The Penguin Book of Bengali Short Stories

Arunava Sinha, Various

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English

Penguin
04 June 2024

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Anthologies (non-poetry); Classic fiction (pre c 1945); Short stories; Fiction in translation

A landmark anthology, staking a new claim for Bengali literature in English

The prose short story arrived in Bengal in the wake of British colonizers, and Bengali writers quickly made the form their own. By the twentieth century a profusion of literary magazines and journals meant they were being avidly read by millions.

Writers responded to this hunger for words with a ferocious energy which reflected the turmoil of their times- these stories covered land wars, famine, the caste system, religious conflict, patriarchy, Partition and the liberation war that saw the emergence of the independent country of Bangladesh. Across these shifting geographical borders, writers also looked inward, evolving new literary styles and stretching the possibilities of social realism, political fiction and intimate domestic tales.

A first in English, this anthology gathers together a century's worth of extraordinary stories. From a woman who eats fish in secret to the woes of an ageing local footballer, from the anxieties of a middle-class union rep to a lawyer who stumbles upon a philosopher's stone, this is a collection that celebrates making art of life, in all its difficulty and joy.

By: Various
Edited by: Arunava Sinha
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 162mm, Spine: 35mm
Weight: 897g
ISBN: 9780241562635
ISBN 10: 0241562635
Pages: 512
Publication Date: 04 June 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Arunava Sinha translates classic, modern and contemporary Bengali fiction and non-fiction from Bangladesh and India into English. He also translates fiction from English into Bengali. Over eighty of his translations have been published so far in India, the UK and the USA. He teaches creative writing at Ashoka University, where he is also the co-director of the Ashoka Centre for Translation, and is the Books Editor at Scroll.in.

Reviews for The Penguin Book of Bengali Short Stories

A splendid guide to unmapped lands… [Sinha] is one of the best living translators at work bringing the Bengali classics into English… he writes with exceptional elegance and wit, and is astonishingly productive -- Philip Hensher * The Spectator *