The Areca Nut Tree and Other Stories by Ranjita Biswas

The Areca Nut Tree and Other Stories Reviews

• 
  Rosh

  A collection of fourteen stories from Assamese women writers. Each of these stories was written in the 1990s.
  
  There were many reasons for me to opt for this book:
  1. The North-East factor is the topmost reason. I have not read much from the North-Eastern region of our country and this seemed like a great option.
  2. All stories are by female writers.
  3. The stories are contemporary and not historical. It would have provided a great opportunity at reading modern regional literature.
  4. The blurb made it sound very intriguing.
  
  Unfortunately for me, this didn’t turn out to be as per my expectations. As the writers are from Assam, I was hoping to find something quintessentially Assamese in the stories. After all, that's the biggest purpose of reading regional writers, isn't it? That they can show us a glimpse of the local flavour that is denied us in mainstream media and art. But that doesn't happen with most of the stories here. The setting is such that they could have taken place anywhere and it wouldn't have made a difference to the final outcome.
  
  The stories are by female writers but most of the stories don’t have that emotional diversity or depth that is usually present in women’s writing. They are also not much feministic, though of course, this was my mistake; the book made no such promises.
  
  The stories have been translated to English and I am very sorry to say this but the translation isn’t very good. There are abrupt perspective changes and random jumps in the writing flow. Some words are used repetitively. There is no authenticity or original flavour maintained. (For instance, in one story, a character is supposed to be talking in broken English but her dialogues have translated to flawless spoken English.) While there were no evident grammatical errors, the language use didn’t satisfy me at all.
  
  Of the fourteen stories, I loved “The Areca Nut Tree” by Manika Devee, “Dunoi” by Kavyashree Mahanta (My favourite of the book – what brilliant writing!) and “Reflection” by Leena Sarma. These were the only three tales that reached/crossed 4.5 stars. The rest were mostly disappointing.
  
  2.75 stars, based on the average of my ratings for all the stories.
  
  My thanks to the Himalayan Book Club for a complimentary copy of “The Areca Nut Tree and Other Stories”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
  
  
  
  
  
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• 
  Chitra Ahanthem

  The Areca Nut Tree and Other Stories: Contemporary Women's Writing From Assam, selected and translated by Ranjita Biswas is an anthology of 14 stories that sparkle and leave a shimmering aura in their wake. This collection of short stories tell you that contemporary Assamese writing is a vibrant landscape.
  These are stories written by women authors but not every one of them necessarily underline themes around women only. I must say that this is a collection of short stories in a long time that are no centered around the insurgency years of Assam. Instead, you have themes around religion and the fissures that it brings even to friends who have enjoyed the same mind of book in their years of childhood innocence; you have stories that follows the news of a bridge being built and what it means to different people in a way that you as a reader would not have anticipated and you have stories that explore the voyueristic nature of the media as news channels sensationalize the lives of people.
  The writing styles are carried as are the tones of the narratives. Ranjita Biswas has brought together an eclectic set of authors and their stories together as editor and as translator. If I am forced to pin down just one favourite from this collection, it has to be the title story which starts with a scene of domestic violence and peels the layers of patriarchy and how women play into it and then ends on a note of positive masculinity. Go read!
• 
  Anupriya Yadav

  Contemporary Women's Writing: The Areca Nut Tree and Other Stories From Assam is an anthology of 14 stories selected and translated by Ranjita Biswas that dazzle and leave a sparkling atmosphere in their wake. This collection of short stories demonstrates how dynamic Assamese writing has become in recent years.
  These are stories written by women authors, but not all of them focus on issues that are exclusive to women. Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be what I had hoped for. I was hoping to find anything quintessentially Assamese in the stories because the authors are from Assam. After all, isn't it the main point of reading regional writers? That they can give us a taste of the local flavour that we are deprived of.
  
  
• 
  Esmeralda Valencia

  Wow