10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jewels on a platter - dazzling and colourful stories, September 7, 2003
This review is from: Diamond Dust: Stories (Paperback)
Like that enticing assortment of your favourite chocolates laid out invitingly in a tray, each with its own flavour and aroma but broadly speaking, all from the same family, these stories sparkle with life and dazzle you with their charm. They are utterly delightful and exuberant pieces of craft, with a lingering aftertaste. Although each stands distinctly apart from the other, they all have in common the aim to capture the most exquisite and unspeakable moments of human life (and for a majority of stories, Indian life ). These snatches of Indian life, a sister to ours, remind us that the subcontinent is one big cultural brotherhood, in fact if not in spirit.
Bypassing the obvious to capture the evasive is a quality particular to the short story, whose genre is ideally suited to treat the ephemeral. Its constraints allow to expand only sufficiently what the leniency of the novel would lose in all its space. A genre more purely aesthetic and much less moral-bound than its counterparts in prose, it's all about conveying impressions and creating impact. Its constraints rule out indulgence and superfluousness, making it the ideal genre to tackle the subtle.
It is exactly this attribute that Anita Desai capitalizes on. She captures moments and emotions high in delicacy and measures an exact number of words to draw them up - one word less and the sketch is left wanting, one word more and it's already redundant. Her expression is the language of fragility itself and she tackles the most discreet of subjects with effortless poise. Her stories move between a whole range of moods; from exuberant to mellow, from exultant to creastfallen, from delight to ennui, from expectant to disappointed. Her word, like the stroke of the seasoned artist, is sure of itself, it never wavers or falters and fits in its place like a jewel.
In some stories, characters try to grapple with figments of their past which surface unexpectedly, This is the case in `Royalty', `Underground', `T Tomorrow' and `Winterscape'. Characters from the past reappear after long absences and are incompatible with the present. Efforts to accommodate them are slowly swallowed by the demands of routine and changed priorities. This causes disappointments, regrets and sadness. Sometimes, this visit by an `appariton of the past' can momentarily relieve the monotony of life. And it is this moment in time that the story freezes - this strange relief before life resumes its regular drone.
On the lines of James Joyce's `Araby', only a lot more fathomable is `The Artist's Life' - about youth's disillusion...that fraction of a second in which by the slightest jolt an idol falls and an icon breaks. The intensity of this moment in youth, so ridiculously melodramatic and absurd in retrospect - that is the story.
`Five hours to Simla' sketches a colourful, entertaining and exasperating interlude in a family's drive to Simla. Animated by spashes of local colour - Indian sights, Indian sounds and some very Indian loonies.
In a clear Kafkaesque vein, with all its brooding mood is the freaky `The Man Who Saw Himself Drown'. As intriguing as it is irresistible, the story mingles absurdity with sorrow. Very floutingly Sarterian. Less brooding but as tragic, `Diamond Dust' probes the limits of human devotion.
The last and my favourite, `Rooftop Dwellers' is about a young girl embracing the odds of independent life in pursuit of her goals. Her new lodging is her dream house but is not without its inconveniences. This newfound freedom is an exhilarating feeling, one she chooses over everything else.
Much short of grandiloquence but not the least embarrassed of it, these stories appeal to you with all the miniature beauty of trinkets. Surrender to them and let them seduce u with their dainty appeal.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing diversity of themes, June 9, 2001
This review is from: Diamond Dust: Stories (Paperback)
I enjoyed reading Desai's Diamond Dust and other Stories due to the wide range of themes she explores in these stories, ranging from insensitivity to others as in" Royalty" , human obsessions as in the title story ,the need for privacy in " Underground " ,sibling and filial relationships in a cross-cultural framework as in "Winterscape" , a nostalgia for the bygone days and times as in " Tepoztlan Tomorrow " .The sense of place is very strong in these stories , bringing about a confluence of cultures ,and casts an undeniable influence onthe characters ,moulding their perceptions and affecting their choices . The stories are memorable due to the powerful delineation of characters reflecting the subtle shades of the complex human personality .The stories stir up the feelings of the reader through the psychological depth and the perceptive tone .The element of drama and climactic conflict seems to be lacking in these stories , yet it is the imaginative vitality and the poetic vision of the author which becomes the tour de force of these stories .
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
