agotakristof's review
3.0
Read it for the title story "Translated from the Gibberish" and its part 2, then for a story titled "Behind the moon". Rest is half-baked.
starbuck2233's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Interesting stories from a view point I have never read from before. It was well written and it made me think more about an experience and view I never thought about before.
jessicafulton's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
troisd's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bent's review
3.0
I thought most of these stories were really good. The wrap-around essay that starts and concludes the book was not as compelling although it did give me a few interesting takeaways. But I thought the short stories were all excellent.
nini23's review
4.0
A good writer can write about anything; say, disparate objects like a deceased woman's voluminous underwear on a clothesline and vertical graves; and keep readers absorbed and wanting to know more. Anosh Irani is such a writer.
This short story collection is bookended by two parts of seemingly autobiographical musings. Each story is preceded by customs and immigration stamps with entry/exit dates giving the book a quirky liminal feel. Indeed, the stories deal with migration and the alien feeling of being in a new land but also looking back to a lost past. Sometimes the journey is internal. "Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted. The achievements of exile are permanently undermined by the loss of something left behind forever." This lament is quoted by our writer narrator in Translated from the Gibberish Part I attributed to Edward Said which is "terrible in its truthfulness"
The short stories are suffused with tension, hope, despair and promise. My favourites were "Behind The Moon" and "Butter Chicken." I found the story of why a migrant feels he lives behind the moon and dissolution of his hopes heartbreaking. Others like "Mr Molt" about a grief-crazed woman's belief that a Humboldt penguin at a zoo being the reincarnation of her dead son appealed to me less. The story matter can be deceptive and contradictory: "Swimming Coach" is not really about swimming but a middle-aged man's unvoiced frustrations with his station in life while "Treasury of Sweetness" about an immigrant shop owner selling Indian sweets and desserts is far from saccharine and instead leads to a disquieting sinister conclusion. In "Circus Wedding," a clown wrestles with his anger and trust issues. Quite a few of the stories would initially be uplifted with hope, we readers are crying and cheering on the character then splat! Flattened by life. So it goes.....(incidentally I picked up some similarities between Vonnegut's and Irani's writings, that sharp ironic poignant style, laughing while crying at the absurdity of our world).
I have previously only read Anosh Irani's full length novels such as his devastating 'The Parcel.' The author narrator in Translated from the Gibberish Part Two scoffs at short stories, stating that a short story collection is "Writing about characters who don't deserve novels. Lives so insignificant that they can be summed up in a few sentences." I'm not sure if this means Anosh Irani is not totally won over writing in a short story format but this collection feels quite personal bristling with raw emotion. It also leaves us wondering: which is the half truth?
This short story collection is bookended by two parts of seemingly autobiographical musings. Each story is preceded by customs and immigration stamps with entry/exit dates giving the book a quirky liminal feel. Indeed, the stories deal with migration and the alien feeling of being in a new land but also looking back to a lost past. Sometimes the journey is internal. "Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted. The achievements of exile are permanently undermined by the loss of something left behind forever." This lament is quoted by our writer narrator in Translated from the Gibberish Part I attributed to Edward Said which is "terrible in its truthfulness"
The short stories are suffused with tension, hope, despair and promise. My favourites were "Behind The Moon" and "Butter Chicken." I found the story of why a migrant feels he lives behind the moon and dissolution of his hopes heartbreaking. Others like "Mr Molt" about a grief-crazed woman's belief that a Humboldt penguin at a zoo being the reincarnation of her dead son appealed to me less. The story matter can be deceptive and contradictory: "Swimming Coach" is not really about swimming but a middle-aged man's unvoiced frustrations with his station in life while "Treasury of Sweetness" about an immigrant shop owner selling Indian sweets and desserts is far from saccharine and instead leads to a disquieting sinister conclusion. In "Circus Wedding," a clown wrestles with his anger and trust issues. Quite a few of the stories would initially be uplifted with hope, we readers are crying and cheering on the character then splat! Flattened by life. So it goes.....(incidentally I picked up some similarities between Vonnegut's and Irani's writings, that sharp ironic poignant style, laughing while crying at the absurdity of our world).
I have previously only read Anosh Irani's full length novels such as his devastating 'The Parcel.' The author narrator in Translated from the Gibberish Part Two scoffs at short stories, stating that a short story collection is "Writing about characters who don't deserve novels. Lives so insignificant that they can be summed up in a few sentences." I'm not sure if this means Anosh Irani is not totally won over writing in a short story format but this collection feels quite personal bristling with raw emotion. It also leaves us wondering: which is the half truth?
blundershelf's review
3.0
3.5 - there were some stories I really, really enjoyed (Swimming Coach, Mr Molt, and both parts of the title story) and others I just didn't really connect to personally.
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