First Impressions
By Suchitra Behal
Cliffs of Fall, Shirley Hazzard, Virago, £3.50.
THERE is a disconnect in human relationships that becomes apparent in situations of either extreme stress or ennui. These short stories present facets of both and, in a surprisingly amiable manner, make a comment on the relationships of the characters that inhabit the stories. The writing is precise, controlled and deft and each story is told with a rare mastery, making it difficult for the reader to put down the book. In "A Place in the Country", the careful zig-zag of emotion between a husband, wife and a sister-in-law are focused upon. There is an undercurrent of romance between the husband and the sister-in-law, which suddenly springs to the surface when the wife is out of town. "Harold" is the story of an adolescent young man who is at sixes and sevens with practically everything. Only until he is invited to share his poetry with the rest. As he flowers into someone else and reels of words more precocious than what his adult audience may have expected, there follows a grudging acceptance of him. In the title piece, "Cliffs of Fall", a young widow still coming to terms with her husband's death finds herself ashamed and perplexed at her lack of grief. Shirley Hazzard writes with a keen eye on people and their responses to each other in different situations. A treat to read.
Stay with Me, Maniza Naqui, Tara Press, Rs. 295.
THIS is supposed to be a story about love. About the "love that some have lost some gained and some who spent their lives searching for it". But in the pages that follow, there is very little indication of who is actually in love with whom or what. Is the protagonist an abandoned lover? Or someone tortured? Are there children involved? This is yet another story of unrequited love — chaotic and confusing.
The Order of Light, Haroon Moghul, Penguin, Rs. 250.
COULD this be the story of hundreds of Muslim youth sent back to their "roots", to rediscover their culture and religion? A young Pakistani-American and his Indian roommate enrol in a programme to study Arabic in an institute in Cairo. But they soon find their programme boring and their quest for their spiritual solace leads them no further than the golden arches of the local McDonalds. However, one of them is more desperate and sick with boredom than the other and finds himself running out of the apartment at odd hours of the day. He runs past the modern city limits into Old Cairo, where he chances upon a group of men who declare themselves the followers of the Order of the Light. At first he is fascinated and then finds himself repelled by their ideas of how to attain spiritual freedom. Somewhere there is a backtracking to the Americanised system of living and even as the city plunges into chaos, the two students run away. Unfortunately, for anyone wanting to plough through this in order to enlighten themselves about today's youth and their mindset, this novel leaves the reader groping with the plot, often wondering whether it's a maze where the writer has lost the way.
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