Story-Wallah!: A Celebration of South Asian Fiction

A "wallah" is a hawker or merchant. In Story-Wallah! some of the world's best fiction writers hawk their wares from different parts of the South Asian diaspora - Canada, the United States, Britain, Guyana, Trinidad, Malaysia, Tanzania, Fiji - creating a virtual map of the world with their tales. There is an eclectic quality to the way the stories jostle up against each other: life on a sugar plantation in Trinidad next to the story of a childhood in rural 1930's Australia. A Christmas in Fiji next to the attempts by an Indian family in South Africa to arrange a marriage for their rebellious daughter. A honeymoon in lush Sri Lanka next to the trials of a Bangladeshi refugee in England. The result is a marvelous cacophony, like early morning at a South Asian bazaar. Story-Wallah! is essential reading for anyone with an interest in South Asian writers and the dynamic, important tales they have to tell.