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Fiction Short Stories (single Author)

Palm Leaf Fan, The

and other stories

by (author) Kwai-yun Li

Publisher
Mawenzi House Publishers Ltd.
Initial publish date
Jan 2006
Category
Short Stories (single author), Literary
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781894770316
    Publish Date
    Jan 2006
    List Price
    $20.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781894770842
    Publish Date
    Jan 2006
    List Price
    $12.99

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

From crumbling shops in Chinatown to decaying tanneries in Tangra, Kwai-yun Li's collection of linked short stories expose us to the life of a marginalized community in postcolonial Calcutta.

We meander into Wong's Shoe Shop, where a mother arranges a marriage for her six-year-old daughter. We stop at a school for girls, where the principal singles out students who have large breasts for punishment. We pause by a temple guarded by a billy goat where family drama rages. We rally with politicians while the monsoon rain drenches us. We relax under waving palms while the setting sun shimmers over the surface of the Tangra fish ponds.

Kwai-yun Li's sensitivity and quirky sense of humour will keep us wanting to return to the ghetto again and again.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Kwai-Yun Li's Hakka parents emigrated from Moi-yen, China to Calcutta, India, where Kwai was born. She grew up in Chattawalla Gully, in the old part of the city, and came to Canada through an arranged marriage. She is a co-author of A Kiss Beside the Monkey Bars, a collection of short stories.

Editorial Reviews

"The short stories in this volume are marked by a sureness of touch and an acuity of observation that match the best in their genre." --China Report

"The most striking element of Li's writing is her ability to synthesize delicate, rich imagery with the dirt of reality." --City Masala

"'First-Rate' writing . . . complicate(s) and enrich(es) our understanding of transnational formations in the Chinese diaspora." --Wasafiri

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