#Spring Love, #Pichal Pairi

by Usman T. Malik

A series of interviews between a young, clean-cut journalist and an alternative, independent pichal pairi turns into an unexpected romance. But their relationship is tested when the entire world around them shuts down.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Romance, Magical Realism, Urban Fantasy, Witches

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 3, 2021

About the author

Usman T. Malik is a Pakistani vagrant camped in Florida. He reads Sufi poetry, likes long walks, and occasionally strums naats on the guitar.

His fiction has won the Bram Stoker Award and been nominated for the Nebula. His stories have appeared or are forthcoming in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Tor.com, The Apex Book of World SF, Nightmare, Strange Horizons, and Black Static among other venues. He is a graduate of Clarion West.

In Dec 2014, Usman led Pakistan’s first speculative fiction workshop in Lahore in conjunction with Desi Writers Lounge and Liberty Books.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

She licked her lips. “Are you hungry?” she said. “I’m hungry.” I must have looked worried, for she said, “For some chicken, moron.”

Which is how the pichal pairi and I went to eat Shahi Murgh Chanay at Lakshmi.

i'll be honest, i didn't think i was going to like this one. the romance, the hashtaggy title, the teeth-grittingly, cringe-inducing description of farah as Woke, but somehow vintage at the same time; all signs pointed to Not for Me.

and yet...

as it went on, once the sweet meet-cuterie of it all progressed into something more interesting, more weighty, once a goldang pandemic was introduced into the story, well—now you have my attention, kiddo.

actually, it had my attention here:

Were you ever bullied as a kid, Farah?

What do you think, genius?

I’m so sorry.

It’s okay.

Was it at school?

Yeah.

Did you get mad?

A little. On the first moonless night of my adolescent cycle I ate him.

but it sustained my attention once the stakes were raised beyond 🎵'boy and pichal pairi sittin' in a tree,'🎵 and i really liked the direction it scuttled off into.

it pays to Try New Things.



read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2021/03/03/spring...

come to my blog!

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

#Spring Love, #Pichal Pairi by Usman T. Malik - 2.5+/5★

A story about a pichal pairi who’s also a (kind of) witch, and a romance, and a pandemic. Lots of unfamiliar cultural references, and the whole story wasn’t really my cup of tea.

The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.

[Roslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted this to be longer as it felt tantalisingly unfinished to me. Loved the concept, the cultures in which it takes place, the characters. I must find out more about this writer.

[max theodore · Rating 3 out of 5]

the "why the prominent feet cover" --> "i like this guy's writing style but idk yet" --> "i am immersed headfirst in this world" pipeline. not entirely sure yet how long this one will stick with me but i think i am becoming gateway drugged to usman t malik's writing

read it for free here!

[Elena Linville-Abdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the setting. Since the story happens in Pakistan and narrated by a native, it rings true, even if it has a lot of cultural and culinary references that are weird and foreign to a non-native. But that's what makes these stories fun, doesn't it? Learning about a whole different culture.

Unfortunately, the story itself is rather underwhelming.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, a COVID romance, with magic thrown in.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting and spooky tale. Romance, supernatural beings, monsters, and more. I liked the way it was written and I really liked seeing Raza and Farah get together, find each other despite one being a supernatural being and the other being human. The ending made me both sad and happy.
Not sure how I felt about the disease given we are in one now and reading about lockdowns and death is not helping my mind. :|

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story that starts as a series of interviews between a journalist and a person in Pakistan who is said to be a pichal pairi, a 'monster' with reversed feet. The initial impression is of a story of a man meeting an unusual girl with a defect, not a supernatural monster. They then proceed to be attracted to each other and a develop a romantic relationship.

But there are moments of unusual activity and behaviour that betray that she may be more than just a person with deformed feet. And it is only when the whole world is suddenly shut down due to a pandemic (name not stated in the story) that the real fantasy elements of the story come forth, making the reader re-evaluate who she really is and whether she is still around.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A conservative journalist and a hippy reach a meeting of the minds until the entire world manages to shut down around them.

A fun and thoughtful piece, Nalik plays with reader expectation to accomplish something profound.

[Saifa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical and thought provoking and so topical!

[Kin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good framing device, and as usual Malik has a great one - this story is so aware of what it tells us and what it doesn't. I also loved the little details about the characters and the city they lived in - Farah's outfits, that little girl and her father with the sign that said "DISTRIBUTE MITHAI. IT’S A GIRL!", this strangely charming section where they're talking about the things they love (Rang de Basanti, mangoes) and hate (the Jonas brothers, dahi bhallay).

[Meredith Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magical, incredible details. A very rich read. I liked Farah a lot; didn't like the pov character so much (he seemed to kind of fetishize her even while watching her struggles to fight against that?).

I should have realized beforehand from the description that this was a cv-19 story, but I would like it if publishers were more explicit about it. We're living out a traumatic event right now. And humans aren't as lucky as this journalist to get people back when they're gone from it.

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern tale of star-crossed love set against the backdrop of the 2020 pandemic. Pichal pairis are reverse-footed female creatures of the mountainous regions of Pakistan and India. In this beautifully written short story, a modern pichal pairi agrees to interview with a journalist, and they fall in love. Unexpected and sad.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Tor.com short story. Well written but not really my kind of story. Many Woke and COVID-19 references which is becoming very common these days.
Not the place to explain my views on the way the Woke movement (however well intentioned) is spoiling SF at the moment.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

fucking cool

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5

[Pers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing and engaging.

[MollyK · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was beautiful.

[Whit Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vividly imagined and modern.

Splendidly imagined cross-being love. Perhaps an allegory of the loss left by epidemics. Perhaps of the loss when love passes and passions intrude. Touches on post-colonial retaking of myths and natural spaces. If you like the synthesis of fairy tales and love stories and expert scene-setting or evocative dialogue, read it.