Opening Clouds, Fermented Rain: Stories

by Tabish Nawaz

The characters in Tabish's stories are always exploring, always looking for something, sometimes a job in a war-torn nation to a useless movie ticket, a worm, someone separated, or lost time. They are always dissatisfied with their present, preoccupied with memories, finding them still sitting in their midst. There is also a mother figure, as an overarching presence, protecting and guiding the protagonists toward a meditation on the meaning of hardships, poverty, and life itself. The prose is lyrical and has a certain poetry to it. The description and dialogues are rich in metaphors. While the stories are physically located in the prose, they fly in the higher sky. The characters are most often solitary, and much of the conversation involves the settings, as if they too are characters, working on the psyche of the protagonists, making them locate their surroundings within themselves. The stories are as much about the characters as about the plot, and sometimes they are the only stories. Tabish seems to describe the characters merely, and stories just come out of the description, as if the narration in itself has some beginning, middle, and end, sufficient to build a tale.

96 pages, Hardcover

Published July 30, 2020

Reviews

[Amit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful short stories showing the triumphs and the losses of life, the struggles that makes or breaks, and the dilemma of searching within while looking at the society that shapes us. Pick this up and discover stories on human emotions.

[vikas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was a bit uncommon to me given I know the author personally. The stories are brilliant and clearly exhibit the sensitive and deep thinking side of Tabish. But what stood apart for me was the writing style with which Tabish has weaved them. The composition throughout the book is impressive. To be specific: I was blown away by A Sailor's Journey. That to me is sublime writing.
Also, the story titled Four Annas reminded me of reading Premchand in English: grounded, touching and it left a lump on my throat.

My advice to all readers: do read the book slowly and let it grow on you!

[Abhishek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opening clouds, Fermented rains is a fascinating collection of stories that will surprise you by the range it offers within those hundred odd pages. Tabish, you are a brilliant story teller who has sewn the characters with such vivid details that they come alive effortlessly. I am also amazed by your seamless blend of magical realism with the ordinary that tug at the reader, gently. While I personally find it extremely difficult to achieve such profundity in short stories, this was such a page turner. When is the next one coming :)