Hot Death
A Collection of Stories Old and New
From the award-winning writer of the acclaimed play "Harvest", this debut collection of stories will electrify readers with its unusual, radical, and troubling themes. Here are ten tales, some new, some old, and all of them edgy. In biting and satirical critiques of contemporary society, Manjula Padmanabhan displays a remarkable range. We read of a white American widow who plans a designer version of sati or self-immolation, a pervert and his magic phallus on a double-decker bus, a black American girl with a unique take on Hindu civilization, a juvenile mad scientist who schemes in a proletarian dystopia, electronic simulacra that make high-voltage love, and a mature scientist who confronts infertility in teeming India. For good measure, there's also a coming-of-age story, a marriage proposal, a thwarted murder, and a story about the Government of India's Bureau of Reincarnation.
About the Author
Manjula Padmanabhan is an author, illustrator, playwright, and cartoonist. She was born in Delhi, but was raised in Sweden, Pakistan, and Thailand, before returning to the city of her birth. Her books include "Getting There", "Harvest", "Escape", and two comic collections.
Reviews
"This is easily one of the best collections of short stories I have read in a very long time" – Indian Review of Books
"The best thing about these stories is their momentum, their narrative drive. You keep turning the pages and there is always a pay-off at the end... It fairly zips along, it flies" – Mukul Kesavan, Outlook India
