Incantations and Other Stories: An Important New Young Voice from India

There are not enough words to express the excellence of this book. I have read many books by Indian authors, but not one of them has depicted life as vidvidly and honestly as this author. Her stories speak of the lives of the common person, the hypocracies, the trajedies, the compromises made just to continue living. She even gets the dialect right when portraying different characters and their form of speech. Anyone who is South Asian can relate to the experiences of her characters, and for everyone else, this is life in South Asia.

A well, culturally sensitive book of woman oriented short stories. A book that is a must read for anyone who is interested in contemporary Indian writers.

For someone who knows relatively little of the Indian culture and customs, but is fascinated by the subject, these short stories are a marvellous insight into the relationships and family dynamics that occur between the generations in India. The only disappointment was coming to the end of each story. One had become so involved in the lives of the various characters that one almost felt cheated at not being able to know more and experience a continuation of their lives and stories. I hope Appachana plans to write lots more. I will be waiting for her next publication.

By far, one of the best short story collections I have ever read. The stories in Incantations are touching without suffering from trite and cliche language, themes, or characters as in Chitra B. Divakaruni's, ARRANGED MARRIAGE. Appachana's prose is not expository like Divakaruni's, but rather, immensely touching while also moving the narrative forward. She deals with the social and personal predicaments of Indian women, but not in a common way. Appachana's best stories are "Incantations" and "My Only Gods," although all of the stories are excellent, and they really make the reader think about what the author is saying. You cannot come away feeling something for these characters. I have been waiting for ages for a new work from this author, and she is finally coming out with a novel this year.

Anjana Appachana's sensitive stories use interior monologue and India-rooted metaphor to enter the hearts and minds of her memorable characters. She shows us how Indian tradition and culture can restrict and liberate, irk and comfort at the same time. Every story transcends cultural boundaries and asks us to remember our common humanity.