ ★★★★)
--------------------------------
Reaction Section
June 6, 2024
The writing is a bit chaotic for me. Not the collection for me.
February 10, 2022
Expansive, compact, utterly engaging stories. I'd read this again in a heartbeat.
January 6, 2021
(cw: death, suicide, misogyny, sexual assault, race-based hate crimes, caste-based hate crimes & violence)
Jenny Bhatt's collection of short stories, EACH OF US KILLERS, didn't stun me during the initial reading, but the more I contemplated it, the more I liked it. They're the kind of stories that settle under your skin.
An array of different characters populate Bhatt's world: an Indian software engineer, shot dead in a hate crime, in "Return to India"; a live-in maid blackmailed after caught trying on her employer's clothes and makeup in "Neeru's New World"; a series of women who had been raped and/or sexually assaulted at work in "Twelve Short Stories of Women at Work"; a group of Dalit families reluctantly recounting, almost downplaying, the suicide of one of their own in "Each of Us Killers." I loved the progression of stories, how they shift from a white, exoticizing point-of-view to what Ghatt calls a "personal subversiveness" in her Goodreads note. Parallels between stories felt like Easter egg finds from a reader's experience but also somberly drills in crucial themes of gender, caste, race, and disillusionment. For instance, I was almost disappointed in two instances of liberation after sex for the two women in "Pros and Cons" and "Life Spring" until I compared the repercussions of both—in "Life Spring," we see disapproving off-hand comments about Heena, a divorced woman, being around "strange men...from lower-caste communities" versus Urmi, in "Pros and Cons," faces more internalized forms of ageism.
Strangely enough, my favorite story in this collection was the shortest one, "The God of Wind." I love the capture, a snapshot in moment of an ordinary rickshaw driver in India suddenly propelled into his rightful birthname of Pavan, the Wind God.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJtZOmGAWsw/
Jenny Bhatt's collection of short stories, EACH OF US KILLERS, didn't stun me during the initial reading, but the more I contemplated it, the more I liked it. They're the kind of stories that settle under your skin.
An array of different characters populate Bhatt's world: an Indian software engineer, shot dead in a hate crime, in "Return to India"; a live-in maid blackmailed after caught trying on her employer's clothes and makeup in "Neeru's New World"; a series of women who had been raped and/or sexually assaulted at work in "Twelve Short Stories of Women at Work"; a group of Dalit families reluctantly recounting, almost downplaying, the suicide of one of their own in "Each of Us Killers." I loved the progression of stories, how they shift from a white, exoticizing point-of-view to what Ghatt calls a "personal subversiveness" in her Goodreads note. Parallels between stories felt like Easter egg finds from a reader's experience but also somberly drills in crucial themes of gender, caste, race, and disillusionment. For instance, I was almost disappointed in two instances of liberation after sex for the two women in "Pros and Cons" and "Life Spring" until I compared the repercussions of both—in "Life Spring," we see disapproving off-hand comments about Heena, a divorced woman, being around "strange men...from lower-caste communities" versus Urmi, in "Pros and Cons," faces more internalized forms of ageism.
Strangely enough, my favorite story in this collection was the shortest one, "The God of Wind." I love the capture, a snapshot in moment of an ordinary rickshaw driver in India suddenly propelled into his rightful birthname of Pavan, the Wind God.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJtZOmGAWsw/
June 16, 2021
3.5 stars
Caste. Class. Religion. Labor. Feminism. Identity. Governance. Mental health.
The stories explore so many themes, and I liked some of them very much indeed. It is an important piece of work, set in India (Gujarat, mostly) and the US, a very contemporary work of fiction, touching upon issues we feel fiercely about.
Recommended if you want to read a fresh, interesting take on women (and some men) in and from India.
My favorites are Mango Season and Life Spring. Neeru’s New World was engrossing, too. ‘Journey to a Stepwell’ took my breath away. The layers, the subtlety, and the beauty of language.
I also like the book jacket a lot. Each of the images corresponds so vividly to a story.
I did not enjoy all the stories (very natural), and some stories, particularly on sensitive issues like caste discrimination, seem to need more depth and research. But overall, stories worth reading. I look forward to reading more from Jenny Bhatt.
Caste. Class. Religion. Labor. Feminism. Identity. Governance. Mental health.
The stories explore so many themes, and I liked some of them very much indeed. It is an important piece of work, set in India (Gujarat, mostly) and the US, a very contemporary work of fiction, touching upon issues we feel fiercely about.
Recommended if you want to read a fresh, interesting take on women (and some men) in and from India.
My favorites are Mango Season and Life Spring. Neeru’s New World was engrossing, too. ‘Journey to a Stepwell’ took my breath away. The layers, the subtlety, and the beauty of language.
I also like the book jacket a lot. Each of the images corresponds so vividly to a story.
I did not enjoy all the stories (very natural), and some stories, particularly on sensitive issues like caste discrimination, seem to need more depth and research. But overall, stories worth reading. I look forward to reading more from Jenny Bhatt.
September 17, 2020
This book is a collection of stories bound together by a loose thread of worklife- how our job's impact our lives in more ways than we imagine. The thread is loose because each story has a remarkably different voice, but gives an overall feel of the resolve of ambition, sometimes succeeding, sometimes struggling. The prose is refreshingly true to its location, and makes one appreciate it at a sentence level, which definitely is the best kind of prose.
October 2, 2020
These stories are rich, nuanced, and powerful. The God of Wind packs such a strong punch to the gut and reminded me of Marquez, while Twelve Short Tales… is also powerful and so smart, and reminiscent of Little Miracles, Kept Promises by Sandra Cisneros. Disappointment is just sublime. And words fail me for Neeru's New World. The range and the depth of the characters, the fantastic settings, and the mesmerizing voices all combine to make this a powerful collection. I really enjoyed it.
January 18, 2021
It feels a little like I give every book I read four stars. But honestly these books deserve it and in particular this one which is a remarkable collection of short stories. The themes explored throughout these expertly written tales include classism, feminism, life in modern India, as well as stories that mix in mystical elements and mystery. I recommend this for fans of short stories, as well as those interested in reading a variety of distinct and rich voices.
May 5, 2021
"I have to wonder at a world that allows men to go about as if they own it and women to live as if they must endure it."
As with any book of short stories, some captured me more than others, but none of these were duds by any means.
My Favorites:
Return to India
Fragments of Future Memories
Separation Notice
12 Short Tales of Women at Work
Journey to Stepwell
The Waiting
As with any book of short stories, some captured me more than others, but none of these were duds by any means.
My Favorites:
Return to India
Fragments of Future Memories
Separation Notice
12 Short Tales of Women at Work
Journey to Stepwell
The Waiting
February 11, 2021
A mesmerizing collection of short stories that subtly touch upon social issues. However, this book should be savored slowly. Each story is layered and holds a deeper meaning, if we spend time trying to understand the author's perspective.
June 23, 2021
Compelling, thrilling stories with interracial relationships and vibrant characters. Packed with wisdom, longing and other profound themes. A must read.
February 25, 2021
A series of very short stories that provide a complicated Indian immigrant experience. I loved that each story is immersive and didn't make me feel uncomfortable with basic tropes.
August 5, 2021
(rounded up from 3.5)
a well-rounded collection on class, race, gender, and diaspora, but i felt some points were made a bit too heavy-handedly
a well-rounded collection on class, race, gender, and diaspora, but i felt some points were made a bit too heavy-handedly
February 26, 2022
To be honest, I'm just getting into short stories. Not really my thing as I love doorstopper novels. This collection was my book club's pick so I got in on it. Surprised me. Insightful stories about working lives that are all so varied. I expected it to be more like Jhumpa Lahiri, which is the other Indian American short story writer I know. But these are different. Loved Pros and Cons, Return to India, and the title story the most. But others are good too and I'm still thinking about some of the endings. Also made me look up stuff about India I never knew. Why is this book not more well-known? It's a little gem. Love the cover too.
June 17, 2022
Some memorable lines and images, but overall the stories just weren't really sticking with me.
2.5/5
2.5/5
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August 18, 2021"Each of Us Killers" reveals the messiness of a person behind their job title, perhaps to explore why we make an arbitrary divide when, in reality, personal and professional life are not neatly split. What happens when labels like "yoga instructor" or "engineer" transform to "middle-aged yoga instructor spurned by love," or "an Indian immigrant engineer working in a conservative, white rural Michigan town?"
The fifteen stories in Jenny Bhatt's poignant debut collection are a mix of longer plots, chapters as short as one page, and even one-paragraph stories, but all are equally captivating.
I appreciated Bhatt's commitment to writing about Indian culture without fussing too much with context or translations. However, I can imagine how some of these stories may fly over the heads of readers who aren't deeply familiar with the Indian context. I got lost in some of the longer Hindi dialogues, and I was only sort of sure I picked up on the country-specific references.
That being said, I am a proponent of not white (or Western) washing India to make it fit the limited confines of what a non-Indian audience might know about the subcontinent; "Each of Us Killers" undoubtedly widens how authentically and multi-dimensionally Indian society and culture is depicted in the Western literary canon.
The stories in this collection are layered with difficult themes—death, racism, caste, corruption, sexual harassment among them—but if you weren't looking to sit with heaviness, you could just as easily breeze through this book as a pleasant afternoon read. This is a testament to Bhatt's exceptional ability to create characters that exist lightly on the page despite the weight of their problems, not unlike how many of us compartmentalize our burdens when we step into the office (or a Zoom call). These are not particularly happy stories, and yet, "Each of Us Killers" was a wonderfully warm read.
The fifteen stories in Jenny Bhatt's poignant debut collection are a mix of longer plots, chapters as short as one page, and even one-paragraph stories, but all are equally captivating.
I appreciated Bhatt's commitment to writing about Indian culture without fussing too much with context or translations. However, I can imagine how some of these stories may fly over the heads of readers who aren't deeply familiar with the Indian context. I got lost in some of the longer Hindi dialogues, and I was only sort of sure I picked up on the country-specific references.
That being said, I am a proponent of not white (or Western) washing India to make it fit the limited confines of what a non-Indian audience might know about the subcontinent; "Each of Us Killers" undoubtedly widens how authentically and multi-dimensionally Indian society and culture is depicted in the Western literary canon.
The stories in this collection are layered with difficult themes—death, racism, caste, corruption, sexual harassment among them—but if you weren't looking to sit with heaviness, you could just as easily breeze through this book as a pleasant afternoon read. This is a testament to Bhatt's exceptional ability to create characters that exist lightly on the page despite the weight of their problems, not unlike how many of us compartmentalize our burdens when we step into the office (or a Zoom call). These are not particularly happy stories, and yet, "Each of Us Killers" was a wonderfully warm read.
September 10, 2021
A collection of 15 short stories that cover the lives and angst of Indians bound within their communities, countries and quotidian lives.
From the investigation into the death of an ordinary man of Indian origin in the midwest of the United States to the suspicious death of a Dalit boy in the western part of India, the book covers a wide range of characters and situations that depict the unique but common dilemmas of people stuck in a combination of situations and circumstances beyond their control.
Twelve Short Tales of Women at Work shows brief vignettes of women’s lives across a abroad swathe of society while Journey to the Stepwell is a juxtaposition of a legend against the doubts of a soon-to-be-married contemporary young woman in urban India. Reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri’s writing style, Bhatt takes us from a street food stall in Mumbai to an apartment building in Ahmedabad, from the apartment of a divorced woman making her way in the world with her baking talents to an unnamed exotic destination for a yoga workshop where a diffident middle-aged yoga instructor finally finds the courage to teach a class on her own.
The stories touch upon religious and caste-based differences as well as political and class-based ones, the protagonists are diverse but what unites the stories is a detailed look at their inner lives and motivations as they play across the people they meet and the the places they call home.
My opinion: An interesting debut collection of everyday stories. Looking forward to more.
From the investigation into the death of an ordinary man of Indian origin in the midwest of the United States to the suspicious death of a Dalit boy in the western part of India, the book covers a wide range of characters and situations that depict the unique but common dilemmas of people stuck in a combination of situations and circumstances beyond their control.
Twelve Short Tales of Women at Work shows brief vignettes of women’s lives across a abroad swathe of society while Journey to the Stepwell is a juxtaposition of a legend against the doubts of a soon-to-be-married contemporary young woman in urban India. Reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri’s writing style, Bhatt takes us from a street food stall in Mumbai to an apartment building in Ahmedabad, from the apartment of a divorced woman making her way in the world with her baking talents to an unnamed exotic destination for a yoga workshop where a diffident middle-aged yoga instructor finally finds the courage to teach a class on her own.
The stories touch upon religious and caste-based differences as well as political and class-based ones, the protagonists are diverse but what unites the stories is a detailed look at their inner lives and motivations as they play across the people they meet and the the places they call home.
My opinion: An interesting debut collection of everyday stories. Looking forward to more.
November 22, 2020
There aren't enough contemporary short story collections to read, so this one is like a breath of fresh air among the sea of novels out there.
What I loved about this book is how varied and diverse the characters and milieu are, yet they are all engaging. The sari salesman, the single home baker, the aging yoga teacher, the mourning widower-- they all make an impact that leave you wondering about them for days to come.
The author has also experimented with different literary techniques (such as writing in second person), and it is surprising how well it plays out on the page and in the reader's mind. It may be her debut collection, but it's truly not the work of a "newbie".
This book is not a quick read, it requires effort and patience to savour some of the sentences, and serious readers will find that more than one story is worth a re-read.
I definitely recommend this book!
What I loved about this book is how varied and diverse the characters and milieu are, yet they are all engaging. The sari salesman, the single home baker, the aging yoga teacher, the mourning widower-- they all make an impact that leave you wondering about them for days to come.
The author has also experimented with different literary techniques (such as writing in second person), and it is surprising how well it plays out on the page and in the reader's mind. It may be her debut collection, but it's truly not the work of a "newbie".
This book is not a quick read, it requires effort and patience to savour some of the sentences, and serious readers will find that more than one story is worth a re-read.
I definitely recommend this book!
December 7, 2020
mediocre, stilted prose. the first story is a cheap, amateurish exploitation of the tragic shooting of the Indian engineer in Kansas told from the perspective of a bunch of obtuse white coworkers - yes, we all know there's racism in America. this story bends over backwards to be relevant but if you have nothing insightful or original to say, maybe spend some time reflecting? centering and caricaturing his white coworkers' stupidity (probably to appeal to equally condescending white readers or maybe the simpleminded and unimaginative) does a disservice to the actual human who was shot and his family. the other stories, boring and appropriative at times, are (mostly) not as manipulative and dishonest, though they read like student work.
September 20, 2021
The immigrant mind likes these stories, neither here nor there, can never belong. It was a breeze to read through. Some stories are relatable but most will be a regular thing looked at from a new perspective. I think desi folks away from home should get their own genre now, I know some of us first-generation, pick these up predicatably.
February 2, 2021
A rich set of stories that barely scratch the surface of India and being Indian.
September 24, 2021
So much beauty, depth, and nuance in Bhatt's writing! I'm blown away! One of the best books I've read in a long while!
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December 1, 2021Read Janet Swinney's review at The Short Story: https://theshortstory.co.uk/category/...
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