A New Race of Men from Heaven

by Chaitali Sen

A New Race of Men from Heaven is a collection of stories about characters who wander but are never truly lost. A lonely man on a business trip finds himself in the middle of a search party for a missing boy; a grieving widow leaves India to join family in the United States; a writer finds renewed success when an unknown imposter begins publishing under his identity. In these quiet yet deeply knowing stories of migration, power, and longing, A New Race of Men from Heaven offers us, above all else, stories of enduring love and hope.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

190 pages, Paperback

Published January 17, 2023

About the author

Chaitali Sen is the author of the novel The Pathless Sky and the story collection A New Race of Men from Heaven. Her stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in New England Review, New Ohio Review, Colorado Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, and other journals. She is a graduate of the Hunter College MFA program. Raised in New York and Pennsylvania, she now lives in Austin, Texas with her family.

Reviews

[Rosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: Great title, amazing concept, interesting characters. But the stories themselves left me wanting more. Not a single story ended in the way I expected/wanted. Good for literary fiction lovers but only those who are okay with odd endings in short stories.

There were quite a few reasons for me to pick this book:
1. I enjoy short stories.
2. I like literary fiction.
3. Indian writer.
4. Indie writer.
5. Outstanding title and cover.

As such, the excitement was high. When each story started, my interest didn’t dip but was invested in the characters. And then came the endings. I don’t know how exactly to describe them. They weren’t actually open-ended or abrupt. But imagine you are in a theatre watching the first act of a play. The curtains come down at the end of the scene, and you continue sitting in anticipation for the next act, only to discover that THAT was it! Rather than feeling irritated or sad, you feel just befuddled, wondering what clue you missed that would have indicated the end of the proceedings. That is what happened to me for every single story. At times, things become even more confusing as the story begins with one kind of events and takes a whole other direction midway with no clue whatsoever.

If you are the kind of reader who is happy being invested mainly in characters (who are either Indians or Indian-Americans), you might not be disappointed in this collection. Each story in this anthology has impactful characters, whether likeable or not. The characters give you plenty of food for thought, with their experiences (immigrant and otherwise) depicting their raw emotions about being and belonging neither here nor there.

The stories are also kind of atmospheric and intense. While a few scenes are set in India, a majority are set in the US, thus portraying the clash of the character’s experiences across two such distinct countries. The underlying theme is that of feeling lost, and trying to find oneself. To this theme, the stories do perfect justice.

There are eight stories in this collection, and whatever I wrote above applies to each of them, without exception. Thus this anthology is not a bad book but it didn’t provide me the type of short story experience that I enjoy as I do like well-rounded finishes, even if they are open-ended.

Recommended only to certain readers. The right reader should be able to judge the suitability of the book to their reading taste based on the above feedback.

3.25 stars.


My thanks to Sarabande Books and Edelweiss+ for the DRC of “A New Race of Men from Heaven”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.



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[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book because I read the final story in the collection, the title story, when it was published in Shenandoah, and thought it was one of the best short stories I've ever read. This is a really strong collection. Although the title story is still my favorite, I also particularly liked "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," "Uma, and "A Century Ends." The author has a wonderful way of entering the characters' perspectives and worlds so fully.

[Jo Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chaitali Sen has written a book of stories about outliers--the word I've come to use for people who appear to be struggling with life, but because they are brave enough to look squarely at their alternatives, they are ahead of the rest of us in finding direction. The protagonists of these stories are immigrants who can't agree on the way they ought to behave in our strange country, just as they wondered if they belonged in their birth countries; artists that live next door to a burgeoning family of Catholics who confidently assure them that anti-gay sentiment will disappear before they know it; a failing, mid-career writer who is rescued by a prisoner that plagiarizes his work but publishes it successfully. By naming its source, he returns the original writer to his community.

Eight complicated and surprising stories, every one impressive.

I loved this sentence, among countless others: "[The girl's twin] still loves his mother with the insanity of a small boy, his heart still galloping every time she appears."

[Hanna Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so confused why this book only has 86 reviews, because it's really good!!! I read a fair amount of short stories books, and this was one of the most cohesive and continuously engaging ones I've read in awhile. As they say in the prologue, the stories here "move elegantly between the ache of loneliness and the grace of connection" which I think is really well put. The stories feature predominantly tales of Indian immigrants trying to find their place in America and the struggles of maintaining your culture and connection to your heritage while figuring out how to live in a new "shinier" society.
In "The Immigrant" a man on a business trip dines out alone to write a letter to his parents about the non-Hindu girl he loves, only to be swept up into another family's drama of a missing child.
In "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" the administrative assistant for a college's newly formed Department of Evology and Evolutionary Biology stands behind the new head professor, Dr. Joseph Fernandes, as he becomes the subject of a campus controversy about freedom of religion vs. scientific discovery.
"The Matchstick, by Charles Tilly" is about an author coming off of a disastrous previous book, who finds out from his daughter that his latest short story is a HUGE hit and setting him up for a massive come back.... except that he didn't write that short story.
In "Uma" we have a recently widowed woman, Uma, who moves from India to America to serve as live-in nanny/housekeeper for her brother and sister-in-law, both of whom are doctors. She's struggling to find her place in a new living situation, in a new country, without the husband she has built her identity around. I think this one was my favorite and made me both really sad and really reflective.
"North, South, East, and West" is about a parent-teacher conference that releases a lot of pent up family tensions, fears, and anxieties, and the depressed mom trying to just go through the motions and be seen as an equal in her husband's eyes.
"The Catholics" was silly but also took a melancholy twist towards the end. It's about a lesbian couple living in upstate New York who must reckon with their own biases and assumptions when a tradwifey seeming Catholic family moves in next door.
"A Century Ends" was probably my least favorite; it just didn't really do much for me. It's about a young elementary school teacher, Ellora, whose work bestie, Jane, quits teaching and becomes a yoga instructor. Now Jane has to deal with her feelings of isolation and betrayal while still being the "grown up" teacher the students need her to be.
The final story, the titular "A New Race of Men from Heaven" is about a 28 year old virgin who, when offered the opportunity to sleep with her work crush, must reckon with how her unresolved trauma of losing her father still has such a grip on her, even after years.

Yeah, I really liked this story collection, and I think it should be more popular! I Hope Chaitali Sen writes more books, because if there are no Chaitali Sen fans, then I am dead xD

[Chaitali Sen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can vouch for this book!

[Morgan Talty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful storytelling—pick this up and read it again and again.

[Glassworks Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review by Eric Noon

The world is chock full of fellow human beings that are all the main characters of their own stories living in harmony with one another yet at turmoil with themselves. Though great stories try to capture this internal battle, I have yet to find one that does it with as much grace and nuance as Chaitali Sen brings with her book, A New Race of Men from Heaven.

A collection of eight short stories, Sen brings us on eight unique journeys, each following a new protagonist over a brief period of their lives. Coupled perfectly with Sen’s knack for writing for character, A New Race of Men grants the reader a chance to step into the shoes of various different players as they navigate their way around the engrossing and frequently difficult times surrounding them. While each of these characters undergo their own sort of transformation and heartache, one of the most prominent throughlines interwoven within the narratives of each of these troubled bodies is the perennial idea of helplessness and how we learn to cope with it. Along with this, some of these stories also contain an underlying measure of racial injustice towards the protagonists. A malevolent mix of emotions and tribulations, Sen explores the different avenues that circumspect individuals discover in their own relationship with the feelings that these situations grant.
The opening story, “The Immigrant,” may just embody this feeling the best. The protagonist, Dhruv, is placed in an impossible, overwhelming situation, with the weight of the consequences resting on his shoulders: he cannot locate a missing child for a nearby family. As I’m sure most are familiar with, including myself, it’s already tough knowing when you are the reason for someone else’s pain, but Sen offers the counter to that in which you aren’t, and despite your good intentions there’s nothing you can do to fix it. When Dhruv cannot save the day, it’s here when Sen really characterizes him and pays off the buildup of his troubling earlier encounter: “He had never cried like this before, not even when his beloved grandmother died. He sobbed until he was exhausted” (15). Sen shows us a man at his near-lowest. There’s a masterful display of complexity showcased in Dhruv’s characterization here as he wants some sense of accomplishment to ride on for the foreseeable future, but is denied it in the process. It feels incredibly human that while he’s not quite feeling responsible for the loss, he’s still filled with genuine sorrow and guilt, as well as self-pity for his lack of a contribution. This work by Sen really helps to elevate Dhruv from a one-dimensional and passive character, to one whose active characteristics only end up causing him all the more pain, adding new layers to him.
To add insult to injury, Dhruv’s inability to be passive only invites in more of the vices that plague him as he makes a last-ditch attempt to call the woman of his dreams later that night. Sen’s clever injection of racial prejudice and bias now come into play, increasing Dhruv’s distress, as he reflects on the fact that, “it all rested on the immutable fact of his Indianness. No matter what he wore or how he styled his hair, he would never carry himself with the easy confidence of American men” (10). The entire story is crafted to showcase Dhruv’s helplessness in the multitude of situations that occur in just one day. It’s an excellent way of connecting us to a character on Sen’s part, preying on the naturally empathetic parts of us as we see a man who has done no wrong face such grueling and raw emotion. We want to root for Dhruv, to tell him that despite his failures he still has valid and inspiring attempts and that he’s doing fine. But as the nature of these stories in the collection go, we’re only left with a fleeting moment of sorrow, pulled away from us without the promise of a true resolution.
Further in the collection, this combination of race and helplessness is only strengthened within one of the most abundant examples, being the melancholic and lugubrious “Uma.” Here, a woman reliant on her husband in India must move away from home and in with her brother in America after her lover's untimely death. Sen sets the bar of helplessness high within the titular Uma’s foray to the collection, ripping her husband’s life from her only a sixth of the way into the story, unable to foster his rehabilitation in any way and having to decide whether to stay in India or move to America with her brother. I recall feeling intense empathy for Uma’s situation here, feeling trapped no matter what the outcome, and not knowing what I would choose myself
Moving to the States, Uma is a fish out of water, being relegated to taking care of the house and the kids until she can make a life for herself in her new environment. She doesn’t understand all of the Americanisms that her brother and his wife have adopted in their family, and often makes remarks on them much to their scrutiny. Throughout this, Sen graciously crafts Uma with a lifelike sense of humanity, giving her a physical body with movements that respond to her thoughts and feelings of helplessness in the given moment: “Uma longed to be tired, the kind of tired that would make her feel like she was put on the earth for a purpose. She stood there shifting on her feet, wondering if she should sit down next to Supriya and try to comfort her. She decided not to” (83). It’s small moments and personable qualities such as these that show Sen’s gift in crafting characters fit for their situations, making her written work feel real and palpable to the audience.
I do want to touch on the other stories briefly to elicit both excitement over them as well as translate the feelings they communicate too. “The Matchstick, by Charles Tilly,” shows us a struggling writer past his prime whose recent rise to notoriety is only due to an impersonator. It’s filled with wonderful lifelike and quiet moments such as the protagonist upsetting his daughter in his lethargy, as well as this delicate internal reflection on the success of his imposter’s work. Unlike the other stories in this collection, it’s here we actually see a protagonist make it out of the rut of helplessness, but not before Sen drags him, and us, through the ringer with tickling confusion and frustration. What initially seems like another story of a protagonist getting snubbed to fuel the reader’s pity actually flips the script and shows Sen’s ability to create catharsis for the audience.
A lab secretary watches the outcome and painful process of her boss’s marital and professional statuses unfold and fall apart in “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer.” This time substituting racial biases for religious ones, the injustices towards this married couple stem from the husband’s defiance against religious intervention in the scientific world, which eventually culminates into backlash strong enough to affect his job and marriage. All the while, Sen expertly uses our narrator as both a lens into the tragic downfall, but also preys on her intrinsic passivity to further complicate the reader’s relationship with the ending.
Sen’s writing throughout this collection transcends the simplicity of a singular story. While they all carry the connective tissue of relating to a sense of helplessness and some even enhance this with the addition of racial injustice and bias, Sen goes above and beyond in her characterization of the players at hand here. Despite the commonality, all of these snapshots of the characters' lives feel unique to them, grounding them in their own realities. The stories within A New Race of Men from Heaven showcase an often overlooked side of the human experience that Sen uses seemingly minor details and quiet moments to make the importance and relatability of her stories loud.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer" was my favorite story in this collection by far. I read it twice back to back. I am going to read it again today.

Many stories are about the immigrant experience. She’s an amazing writer who weaves little zingers of observation into each story. Lines that really tip things over like this passage in the first story: “He tried to describe the rustic decor and how it was meant to evoke the French countryside…but his parents had no appreciation for the charm of old things, no nostalgia for simpler times. They lived in India surrounded by old things, and their lives had always been simple. Among the three of them, only Dhruv would have fallen victim to the manipulations of this interior.”

In one story American religious fanatics terrorize a Scandinavian professor’s wife who has just lost her pregnancy—they chase her down to give her startling religious pamphlets. The woman’s husband “gathers up the materials and places them back in the envelope. He looked young again, unconfident and confused. He wasn’t capable of understanding this. He asked me what they wanted. I looked up at him and as gently as I could, I said, ‘they want to save her.’” I know it sounds a bit heavy handed when excerpted, but it’s not within the whole of the story.

The cover design is incredible. I have decided that short story collections are like boxes of chocolates and you just have to be okay with the ones that aren't to your liking.

[seela · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so easy to slip into these stories. This collection is neither forceful nor complacent. The seemingly simple vignettes are actually worlds of complexity. Regardless of one's own reality, it is easy to feel what these characters feel, relate to them and understand their thoughts and motives. Chaitali Sen is highly skilled at bringing the reader into an unfamiliar world and making it feel obvious and recognizable. I especially love the story of Uma. I think it is a good premise for a movie or a tv show that I would binge watch. I am a fan of the "unresolved" story. I like reading and wanting more and this collection fits the bill. There are no tidy endings. But just as in life, not all questions are answered, not all perspectives are simple and static enough to lock into a single ideal. These stories do not shy away from the reality of uncertainty. Weirdly, that is comforting to me. I look forward to more from this thoughtful author.

[Eric Noon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find that short stories are often sometimes easier to get into, but harder to write, due to the constraints on word count and the structures they often follow. Chaitali Sen makes both of these aspects feel effortless in A New Race of Men from Heaven. Each story offers a unique perspective into the human experience, with characters originating from all different kinds of backgrounds, and no two characters or stories feeling all too much the same. That being said, there is an overarching theme of helplessness, as well as the inability to say what's really on one's mind that amazingly bridges the gaps between each of these stories, making each just as enticing and relatable as the last. When focusing on character, Sen excels, and chooses to make real, living beings rather than devices to service her plots. If you want a look into another pair of eyes, or perhaps a couple different sets, I cannot encourage you enough to pick this up.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tight, small set of lovely short stories - a lucky grab at the library. Sen writes about Indian and Indian American experiences, and I guess one story in England, and thematically they tend to be about loneliness or lack of connection, in a very powerful way. I think I most enjoyed the one about a young, Indian widow who moves to Long Island to live with her brother, but is less enamored with the experience of being a nanny to her brother and sister-in-law. These are not plot heavy stories, but explore the internal reflections of characters who face what seem like insurmountable loss and trauma, and sometimes sort of persevere. These are not happy stories, but they aren't depressing either.

[Thao Votang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sen writes with so much trust in her reader! I loved following these characters and what they were going through as immigrants, as people fearing for their safety, and/or as people facing the ideological threats of our time. I loved the trust Sen imbues with all that is left unsaid. This collection depicts so much of the death by a thousand papercuts that people of the global majority face.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
I don't normally read short stories as I prefer to get immersed in longer stories. However, I loved each of these stories......and would like to see some of them turned into novels, or maybe novellas.

Disclosure: Chaiti is a friend of a good friend of mine, and I have been lucky enough to get to know her over the past year.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was impressed with the quality of writing in "The Immigrant," the very first story. And then I skipped to the last one, book title and favorite of reviewers. The stories in between rounded out the collection with a compassionate voice until "The Catholics." Whoa!! Where did that come from? So heavy-handed, and I'm not even Catholic! Sadly my 5* rating dropped to a 2* with just that one story.

[May-Ling · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow to this short story collection. sen writes emotionally rich characters and situations that i found myself carrying throughout the day and thinking about them. each story is exactly the right length and i'm amazed at how quickly connections are built to these characters. almost all of these situations feel thoughtful, complex, and end with some kind of ambiguity, which is life.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sen is a masterful storyteller. So much boils beneath the surface of these stories. I was thoroughly impressed by this author’s inventiveness, especially with regard to the situations and characters in this collection.

[Marcy Dermansky · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a certain kind of wonder in a short story. Chaitali can create an entire world in one evening -- like where a man goes out for dinner in a Thai restaurant at a strip mall off of a highway. Fully realized immersive.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of stories exploring identity, loneliness, and relationships.

[James Callan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid throughout. Nothing absolutely wowed me, but there were no weaknesses, no stories that I didn't enjoy from start to finish.

[Kara Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun interesting set of short stories.

[Indu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. I think I am partial when it comes to short stories. This was a good read.

[Jessica Bacal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of my favorite books of short stories. I loved it. So much empathy in the writing. Love Chaitali Sen's work.

[Amna Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing, thought-provoking stories, bringing together such an interesting constellation of characters, settings and situations. Look forward to more from Chaitali.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid collection.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsettling but make it cool

[abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

dnf read for school

was focusing more on craft when reading this collection. very beautiful, learned a lot for when i write my own stories :)

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written collection of short stories. Some illustrated a defining period in their life. Others felt like an almost intrusive glimpse into their personal struggles. Some were sad and unsettling. I loved the shifts in narrative style. My favorites were the title story and Uma. I also found North, South, East, West to be intriguing.