Book Name: Love and Lust stories and essays
Genre: Fiction/non-fiction
Publisher: Aleph
Rating: 5/5
Book Blurb: One of the meanings of the word ‘olio’ is ‘a miscellany’. the books in the aleph olio series contain a selection of the finest writing to be had on a variety of themes and present India in ways that it has seldom been seen before. The powerful stories and sketches in this volume probe the mysteries of love and the perils and ecstasies of sexual desire.
Review: Aleph olio is is a new initiative by Aleph and Love and Lust presents a compilation of powerful writings right from stalwarts like Vikram Seth and Amitava Kumar to long forgotten geniuses such as Sadat Hasan Manto.
This little pocketbook contains very powerful pieces of writings on love, unrequited love and desire. In some cases, the stories are excerpted from larger works such as from A Suitable Boy (Vikram Seth’s master piece).
Such works are important because it is by way of introduction to smaller pieces that an interest is generated to more onto larger novels. Anybody who has read abridged versions of classic novels in childhood knows how important they are in shaping a young reader’s mind.
The pieces in this book have been selected very carefully and represent a lot of diversity. Perfect for a lazy intellectually stimulating evening.