Author: Shruti Swamy
Genre: Short Stories
Publisher: Algonquin
Publication Date: August 11, 2020
Book Description: Dreams collide with reality, modernity with antiquity, and myth with identity in the twelve arresting stories of A House Is a Body. In “Earthly Pleasures,” a young painter living alone in San Francisco begins a secret romance with one of India’s biggest celebrities, and desire and ego are laid bare. In “A Simple Composition,” a husband’s professional crisis leads to his wife’s discovery of a dark, ecstatic joy. And in the title story, an exhausted mother watches, hypnotized by fear, as a California wildfire approaches her home. Immersive and assured, provocative and probing, these are stories written with the edge and precision of a knife blade. Set in the United States and India, they reveal small but intense moments of beauty, pain, and power that contain the world.
A House Is a Body introduces a bold and original voice in fiction, from a writer at the start of a stellar career.
Review: 3 1/2 Stars
Review: I have a love/hate relationship with short story collections. When I personally read a collection there is one or two stellar stories and then the rest are just ok. While I had a similar feeling with this collection, there was definitely a lot more strong stories in this collection, than I expected.
These stories span the globe from India to the US. You will find each story extremely unique. There are stories that deal with polygamy to dealing with children, celebrities and wealth.
There are several stories that I just wished that the author could turn into full novels, including the very first story of the book, Blindness. Hopefully she will expand on some of these in the future.
This debut collection is strong. Her writing is beautiful and you will walk away from many of these stories wanting more. You can tell Swamy put a lot of emotion into this collection. I am looking forward to seeing what else she writes.
Thank you Algonquin for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Obsessed Bookaholic 