A review by akpd
Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories by Vandana Singh
4.0
This book is important because it was lent to me by a friend who thought Vandana Singh is Bengali (we never resolved the reason behind this impression - the first story? - and emphatically concluded that Singh's research is just very good). I'm grateful for having been lent a physical copy of the book itself because I don't think I would have finished it otherwise (Kindle books all look the same, and there is something about a friend lending you their own beloved copy: "Take care of my baby!").
It's that, and the fact that I've discovered a way (many ways) of being through these stories. Though I haven't always enjoyed the style (my deep-seated squeamishness thanks to a certain kind of "training" in literature?), there's an honesty and a deep sensitivity to them. "Oblivion: A Journey", "Are you Sannata3159?", and "Rumination in an Alien Tongue" broke (through) me. And as they did so, I learnt to like the writing for itself too. This is important.
There is a way when disciplinary boundaries are broken, and Singh does that. She does that in a way that makes the term "disciplinary boundaries" itself seem suspect. This is probably the most important thing I take away from the book, and I'm grateful for this. If I ever look back and see this time in my life as being devoted to unlearning (is that why I'm away from academia?), this book will have been important (I already feel it is).
It's that, and the fact that I've discovered a way (many ways) of being through these stories. Though I haven't always enjoyed the style (my deep-seated squeamishness thanks to a certain kind of "training" in literature?), there's an honesty and a deep sensitivity to them. "Oblivion: A Journey", "Are you Sannata3159?", and "Rumination in an Alien Tongue" broke (through) me. And as they did so, I learnt to like the writing for itself too. This is important.
There is a way when disciplinary boundaries are broken, and Singh does that. She does that in a way that makes the term "disciplinary boundaries" itself seem suspect. This is probably the most important thing I take away from the book, and I'm grateful for this. If I ever look back and see this time in my life as being devoted to unlearning (is that why I'm away from academia?), this book will have been important (I already feel it is).