Book Review: MANTO selected short stories

“...and it is also possible, that Saadat Hasan dies, but Manto remains alive.”-  Saadat Hasan Manto

Author: Saadat Hasan Manto ISBN: 9788184001440 Binding: Paperback Publisher: Random House India Date of Publication: 2012 Number of Pages: Approx 170 with cover

MANTO: selected short stories is a collection of twelve short stories from an author widely regarded as one of the greatest short story writers of the subcontinent. Saadat Hasan Manto is now, a hundred years after his birth, also acknowledged as one of the most powerful voices of our time. Originally written in Urdu, minimal in style and form, the stories focus on corners of human psychology. The stories reflect the author’s understanding of human nature, wants and urges. Partition and subsequent loss of balance of life form a major premise in these stories and Manto, a master story teller is able to create legendary characters from among the commons.

This collection include stories like Khaled Mian, Toba Tek Singh and The Dog of Tithwal and other stories. Toba Tek Singh is a tale about a lunatic trapped in the no man’s land between India and Pakistan. The Dog of Tithwal is a tale on a dog being murdered by the two armies, firing at it in turns. Both stories are successful yet touching tales that reflect the insanity that had gripped the two nations around the event of partition. On the other hand, Khaled Mian is a story about a father afraid of losing his baby. All these stories vary in taste but are equally beautiful and taut in narration.

The review remains incomplete unless we comment on the commendable work by Aatish Taseer. Anthony Burgess had said that Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture. Taseer is highly successful in achieving this. A moving introduction on how Taseer was drawn to learn Urdu is an additional gift for us, the readers.

I had received the review copy of this great collection from Random House India. Thank you Rukun for giving me this opportunity. This particular collection is a definite read for readers who admire the classics.

• Google+

You may also like similar reviews available in the archive