A review of A Rainbow Feast: New Asian Short Stories. - JPCS

Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and Societies
ISSN (USA): 1948-1845 (Print), 1948-1853 (Electronic
sensitivities occupy the central stage in many of these stories; for example, Fayeze Hasant’s
“Green Card”, Razia Sultana Khan’s “Seduction”, Lau Siew Mei’s “Passion’s Fruit in the
Flowerbed”, Dipika Mukherjee’s “Baby’s Breath”, Chitra Sankaran’s “Alone and Palely
Loitering”, Barnali Saha’s “The Gambler”, Qaisra Shahraz’a “The Zemindar’s wife”, and
Veerena Tay’s “Broken”. There are, then, some interesting stories in this anthology that expose
the evils of patriarchy (p.20); for instance, Saud Khatab Ali’s “The Subjugated Ones”, Razia
Khan’s “Seduction”, Dipika Mukherjee’s “Baby’s Breath”, and Verena Tay’s “Broken”.
This collection of short stories has rich variety in content and compactness in form.
Many stories are unified in plot, but Lan Siew Mei’s “Passion’s Fruit in the Flowerbed” is patchy
and fragmented and Prof. Quayum even calls it “a post-modern story”(p.22). Keeping in mind
the vast variety, subtle complexity, and imaginative fecundity of the stories contained in this
collection, we can really say that here’s “a rainbow feast” that can cater to the taste of readers of
every mood and shade of thought. The editor has demonstrated his discretion to choose the best
stories at hand, and he must be complimented for performing this task excellently.
Biography
Professor A.N. Dwivedi, an award winning poet and critic, has to date published about 100
research articles in local and international journals and a dozen books of literary criticism, three
books of translation and four books of poetry. His collections of poetry are: Random Reflections
(New Delhi: BRPC, 1994), Fine Frenzy (Allahabad: Kitab Mahal, 1998), Protest Poems
(Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 2002) and Beyond Borders (New Delhi: Adhyayan Publishers,
2008)
Book details: A Rainbow Feast: New Asian Short Stories, Ed. Mohammad A. Quayum.
Singapore: Marshal Cavendish Editions, 2010, pp. 328.
“A review of A Rainbow Feast: New Asian Short Stories,” A.N.Dwivedi
JPCS, Vol. 2, No 3, July 2011. http://www.jpcs.in
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