Book Review: The Other -- Stories of Difference

 Learning to live again 



 Not every teenager has fond, rainbow tinted growing up experiences. They have been ignored deliberately, their peers unwilling to come to their aid, or speak up for them. 

These teens for various reasons – their physical attributes, medical condition, economic background or gender identity – become ‘the other’. Simply because the larger, ‘normal’ society doesn’t know how to deal with them.

Paro Anand’s short story collection, The Other, nudges us to not to sweep away the unpalatable truths under the carpet. But to take note and bridge the divide. The nine stories delves into the not so happy emotions and feelings that the teenagers confront with and at the end offers a workable solution.

Sanjana picking the boy with the pee-bag as her first choice to act in a fairy tale does wonders for his confidence; parents suggesting their daughter to call a helpline number in case of violence against females is a corrective action. And what do the ugly sisters from a spin-off of Cinderella story learn? They learn to embrace their dwarf bodies, live a fulfilling life, even if they do not meet their Prince Notsocharming!

 Name: The Other – Stories of Difference

Author: Paro Anand

Publisher: Speaking Tree

Pages: 164

 Excerpt

"It’s actually good to be finally doing something normal for a change. My counsellor has been telling me that this is what I need. She is right. There were many, many moments when I thought I could never claim this moment back again. Yet here I am."

 

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