“So much darkness”: Looking for the Light in Bitan Chakraborty’s The Mark, by Indrajit Bose

Book Reviews Indrajit Bose The author at the Zakir Hussain Delhi College during the Bengali Literary Festival 2018 / Photo courtesy of bitanchakraborty.com Simplicity and quiet elegance never fail to impress us. The effect of a good short story often is like a fugue or an adagio in a musical composition, creating impressions fugitifs, in the best manner of the impressionists, sketching in a mood or elaborating on a motif or theme. Bitan Chakraborty’s The Mark (Shambhabi Imprint, 2020) is unquestionably a collection of short stories revolving around the everyday lives of ordinary characters that leaves an impression of serious engagement with the contemporary Indian milieu and is also aesthetically pleasing. Chakraborty is already an established author of the novel; his foray into the short story adds a further dimension to his existing repertoire. A writer must “convincingly create an illusory world if he is to captivate his readers,” Chakraborty has said, and he appears to have lived up to his aesthetic or writerly principles in The Mark. Peripheral and marginal lives lived by characters grappling with the challenging socioeconomic realities of our times, mediated with narratorial control and poise—these are what make the stories in The Mark a testament to the craft of a storyteller and short fiction writer par excellence. The stories in the collection revolve around everyday life and broad human themes—the despair and... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2020-04-21 13:18:37 UTC ]
News tagged with: #short stories #literary festival

Other news stories related to: "“So much darkness”: Looking for the Light in Bitan Chakraborty’s The Mark, by Indrajit Bose"


Amazon Charts: The Mirror and the Light beams into the top spot

Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light (Fourth Estate) has illuminated the Amazon Charts a week ahead of publication, with the final title in the Cromwell trilogy rising 10 places to claim the Most-Sold: Fiction number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-04 04:41:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #fiction number #final title #week ahead #lightfourth estate #hilary mantel #amazon charts #sthe mirror


Agents’ hotlists: the scripts set to light up the 2020 London Book Fair

Feminist fiction, tech dystopias and ‘smart’ non-fiction set to lead the way at Olympia Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-03 03:30:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #feminist fiction


Mark Waid Named Humanoids Publisher

Humanoids, the Los Angeles-based, French-owned comics publisher, has named comics writer Mark Waid its publisher. Waid will report to Humanoids CEO Fabrice Giger, who was previously CEO and publisher. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #previously ceo


History Press signs Ghee Bowman's debut to mark Dunkirk anniversary

The History Press will publish historian Ghee Bowman's debut non-fiction book, The Indian Contingent, for the 80th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-24 19:33:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #80th anniversary #history press


HarperCollins marks 30 years of Dr Seuss classic

HarperCollins Children’s Books is celebrating 30 years of the Dr Seuss classic Oh, the Places You’ll Go! with a deluxe version. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-24 01:20:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #harpercollins #harpercollins children


Hilary Mantel praised for 'magnificent masterpiece' The Mirror & the Light

Critics have praised Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror & The Light (4th Estate) as "magnificent" and a "masterpiece". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-24 01:04:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #light4th estate #sthe mirror


Gallery Books Marks 10 Years

The imprint, born the “love child of the merger of Pocket Books and Simon Spotlight Entertainment” in 2010, marked a decade in the business this January. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #pocket books


Five new thrillers and mysteries to help escape reality — or see it in another light

An eerily portentous action thriller, a moody crime novel, a trip back in time, a P.I. on the brink and more. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-17 14:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


A Gorgeous Nightmare: On Mark Z. Danielewski’s “The Little Blue Kite”

LOS ANGELES–BASED AUTHOR Mark Z. Danielewski recently published a strange picture book called The Little Blue Kite. The project marks an unexpected pivot from his most recent experimental quintet, The Familiar: Volumes 1–5 (2015–’17), which Danielewski described as a “love letter” to his home... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-02-14 20:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #picture book #home city #love letter


On My Dark Vanessa and the Way Stories of Trauma Get Told

Just a month into 2020 and my wishlist is already straining under the weight of all the new titles I’m looking forward to being published. Maybe it’s working in a bookshop or the concentrated effort I’ve been making to retreat into a fantasy-bubble when I’m at home, but I’ve found myself excited... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-03 09:50:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #bookshop #dark vanessa #ve found


Roxane Gay Revisits ‘Darkness’ as a Graphic Novel

The author’s latest comic book endeavor adapts a short story, “The Sacrifice of Darkness,” from her 2017 collection “Difficult Women.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-01-24 18:30:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #comic book #short story


For many writers, Zora Neale Hurston’s work has been a guiding light. Now there’s even more to read.

Sixty years after the legendary African American author’s death in relative obscurity, a new collection of short fiction has arrived. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-16 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #short fiction #relative obscurity #sixty years #guiding light


Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light bags fourth number one

Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson’s Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light (Bluebird) reigned over the UK Official Top 50 for a fourth week in total, with 51,842 copies sold through Nielsen BookScan’s TCM.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 01:31:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #nielsen #nielsen bookscan #fourth week #kate allinson #kay featherstone


In the darkly comic boarding-school world of ‘Oligarchy,’ being thin is everything

Scarlett Thomas continues her streak of turning complicated subjects into must-read novels. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-13 23:13:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #must-read novels


Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light switched on for a third week in the top spot

Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson’s Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light (Bluebird) has maintained its UK Official Top 50 number one spot for a second week running and a third week in total, selling 58,614 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-07 12:47:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #nielsen #nielsen bookscan #everyday lightbluebird #kate allinson #kay featherstone #week running


Galway's Kennys Bookshop marks 80 years of trade

The independent family-run Kennys Bookshop & Art Gallery in Galway, Ireland, is celebrating 80 years in business this year after attributing its success to "innovation and experience". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-06 04:40:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #bookshop


Tremain says Damehood is 'gleam of light' after cancer op

Novelist Rose Tremain, who was made a Dame in the New Year's Honours list, has said the honour felt like "a gleam of light" after going through a difficult time with her health. Tremain was diagnosed with bile duct cancer and underwent a major operation in late October, which she is now... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-01 12:20:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #late october #difficult time #honours list


You Won’t Find Mark Morris at the Multiplex

“I’m not that interested in movies,” says the dancer and choreographer, whose new memoir is “Out Loud.” “I like poetry.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-12-19 10:00:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #memoir


What we're listening to: Sturgill Simpson and 'Chase Darkness with Me'

In this installment of our audio IRL, senior editor Andrew Tarantola's affinity for anime leads him to an unlikely musical discovery. Senior editor Jessica Conditt is addicted to true crime podcasts, but her recommendation is an audiobook with podcas... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-12-03 14:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #audiobook


Nosy Crow to mark Climate Action Day

Nosy Crow will support sustainability app Refill to mark Climate Action Day on Saturday (30th November), after being inspired by the indie's recent book Earth Heroes. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-29 10:43:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #nosy crow