Portrait of our times

In the midst of the viral rampage and global devastation and lockdown in 2020, the Book Review Literary Trust announced a short story competition. More than 50 entries were received from across India. This volume presents the best 19 stories. Edited by Sucharita Sengupta, Chandra Chari and Uma Iyengar, ‘The Thief’s Funeral: The Book Review Anthology of Short Fiction’ showcases fresh voices that brilliantly explore every nuance, wrinkle and aspect of the country and its people.

The winning entry was ‘Megalomania’ by Jobeth Anna Warjri, a writer and researcher from Laitkor, Meghalaya. A casual peek into the mind of a predator, the story evokes the delusional self-confidence of the hunter and the terror of the hunted. Terror is, in fact, the uniting thread of this anthology. Terror of mistrust, terror of looking at your own face, terror of not being able to be oneself.

The tales emerge from a range of social, cultural and cognitive landscapes. The contributors are varied and from diverse backgrounds. There are adventurers, professors, filmmakers, journalists, authors. And together they paint an engaging portrait of our times, bringing into sharp relief messy and uncomfortable inner worlds and their tension with norms and morals.