My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood

 I found this delightful short story My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood while, browsing for books. Earlier, I had begun reading the Handmaid’s Tale and gave up halfway. So I wondered briefly if I should read this. But since it was a short story I went ahead and was not disappointed.  

The narrator, a teenager believes her mom to be a witch. While the mother leads her on to believe so and assures her daughter that she does it for her good. 

There are several instances where a one can actually relate to the mother -daughter relationship. 

The mother and daughter soon grow apart as the girl grows up and moves to go to college. Only later in life, they get together. The story ends with the daughter having a teenager to deal and how she uses similar instances to stop her daughter from doing things.

 

It is a humorous read, as you begin to wonder if the mother really was a witch.

 

A quote in the story that resonated with me was the mother saying “why would I care about the tittle-tattle of the uninformed? Ignorant gossip. I could so imagine my own mother having said this when I was a teenager.

 

This short story brought a smile and all daughters and mothers should give it a read. 

  

The Family at No.12 By Anita Waller

 

No one has secrets like The Family at No.12, by Anita Waller was again a random pick. 

It was a quick read about a lone artist Janette, who runs a dog sitting business. One day a man knocks on her door to enquire about her dog sitting services and ends up raping her. In an act of self defence, she kills him and locks the body in her cellar. Soon she finds that she is pregnant and delivers the baby all on her own. She decides to kill the child  if it was a boy, but it turns out to be a girl. So she raises the child, but keeps her locked away in a room for thirteen whole years.

She is also an artist who keeps an illustrated diary of her days, as she is not much into words. She suddenly dies due to a heart issue. What happens to her child after her death, will the child be sent to a good foster home and how the child turns out in the end is what the story is all about. 

When I began reading the book I felt it was an implausible plot. Some of the characters I felt were thrust into the story. But the writing moves at a good pace, with twists and turns and though I did feel it was implausible in places, I was curious enough to go ahead and finish reading the book. It is an OK read for a quick time pass.

The Widow by Valerie Keogh

Set in England, Allison, the protagonist of the story, craves for parental love and hopes eliminating them would give her another set of parents who would be more loving towards her. These thoughts make her commit a crime during her childhood. She grows up in various institutes for such children and as an adult works as an accountant trying to put her past life behind, though her “monster” nature lurks in the corner. 

The story picks up a steady pace as she meets Peter, (who despite his own set of problems loves her) and marries him for his money. Just when you wonder that Allison has turned a new leaf, she faces a tragedy. Her husband dies. Slowly, the drama unfolds, how he dies, how her friend Portia turns out, Jo a new entrant in her life…., characters with similar monstrous natures are introduced. Does Allison overcome her circumstances and does she turn an angel is what the rest of the story is all about. 

I liked the ending and would have been disappointed if it had been otherwise.

While browsing for books to read I came across The Widow by Valerie Keogh. I haven’t read any book by this author. Usually, I pick up books that others have recommended or after reading a compelling review. I hesitated a bit, and picked it as I hadn’t read a thriller in a long time. The book didn’t disappoint me. It starts off at a good pace and keeps you hooked till the last page. 

 

Bear Town and Us Against You

When you like the book of an author, there is a natural urge to read the rest of his books. This has been my habit since childhood. I loved "My grandmother sends her regards and apologises" by Fredrik Backman and followed it with "Brit Marie was here." There was also a connection to the books and its characters. Both the books were unputdownable and I fell in love with the characters. This led to my reading "A man called Ove" and then "Anxious People."

When I spotted "Beartown" and "Us Against You" in my local bookstore I had to pick it up. Like how Ove lingers in your head long after the book is shelved, the characters in these two books also remain for a long time in your thoughts. The way the characters are etched in each of his books appeal to me. 

In Beartown, the story is built around a small town located amid a large Swedish forest which for most of the year is covered in snow. The only sport in town is ice hockey and the people of the town are obsessed with the sport. The people are close enough, but a violent act by a player and what happens afterwards to divide the people and how hatred fills up in their minds make up the rest of the story. The characters of Benji, Fatima and Jeanette the teacher, Maya and Ana help in keeping you hooked to the book till the last page.

It is better to read Beartown before Us Against You as you would get a better picture of all the characters and families that are involved.

Us Against You talks about two teams from Hed and Beartown. The story is about the aftermath of the violent act of a star player of Beartown, who leaves town when things get ugly. A devious politician enters the town to make things further difficult for Peter the general manager of the hockey club. How politics affects the ethos of the small town, how some people despite their personal differences try and pull it together and form a team to play their favourite sport of ice hockey makes up the rest of the story.

The story reveals how the sporting society is even prepared to let people live above the law if it could be useful to the economy.The characters in the book feel trapped by their careers, circumstance and their sexuality and they struggle to cope with it. How each of the characters manage to overcome their situation and try to move on is the crux of the story.

I would recommend both books as "Must Read."

 

Street Smart

He was holding bouquets of roses. The signal turned red and he weaved his way through idling cars. He begged drivers and passengers to buy. The signal turned green and he returned dejected.

She walked up to him and took the flowers. When it turned red, she tapped a window. The passengers refused and she teared up. He couldn’t hear what she said, but could see her offering all five bouquets.

A woman in the back took all of them. She accepted the money and thanked the lady profusely.

She thrust the money into his hands.

“And that’s how it’s done.”

By Srividya Ganapathy

(This was published on June 6th, 2022 in 101words.org)

 

Role Reversal, by Srividya Ganapathy 22/4/2022   Having a professor as a grandfather had its advantages and disadvantages. She even found it endearing at times when he would ask her to tell him the story after she finished reading or write a paragraph about the film she had watched. She was on her best behaviour with him unlike with other grown ups. As he aged and began losing memory, she brought him books to read. He read the same page several times. Now, she reminded him to tell her the story after he finished. He smiles at her. A flashback perhaps?... a fleeting memory reminding him of the past? This was published on April 22,2022 in Friday Flash Fiction

 

Relief, by Srividya Ganapathy 15/4/2022   Ammini was married off at the age of 12 to a tyrant, who beat her for his coffee not being hot enough or if she read his magazines before he could.  He fathered four kids and none of them batted an eyelid when he hit her with firewood. She wished that she could cook on kerosene stoves and dreamed of reading peacefully under the mango tree. One sunny morning as he sat for his meal, he choked on a drumstick and fell dead. She didn't cry for losing him. She was glad all the firewood were taken for the pyre. This was published in Friday Flash fiction on April 15th 2022.

 

The Gift, by Srividya Ganapathy 29/4/2022   The coconut grove was sold to a builder. The old trees shed dried coconuts. As construction began, kids of workers started playing there.  I noticed that they were playing football with a dry coconut. I was reminded of a time when a neighbour who had seen me playing with a broken ball, gifted me a new one. The next day as I stood watering my plants, my help arrived with an old football. She yelled “boys”! When a few of them looked up, she threw the ball to them. They caught the ball beaming and clapped their hands in glee.  (This story was published in Friday Flash Fiction on 29th April 2022)