Book: Marquez EMS Gulam & Others
Author: Benyamin
Translator: Swarup B.R.
Genre: Short Story Collection
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Pages: 228
Although I received this book earlier than Subversive Whispers, I didn’t get myself to read it sooner. But as soon as I finished Subversive Whispers, I knew what my next read would be, as I am much more excited to discover more gems from Malayalam Literature.
I have heard about Benny Daniel, better known as Benyamin because of “Jasmine Days” and the JCB Prize For Literature, and I wanted to read his work. And that opportunity came as Marquez EMS Gulam & others.
Marquez EMS Gulam & Others by Benyamin is a short story collection, where the stories are “fictional” but inspired by real-life events, as the author said in the author’s note, “My stories are not far removed from life. Though imagination, like leaves, has sprouted, the roots remain firmly entrenched in the soil of life.”
The stories don’t have any particular theme in common, they are as diverse as life can be. From a person living in Kerela who thinks he is metamorphosed into Gregory George Márquez, the story of American soldiers in Baghdad, of the worth of Argentina’s jersey bought by a father, a mysterious sailor, the internal turmoil of a taxi driver, it has as much diversity as one can imagine.
The stories in the collection were impacting, thought-provoking, and surprising and had endings that will astonish the readers for sure. The translation was as lucid and best as one can expect and it was worth reading.
“The Postman” is the story that is my favourite from the collection, and one of my all-time favourites. It has so much in it, and I loved the way the generational pride, love, and respect were shown, and that ending was one of the best things, something that I couldn’t have imagined.
Some other favourites from this collection were:
The Argentina Jersey
The Enemy
Nedumbassery
Javed the Mujahideen
I loved most of the stories from the collection, and overall, it’s a book that I highly recommend. And I can’t wait to read more by Benyamin.
I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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Read Also: Black Soil by Ponneelan, Translated by J. Priyadarshini
Hymns In Blood By Nanak Singh, translated by Navdeep Suri
The Living Mountain by Amitav Ghosh
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