This small collection of short stories is a great place to begin exploring the works of Indrajit Garai and his gentle prose. These three longer-style stories introduce themes that permeate all of the previous works I have read by him: living with poverty; striving for better; good prevailing in the face of adversity; family supporting family.
The Move deals with a subject close to my heart as the daughter of a dairy farmer. Guillaume’s family have farmed in the same spot for years but his world is becoming threatened. As a single father raising a son, Hugo, with limited help, he is trying to keep a roof above their heads, even though it is disintegrating literally by the day. With the price of milk being controlled by syndicates intent on reaping profits for themselves, Guillaume’s survival chances are looking bleak.
As his bad luck compounds, it feels like he is running out of options, with the only thing keeping him going his love and duty towards Hugo.
It sounds like a gloomy tale but Garai gets to the nub of the problem with humanity, showing the resilience of people to overcome and so, it ends on a note which heralds a change.
The Listener is about a boy called Mathew and his safe place, a big tree on some land close to his home. It is a place of sanctuary for him as he has grown apart from his mum, her having a new boyfriend and so, Mathew feels more and more the outlier. Keeping company at school which threatens to set him on the wrong path is one thing he’s having to deal with and when the tree which gives him comfort is threatened, he decides to fight as hard as he can to save it. He learns a lot about life in the process but ultimately, this is a story of redemption and reconciliation with a positive message.
The eponymous story is also about family, this time a grandfather François doing what’s best for his grandson, Arthur. Again, similarly to The Move, François finds himself and his life being controlled by a corporation, this time in publishing and time is against François as he tries to secure a future for Arthur.
It is a tale of being determined despite setbacks as well as the tight bonds that exist between family.
A solid collection of stories, well told.
Scuffed Granny 