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Games at Twilight and Other Stories
First published in 1978 and now reissued in a new cover style, a collection of 11 short stories from the author of BAUMGARTNER'S BOMBAY. Includes tales about an American wife who, homesick for rural Vermont, turns to the hippies of the Indian hills for consolation; and a painter who renders pictures of creatures he has never seen.
144 pages, Paperback
First published July 10, 1978
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467 people want to read
About the author
Anita Desai
81 books905 followersAnita Desai was born in 1937. Her published works include adult novels, children's books and short stories. She is a member of the Advisory Board for English of the National Academy of Letters in Delhi and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in London. Anita Mazumdar Desai is an Indian novelist and Emeritus John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been shortlisted for the Booker prize three times. Her daughter, the author Kiran Desai, is the winner of the 2006 Booker prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
July 10, 2024
LA DONNA SUL FILO
Philippe Petit a spasso tra le Twin Towers, 7 agosto 1974.
Raccolta fin troppo abbondante della produzione di racconti di Anita Desai, scrittrice in sospensione tra Oriente e Occidente sin dal concepimento (la mamma è di Berlino, il padre un bengalese): i 6/7 scritti tra il 1960 e il 1970 erano già stati pubblicati anni addietro dalle Edizioni E/O, e forse si potevano tralasciare.
Perché la bellezza, e direi anche qualità, della lettura è viva e forte nei primi racconti, che sono quelli temporalmente più recenti: man mano che ci si inoltra nelle pagine, e si procede a ritroso nel tempo della scrittura, la forza del racconto scema.
Come dicevo, il ponte tra le due grandi culture orientale e occidentale è palese e palpitante sia nella biografia di Desai che nella sua scrittura.
Nella prima direzione aggiungerei per esempio il fatto che Desai divide l’anno con lunghi soggiorni in India e altrettanto lunghi in US, perché i suoi quattro figli vivono due da una parte e due dall’altra.
Quando è in Occidente, risiede nei sobborghi di New York. Ma ha preso l’abitudine di affittare una casa in Messico per andare a scrivere: e qui si sente più a casa che nella Grande Mela, perché il Messico ha storia più antica, e perché è più facilmente scambiata per una locale.
E quindi, è facile aspettarsi storie che sono a cavallo di popoli, geografie, culture, vicende d’immigrazione, spostamenti, spaesamento.
Epperò, pur puntando l’occhio su storie diversissime, Salman Rushdie ha scritto:
Quando penso ad Anita Desai, ne vedo distintamente la figura che si staglia, alla pari, accanto a Jane Austen, quell'altra grande scrittrice indiana.
Come si conviene alla grande arte del racconto, Desai illumina il quotidiano, l’ordinario, isola un momento e ne mostra luce e ombra, descrive realtà che sembrano diverse, anche molto diverse, e a tratti invece diventano vicine, simili.
Senza mai affrettare conclusioni, esprimere giudizi, men che meno condanne, senza enfatizzare conflitti e contrasti, puntando a riprodurre la complessità, sia orientale che occidentale, rispettosa delle diversità.
Etnie e culture, giovani e vecchi, ricchi e poveri, uomini e donne, passato e presente, tradizione e novità.
Istanbul
Nei racconti più recenti, però, Desai sembra cercare storie che sia più universali, che possano succedere un po’ ovunque, a prescindere dal background. Vedi quello intitolato “Il pianerottolo”, del 2007, dove forze sovrannaturali, forse fantasmi, sono percepite dalla nuova acquirente della casa, una donna: qui India o America non contano, la paura è insita in tutti, senza tenere conto del meridiano o del parallelo.
Un altro racconto che mi è rimasto impresso è “Paesaggio invernale”, del 2000. Un giovane indiano che ha sposato una canadese e si è trasferito a vivere a Toronto riceve la visita della mamma e della zia, sorella della mamma, che lo ha praticamente allevato come se fosse lei la mamma – la giovane moglie canadese è piuttosto sconvolta da questo insolito triangolo affettivo – le due donne d’India a loro volta sono alle prese con un’altra novità, un inverno nordico, la loro prima nevicata…
Nella produzione meno recente, invece, il confronto tra la patria di nascita e quella di adozione, tra tradizione e modernità è più marcato, e tra questi io ho colto meno bellezza, più deja vu (deja lu?).
In tutti, e questo è probabilmente l’aspetto che mi affascina di più, percepisco l’impressione che saranno le donne a cambiare il mondo. Desai mi pare ne sia convinta.
E di questo la ringrazio.
Philippe Petit a spasso tra le Twin Towers, 7 agosto 1974.
Raccolta fin troppo abbondante della produzione di racconti di Anita Desai, scrittrice in sospensione tra Oriente e Occidente sin dal concepimento (la mamma è di Berlino, il padre un bengalese): i 6/7 scritti tra il 1960 e il 1970 erano già stati pubblicati anni addietro dalle Edizioni E/O, e forse si potevano tralasciare.
Perché la bellezza, e direi anche qualità, della lettura è viva e forte nei primi racconti, che sono quelli temporalmente più recenti: man mano che ci si inoltra nelle pagine, e si procede a ritroso nel tempo della scrittura, la forza del racconto scema.
Come dicevo, il ponte tra le due grandi culture orientale e occidentale è palese e palpitante sia nella biografia di Desai che nella sua scrittura.
Nella prima direzione aggiungerei per esempio il fatto che Desai divide l’anno con lunghi soggiorni in India e altrettanto lunghi in US, perché i suoi quattro figli vivono due da una parte e due dall’altra.
Quando è in Occidente, risiede nei sobborghi di New York. Ma ha preso l’abitudine di affittare una casa in Messico per andare a scrivere: e qui si sente più a casa che nella Grande Mela, perché il Messico ha storia più antica, e perché è più facilmente scambiata per una locale.
E quindi, è facile aspettarsi storie che sono a cavallo di popoli, geografie, culture, vicende d’immigrazione, spostamenti, spaesamento.
Epperò, pur puntando l’occhio su storie diversissime, Salman Rushdie ha scritto:
Quando penso ad Anita Desai, ne vedo distintamente la figura che si staglia, alla pari, accanto a Jane Austen, quell'altra grande scrittrice indiana.
Come si conviene alla grande arte del racconto, Desai illumina il quotidiano, l’ordinario, isola un momento e ne mostra luce e ombra, descrive realtà che sembrano diverse, anche molto diverse, e a tratti invece diventano vicine, simili.
Senza mai affrettare conclusioni, esprimere giudizi, men che meno condanne, senza enfatizzare conflitti e contrasti, puntando a riprodurre la complessità, sia orientale che occidentale, rispettosa delle diversità.
Etnie e culture, giovani e vecchi, ricchi e poveri, uomini e donne, passato e presente, tradizione e novità.
Istanbul
Nei racconti più recenti, però, Desai sembra cercare storie che sia più universali, che possano succedere un po’ ovunque, a prescindere dal background. Vedi quello intitolato “Il pianerottolo”, del 2007, dove forze sovrannaturali, forse fantasmi, sono percepite dalla nuova acquirente della casa, una donna: qui India o America non contano, la paura è insita in tutti, senza tenere conto del meridiano o del parallelo.
Un altro racconto che mi è rimasto impresso è “Paesaggio invernale”, del 2000. Un giovane indiano che ha sposato una canadese e si è trasferito a vivere a Toronto riceve la visita della mamma e della zia, sorella della mamma, che lo ha praticamente allevato come se fosse lei la mamma – la giovane moglie canadese è piuttosto sconvolta da questo insolito triangolo affettivo – le due donne d’India a loro volta sono alle prese con un’altra novità, un inverno nordico, la loro prima nevicata…
Nella produzione meno recente, invece, il confronto tra la patria di nascita e quella di adozione, tra tradizione e modernità è più marcato, e tra questi io ho colto meno bellezza, più deja vu (deja lu?).
In tutti, e questo è probabilmente l’aspetto che mi affascina di più, percepisco l’impressione che saranno le donne a cambiare il mondo. Desai mi pare ne sia convinta.
E di questo la ringrazio.
September 28, 2025
This review is only for the short story, Games at Twilight by Anita Desai.
3 ⭐️’s (maybe?? I can’t rate genres I don’t usually read)
So, I read this for school. Wasn’t planning on writing a review but there’s one quote that’s banging around in my head so here it is.
What are y’all’s first reactions? 💀 Delicious snot! 🤤 Yum!
Anita Desai, look—I know you’re trying to present Ravi as a child who’s insecure/anxious, or vulnerable, but I think that’s a bit TOO descriptive. 😭✋
It has been almost 3 months since I have read this short story. But still, I think about these descriptions of Ravi’s snot often. 😭
3 ⭐️’s (maybe?? I can’t rate genres I don’t usually read)
So, I read this for school. Wasn’t planning on writing a review but there’s one quote that’s banging around in my head so here it is.
Ravi heard the whistling and picked his nose in a panic, trying to find comfort by burrowing the finger deep—deep into that soft tunnel. […] Ravi looked about him desperately, swallowing a small ball of snot in his fear.
What are y’all’s first reactions? 💀 Delicious snot! 🤤 Yum!
Ravi had peeped in and seen him still sprawling on his string cot in his vest and striped underpants, the hair on his chest and the hair in his nose shaking with the vibrations of his phlegm-obstructed snores.
Anita Desai, look—I know you’re trying to present Ravi as a child who’s insecure/anxious, or vulnerable, but I think that’s a bit TOO descriptive. 😭✋
It has been almost 3 months since I have read this short story. But still, I think about these descriptions of Ravi’s snot often. 😭
June 27, 2017
Eleven short stories, all set in India, and all providing a snapshot into someone's life.
These stories were interesting and varied, covering a wide range of topics.
Children's games; a private tutor; a student with no peaceful place to study; a man obsessed with textures; an artist; a boy attending a wedding with his mother; a musician who plays tanpura; a son devoted to his father; a farewell party where the people leaving find their relationships with friends an colleagues are not what they thought; an elderly man and a night without electricity; and the final story - and American couple in India who experience different outcomes from their time there.
Worth a read, good as a gap filler, but lacked the real pull of a gripping read.
Solid at three stars.
These stories were interesting and varied, covering a wide range of topics.
Children's games; a private tutor; a student with no peaceful place to study; a man obsessed with textures; an artist; a boy attending a wedding with his mother; a musician who plays tanpura; a son devoted to his father; a farewell party where the people leaving find their relationships with friends an colleagues are not what they thought; an elderly man and a night without electricity; and the final story - and American couple in India who experience different outcomes from their time there.
Worth a read, good as a gap filler, but lacked the real pull of a gripping read.
Solid at three stars.
January 11, 2024
Grammatical changes 11 January 2024
There are some good stories in this collection: a few are sad, others poignant, most of them seriously concerned with life’s personal challenges.
The 1978 publication date is significant: these are tales of a bygone India, long before mobile phones, call centres and the IPL.
Anita Desai writes simply and assuredly, telling her intimate stories in a straightforward way. She does not have R.K. Narayan’s magic but she does have a way of getting to the heart of her character's troubles and woes.
She is really good at getting into the psyche of children. Some of the best tales have young protagonists. Games at Twilight is a masterly story about a boy playing hide and seek, who hides in a dark shed for so long that when he emerges his little friends have moved on to another game. Desai gets into a small boy’s apprehension and his wonky sense of time. The children in Private Tuition by Mr Bose are chillingly malevolent.
Young Victor, in Pineapple Cake, is knowingly skeptical about his mother’s promise of pineapple cake (Victor’s favourite) if he is well behaved at a snooty wedding. The interesting subtext is that Victor’s mother is a single mum, though this is never stated. There are also stories of diminished ambition, for example, the tambura player in The Accompanist.
There is a good long meaty story, Scholar and Gypsy, about an American couple David and Pat who come to India with the husband enthusiastic and condescending, the wife miserable and ill at ease, but after time in the hills and some personal discoveries David is much reduced and Pat has found her place (without David).
However, my favourite story is one of selfless parents who throw The Farewell Party for themselves when they find they are being transferred and must return to Bombay. As the party wears on everybody loosens up, one way or another, and the couple, who have devoted themselves to their disabled daughter at the expense of socialising, find they are much more appreciated than they ever believed or thought possible. At the end of the party a guest sings Tagore songs and “the eyes of her listeners, sitting tensely in that glassy, inky dark, glazed with tears that were compounded equally of drink, relief and regret.” (p97)
These are the highlights. Other stories are not so strong. Over all the collection disappointed a touch; I was expecting to be more impressed. I think I should read some of Anita Desai’s novels to get more of a perspective.
There are some good stories in this collection: a few are sad, others poignant, most of them seriously concerned with life’s personal challenges.
The 1978 publication date is significant: these are tales of a bygone India, long before mobile phones, call centres and the IPL.
Anita Desai writes simply and assuredly, telling her intimate stories in a straightforward way. She does not have R.K. Narayan’s magic but she does have a way of getting to the heart of her character's troubles and woes.
She is really good at getting into the psyche of children. Some of the best tales have young protagonists. Games at Twilight is a masterly story about a boy playing hide and seek, who hides in a dark shed for so long that when he emerges his little friends have moved on to another game. Desai gets into a small boy’s apprehension and his wonky sense of time. The children in Private Tuition by Mr Bose are chillingly malevolent.
Young Victor, in Pineapple Cake, is knowingly skeptical about his mother’s promise of pineapple cake (Victor’s favourite) if he is well behaved at a snooty wedding. The interesting subtext is that Victor’s mother is a single mum, though this is never stated. There are also stories of diminished ambition, for example, the tambura player in The Accompanist.
There is a good long meaty story, Scholar and Gypsy, about an American couple David and Pat who come to India with the husband enthusiastic and condescending, the wife miserable and ill at ease, but after time in the hills and some personal discoveries David is much reduced and Pat has found her place (without David).
However, my favourite story is one of selfless parents who throw The Farewell Party for themselves when they find they are being transferred and must return to Bombay. As the party wears on everybody loosens up, one way or another, and the couple, who have devoted themselves to their disabled daughter at the expense of socialising, find they are much more appreciated than they ever believed or thought possible. At the end of the party a guest sings Tagore songs and “the eyes of her listeners, sitting tensely in that glassy, inky dark, glazed with tears that were compounded equally of drink, relief and regret.” (p97)
These are the highlights. Other stories are not so strong. Over all the collection disappointed a touch; I was expecting to be more impressed. I think I should read some of Anita Desai’s novels to get more of a perspective.
April 27, 2020
Eleven short stories by Desai, all set in India in the 1960s and 1970s. Atmospheric pieces mostly looking at the tension in families, between neighbours, between student and teacher, between East and West etc. There is a lovely bit of black humour in most of the tales as well, overall could be used as a good introduction to Desai's work. 5 out of 12
January 25, 2011
This collection of stories is set in contemporary Indian cities, but the concerns are universal, reflecting experiences of urban life.
When seemingly simple childish games of hide-and-seek lead to the unveiling of a child’s sense of belonging and exclusion in the titular story that opens this collection, the reader begins to realize that children are not exempt from the intricacies of social politics.
In the stories that follow, Desai’s cast of characters who range from children, teenagers on the brink of adulthood, ordinary men and women, all grapple with their sense of place and purpose in society.
The chance sighting of a couple’s tender moment in the face of impeding death sparks a young student’s epiphany of life and mortality beyond the paper chase in ‘Studies in the Park’, an ageing father and his doctor son struggle with their differing expectations of filial piety in ‘A Devoted Sun’, a musician is forced to question if his contentment in his career as a mere tanpura player has been misplaced in ‘The Accompanist’.
In the closing story ‘Scholar and Gypsy’, Desai introduces foreign central characters, completing the collection’s concern with identity and displacement in a definitive manner.
An American couple, who arrive in Bombay with unequal expectations initially, sees a surprising development when the wife who has difficulty adapting to life in a foreign land, finds a sense of belonging that surpasses that of her homeland that she had been pining for.
Not exactly fabulous, but readable and tinged with pathos.
When seemingly simple childish games of hide-and-seek lead to the unveiling of a child’s sense of belonging and exclusion in the titular story that opens this collection, the reader begins to realize that children are not exempt from the intricacies of social politics.
In the stories that follow, Desai’s cast of characters who range from children, teenagers on the brink of adulthood, ordinary men and women, all grapple with their sense of place and purpose in society.
The chance sighting of a couple’s tender moment in the face of impeding death sparks a young student’s epiphany of life and mortality beyond the paper chase in ‘Studies in the Park’, an ageing father and his doctor son struggle with their differing expectations of filial piety in ‘A Devoted Sun’, a musician is forced to question if his contentment in his career as a mere tanpura player has been misplaced in ‘The Accompanist’.
In the closing story ‘Scholar and Gypsy’, Desai introduces foreign central characters, completing the collection’s concern with identity and displacement in a definitive manner.
An American couple, who arrive in Bombay with unequal expectations initially, sees a surprising development when the wife who has difficulty adapting to life in a foreign land, finds a sense of belonging that surpasses that of her homeland that she had been pining for.
Not exactly fabulous, but readable and tinged with pathos.
May 3, 2017
Anita Desai writes wonderfully, and Games at Twilight is a real jewel in the genre of short story collections. She presents many character-focused studies here; whilst India is present as the backdrop within almost all of the tales, it is the beings whom she has created which really spring to life. There is not a single tale here which failed to hold my interest, and each is remarkably culturally aware. Desai's use of senses, and the vividness which she builds, makes Games at Twilight a joy to read.
Read
April 11, 2013Book is the best friend for most people.I like reading books and novels. Last week I presented a powerpoint about my favourite book.The name of my favorite book is “Games At Twilight” by Anita Desai.It is so important because ,Anita Desai portrayed in this story mainly child psychology.Childhood is filled with exhilarating moments of joy and glee but also moments of vulnerability and innocence and heart breaking moments of difficult lessons learned Desai reflects all of these in her story “Games at Twilight” I hope those thoughts helped us.
The main importance of this book is child psychology.It is set in India. A family of children and mother live in a hot ,dry, a rid part of the country. The children are let out to play at the end of the day,while the mother reluxed.The heath of the day is portraying death as the children enter the garden filling the place with fun and noise the garden. Which seems to spring to life. They begin to play hide and seek.After leaving to find their hiding places, it becomes quite again Ravi, one of the youngest children,decides to find the perfect hiding spot. Finding it in a shed,he hides throughout the game until all others have been caught.Ravi finally reveals himself to the others by reaching the “Den” after the game has finished.However the other children did not care they had forgotten him. The story concludes when Ravi finally realize how insignificant he is. People should read it because, it is esay to understand and you can learn new word.This story deals with the different levels of the child mind we can learn
January 21, 2020
Racconti molto belli, il cui tema dominante è la frustrazione dei protagonisti: personaggi molto vari, uomini e donne, giovani, vecchi e bambini, perché la Desai non è scrittrice al femminile. Il bambino dimenticato dai compagni mentre giocano a nascondino. Lo studente esausto che decide di rinunciare agli esami. Il suonatore di tanpura che avrebbe potuto fare carriera e invece no. Il professore che dà lezioni private a ragazzi stupidi e sfrontati. Il pittore che avrebbe tanto bisogno di vendere un quadro. Vite piene di disillusioni. Personaggi che si tormentano inquieti, perché non sanno cosa fare, perché non riescono, non trovano. Che si chiedono perché, che si chiedono se così dev'essere. Rasserenati, talvolta, da brevi momenti di illuminazione e di pace, che sembrano però avere un senso solo per loro.
I romanzi sono certamente superiori, ma la Desai è una grandissima scrittrice.
I romanzi sono certamente superiori, ma la Desai è una grandissima scrittrice.
September 3, 2025
I don't even know what to say
October 13, 2023
Some of the stories leave an indelible impact on me - especially Games at Twilight. I remember reading an exerpt somewhere without knowing it’s Desai’s short story, and it was moving because it brought me to a time when I was manouvering childhood politics. Even in fun and games, you learn something about the world. Scholar and Gypsy is also quite profound in a way how couples see the world so differently, which could lead to the inevitable destruction of the marriage. The bigger theme of the impact of colonialism and imperialism make this piece even more meaningful. The accompanist is another profound one, which reminds me that what we say casually to our children and students may lead to their lifetime decisions. However, some stories concluded too abruptly and I agree with some readers who dislike the anticlimactic ending.
October 31, 2024
Anita Desai is such a poised and accurate observer of people that I could read her describing a woman sitting on a bench at a railway station where nothing happens except her thoughts and reflections . There's cruelty , compassion , ambition and acceptance on these pages along with a deep understanding of the ties that both bind and throttle us .
November 17, 2018
A master writer who uses sensory detail in ways that make the scenes come alive. Each short story is compelling.
October 16, 2025
sad because i can relate
May 21, 2014
This collection of raw short stories is a winner.
As a kid, I enjoyed Anita Desai's bright novel, The Village By The Sea, and as a teenager, I was frankly obsessed with her dark and moving Clear Light Of Day. I still vividly remember the characters in both those works, because Desai's greatest strength as a storyteller lies in her finely crafted, beautifully flawed fictional characters.
Games At Twilight is the first time I've encountered Desai's short stories. As always, her characters both charm and exasperate the reader, but her stories ended far too abruptly for my taste. Never a big fan of the anticlimax, I found myself feeling restless and frustrated by some of the works in this anthology.
Desai is a writer who undoubtedly excels in the novel, but her short stories do offer the reader a peek into her insight, tenderness, and eye for detail. She will never be in the league of Indian authors such as R.K. Narayan and Jhumpa Lahiri when it comes to short stories, but her masterful prose and incisive intuition still make for an engrossing book.
As a kid, I enjoyed Anita Desai's bright novel, The Village By The Sea, and as a teenager, I was frankly obsessed with her dark and moving Clear Light Of Day. I still vividly remember the characters in both those works, because Desai's greatest strength as a storyteller lies in her finely crafted, beautifully flawed fictional characters.
Games At Twilight is the first time I've encountered Desai's short stories. As always, her characters both charm and exasperate the reader, but her stories ended far too abruptly for my taste. Never a big fan of the anticlimax, I found myself feeling restless and frustrated by some of the works in this anthology.
Desai is a writer who undoubtedly excels in the novel, but her short stories do offer the reader a peek into her insight, tenderness, and eye for detail. She will never be in the league of Indian authors such as R.K. Narayan and Jhumpa Lahiri when it comes to short stories, but her masterful prose and incisive intuition still make for an engrossing book.
February 9, 2021
Can I just say that I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did? Don’t know why I’d already passed judgment going in but I’m glad to be proved wrong. This is a collection of short stories set in modern day India that follow the lives of a number of characters through some events in their lives.
The stories were just weird enough for me to stay hooked and there was this common feeling throughout of ….being weighed down? dreariness? (after trying for ages to find the words to articulate what I mean, this is the closest I could get, a seasoned book reviewer I am not) that stayed with me after I finished the stories.
My favorite of the bunch were Studies in the Park, Surface Textures, Sale and Pineapple Cake but the whole collection was a good read as a whole.
Also, a fun fact I just learnt looking up Anita Desai...her daughter Kiran Desai is also an award winning author.
The stories were just weird enough for me to stay hooked and there was this common feeling throughout of ….being weighed down? dreariness? (after trying for ages to find the words to articulate what I mean, this is the closest I could get, a seasoned book reviewer I am not) that stayed with me after I finished the stories.
My favorite of the bunch were Studies in the Park, Surface Textures, Sale and Pineapple Cake but the whole collection was a good read as a whole.
Also, a fun fact I just learnt looking up Anita Desai...her daughter Kiran Desai is also an award winning author.
April 7, 2010
-from "Sale":
"The child sits on the mat beside her, silent, absorbed in the mysteries of a long-handled spoon which he turns over with soft, waverying fingers that are unaccustomed to the unsympathetic steel" (41).
-from “The Farewell Party”
“…moaned the grandparents who lived alone in their spotless house with a black Labrador who had made a habit of visiting the Ramans whenever he wanted young company, a romp on the lawn or an illicit biscuit” (95).
-from “Scholar and Gypsy”
“…through orchards in which little apples knobbled the trees” (117).
“The trees were so immensely old and tall that while the lower boughs already dipped their feet into the evening, the tops still brushed the late sunlight” (121).
“…a ball of amber like solidified honey” (124).
"The child sits on the mat beside her, silent, absorbed in the mysteries of a long-handled spoon which he turns over with soft, waverying fingers that are unaccustomed to the unsympathetic steel" (41).
-from “The Farewell Party”
“…moaned the grandparents who lived alone in their spotless house with a black Labrador who had made a habit of visiting the Ramans whenever he wanted young company, a romp on the lawn or an illicit biscuit” (95).
-from “Scholar and Gypsy”
“…through orchards in which little apples knobbled the trees” (117).
“The trees were so immensely old and tall that while the lower boughs already dipped their feet into the evening, the tops still brushed the late sunlight” (121).
“…a ball of amber like solidified honey” (124).
September 9, 2012
Some of the language in the stories from Games at Twilight is magnificent. There is a beautiful lyricism to a great deal of Desai's prose.
There are other passages, however, which are clumsy and verbose.
I have read several reviews that complain about the lack of endings to these stories, but I will go further and say that that the severe lack of action is much worse. It often seemed that just as a story was picking up steam, that something interesting would happen, it was over. I would have liked for these stories to be carried just a little bit farther.
All of the characters were well drawn. That appears to be Desai's greatest strength. She captures emotions quite well.
There are other passages, however, which are clumsy and verbose.
I have read several reviews that complain about the lack of endings to these stories, but I will go further and say that that the severe lack of action is much worse. It often seemed that just as a story was picking up steam, that something interesting would happen, it was over. I would have liked for these stories to be carried just a little bit farther.
All of the characters were well drawn. That appears to be Desai's greatest strength. She captures emotions quite well.
March 14, 2017
Overrated author or perhaps she is better at novels because her short stories are not that great. I have read much better. She is very talented at setting a scene richly and making you feel it but she has no point to her stories, they are aimless scenes stolen from a rich tapestry of life. Many of her characters are also hard to like, and there is not much happiness in any of the stories. The best one was about the teacher giving tuition in his flat wanting only to spend time with his wife and baby. That was about the daily frustrations of living and was quite sweet.
February 15, 2016
I had to read it for a school homework. It is a good Short story , Talks about a boy called ravi plays hide and seek with his siblings and cousins and then goes and hides in a shed that has been closed for years ,which is just used for storage , He describes everybit of it. and then stay the whole day there waiting till Raju catches everybody else. He goes out later that day at night , thinking that He has won the game, Turnsout everybody forgot about him and started playing other games.
December 2, 2015
Everybody wants to be a winner . More important thing is, people want to be recognised for their achievement. But when they are not, the pains will be larger than being defeated. Human mind works in myriad ways. Here Desai, chooses a simple-minded boy to show some desire of human heart, that people in general, even a child, want to be recognised for their victory, whether it is big or not.
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December 27, 2011 very disturbing stories..with mysterious inner meanings dat leave u depressed.not the sort of book i like..but i've noticed this deppressing way in her novels like 'cry the peacock'and 'wher shall we go this summer'.
May 20, 2023
Read so far:
Games at twilight --2
Private tuition by Mr. Bose --2
Studies in the park --2
Surface textures --3
Sale --2
Pineapple cake --2
The accompanist --2
A devoted son --3
The farewell party --2
Pigeons at daybreak --2
Scholar and gypsy --3
***
Winterscape--3
Games at twilight --2
Private tuition by Mr. Bose --2
Studies in the park --2
Surface textures --3
Sale --2
Pineapple cake --2
The accompanist --2
A devoted son --3
The farewell party --2
Pigeons at daybreak --2
Scholar and gypsy --3
***
Winterscape--3
March 3, 2009
Umm...it is very exaggerated, to be honest. The author puts some very heavy wisdom into the thoughts of a young child, which makes it very biased.
May 12, 2009
Its nice but a bit too filmy
July 13, 2009
I was coming back to this lovely collection from time to time and indeed Desai Senior is such a fantastic writer (in my opinion daughter should work much more to achieve her mother's level).
January 9, 2011
hate : pineapple cake
like : games at twilight
love : private tuition with mr.bose
scared of : surface texture
like : games at twilight
love : private tuition with mr.bose
scared of : surface texture
December 10, 2009
read this a long time ago, and can't remember much about it, but in my old diary it says 'an excellent collection', so I might have another look at it.
November 2, 2017
This story was part of English literature in junior school. I remember this very vividly, for the first time coming across words like "twilight", "insignificance" etc.
November 26, 2012
Read only short story "Games at Twilight."
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