'Born or brought up in Britain, we suffer at the hands of oppressive parents. These comical or villainous figures hold us back from the pleasures of Western life: they don t let us drink alcohol or eat meat; they force us to wear suits or keep top-knots. They want us to have arranged marriages. When we resist, they resort to emotional blackmail or physical force.' This perspective has become a cliché dominating British Asian narratives, argues editor Kavita Bhanot. It has become a bankable, marketable formula, and it is stifling to a new generation of writers who don t want to conform to its conventions. The contributors submitting their stories knew they would not be told they were 'Too Asian, or not Asian enough'. From this freedom comes a startlingly diverse and original range of stories. A collector of hair arrives at a European village and a frightened traveller wanders the twilit streets of Jerusalem; an argument erupts at a cocaine-fuelled party and a miniaturist unwittingly precipitates the downfall of David Beckham; a jilted lover takes a foodie revenge on his ex-wife and a nosy grandmother takes spying on her neighbours too far . . . Here is an anthology of twenty-one stories funny, shocking, moving, thought-provoking in which writers such as Gautam Malkani, Nikesh Shukla, Niven Govinden and Bidisha sit alongside thrilling new voices published for the first time.
Too Asian, Not Asian Enough
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.40
Trade in Too Asian, Not Asian Enough: An anthology of new British Asian fiction for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.40, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
About the Author
Kavita Bhanot grew up in London and lived in Birmingham before moving to Delhi to direct an Indian-British literary festival and then work as an editor for India's first literary agency. She has had several stories published in anthologies and magazines.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By rnamos176
Format:Paperback
Too Asian, Not Asian Enough is a highly provocative collection of short stories which question the identity of British Asian writing and open up the floor for ripe debate. Seeking to break away from the stultifying and now tired confines of stereotypical British Asian narratives, from arranged marriages to alienation in a strange English island, editor Kavita Bhanot aims to harness the voices of a new generation of authors to paint a fresh portrait. The result is a compellingly refreshing and sensitive selection of stories, which are juxtaposed against each other to great effect, not only in tone but most evidently in geographic scale, from the heart of New York and mountainous rural European communities to gay night clubs in Manchester. Favourite stories which stood out for me included the biting prose of Rajeev Balasubramanyam's The Tablet of Bliss, in which David Beckham, that iconic embodiment of Britishness meets his doom in a world turned on its head. I also loved the simultaneously comedic and sad Windows by Madhvi Ramani, a bittersweet discourse on loneliness in old age.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By nidkirm
Format:Paperback
This is a great and much-needed collection of short stories written by very talented, budding young writers. I haven't read all of the stories yet, but the ones I have read have been very engaging. More than that, this collection moves away from stereotyped images of Asians and lets writers just write outside of the confines of ethnic categories. For that reason alone, it is worth a read!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Too Asian, Not Asian Enough: An Anthology of New British Asian Fiction
2 Dec 2011
By S. Barfield
Format:Paperback
Too Asian, Not Asian Enough: Fiction from the New Generation: An Anthology of New British Asian Fiction
Kavita Bhanot has done an immense service to those who are interested in where current British South Asian writing is going by assembling this very varied collection of short stories from new writers. The range of writers is extremely varied, as are the literary styles these short stories adopt (many of these writers have moved away from the style of magical realism we associate with Salman Rushdie and have adopted the new realism assoicated with writers like Raymond Carver)and the variety of themes explored within this collection. Bhanot has a sharp introduction which locates current developments in British South Asian fiction and does much to explain how British Asian writers feel about their writing. It would be unfair to single out any particular writer for praise here, as all of the stories in this collection have something important to say, are worth reading and the price for a volume of this length is a keen one. This book is an essential purchase for anyone interested in the field of British South Asian writing, for school and university libraries and for aspiring British Asian writers.
Kavita Bhanot has done an immense service to those who are interested in where current British South Asian writing is going by assembling this very varied collection of short stories from new writers. The range of writers is extremely varied, as are the literary styles these short stories adopt (many of these writers have moved away from the style of magical realism we associate with Salman Rushdie and have adopted the new realism assoicated with writers like Raymond Carver)and the variety of themes explored within this collection. Bhanot has a sharp introduction which locates current developments in British South Asian fiction and does much to explain how British Asian writers feel about their writing. It would be unfair to single out any particular writer for praise here, as all of the stories in this collection have something important to say, are worth reading and the price for a volume of this length is a keen one. This book is an essential purchase for anyone interested in the field of British South Asian writing, for school and university libraries and for aspiring British Asian writers.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
