Superb, thoughtful, eloquent stories. I never knew where this gifted artist was going to take me but I knew it was going to be thrilling each time. A woman and her sick daughter are forced to leave their house in the California Hills as a fire approaches, a battered wife tries to connect with her neighbor she imagines suffers from a similar situation, a painter hooks up with Krishna.

Thanks to the Library Thing Early Reviewers program for the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. ( )

This was terrific. She has a really wonderful touch, blending realism with abstraction, internal and external life. The Indian women (and a couple of men, and one god) in these stories are moving through lives that weren't what they were led to expect, in many ways—fire, loss, abandonment, abuse, disappointment. Yet for all that darkness her characters are lovely and resolute, and this is not a sad book in the least. It's a fabulous debut, and I'm so sorry I missed it for last year's LJ Best Short Stories, because I would have pinned it up at the top. Definitely a favorite for the year—thank you, Lauren!—and I'm looking forward to her upcoming novel, The Archer. ( )

I’m at a loss for what to say about this collection. Is it one that will change the way all stories are told or written, as a quote on the jacket boasts? I don’t think so. But it’s solid, smart. Certainly worth reading. Swamy moves deftly between registers, incorporating folklore and magic realism with ease.

Shruti Swamy writes with precision and clarity and simplicity, about complicated subjects. I really loved that combination. There is a mastery of the short story form here, an almost classical approach to storytelling, that I also loved. My favorite story in the collection was "Didi," which begins with such an insightful back-and-forth scene between a husband and wife, where in spite of nothing much happening between them an entire world of feeling and momentum has been established by the end of these opening pages:

"She lifted each item out of the grocery bag carefully, turning each orange over in her slim hands to inspect them or bless them. She took out a large wooden bowl and placed the oranges inside, and she was right to do so; they were beautiful in that bowl..."

I love this writing. It did keep me somewhat at arms' length because of its polish. It's a complicated criticism that I'm not sure I understand completely myself, even though I'm the one making it, but I think what I mean is that the stories are tidy in a way where I was never surprised by an out-of-place shocker of a sentence or scene...and sometimes I wanted to be. ( )

Precise and insightful, this collection showcases Swamy's mastery of her craft. Her voice effortlessly inhabits each of her characters, creating a vivid sense of inner life and human complexity. A beautiful and very impressive work that I enjoyed more for its exquisite artistry than emotional heft. ( )