Newly published in India: Edited book on the short stories of K. V. Dominic

Tales Unraveled: Sufferings and Pangs of the Downtrodden in the Short Stories of K. V. Dominic, ed. Dr S. Barathi, New Delhi: Authorspress, 2023

Those interested in short stories should not overlook the contribution to the genre made by practitioners of Indian Writing in English. There is a rich and ample tradition, from R.K. Narayan through to Anita Desai and beyond. Dr K. V. Dominic, Retired Professor of English at Newman College, Thodhupuzha, Kerala, is widely known in Indian literary circles as an academic, critic and poet, and as editor of the well-regarded International Journal on Multicultural Literature. He is also a productive author of short stories, and this new essay collection is aimed at achieving a wider audience for his contribution to the genre.

The book has been edited by Dr S. Barathi, Assistant Professor of English at the SASTRA university college in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, and consists of a preface by the editor, 23 critical essays, a wide-ranging interview with the author and a copious bibliographic appendix. The majority of the contributors hail from India, but there are also essays by critics based elsewhere (including my own). K.V. Dominic’s short stories are typically located in his home state of Kerala but are equally of pan-Indian and universal interest, touching themes including multiculturalism, intercommunal relations, ecology and ethics, and expressing sympathy with the marginalised and downtrodden.  

Dr Dominic’s website is at: www.profkvdominic.com

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My contribution to this book is:

Christopher Rollason, ‘K.V. Dominic’s Tales of Kerala Today’, inTales Unraveled: Sufferings and Pangs of the Downtrodden in the Short Stories of K. V. Dominic, ed. S. Barathi, New Delhi: Authorspress, 2023, pp. 27-34.

Abstract of my chapter:

This chapter analyses the contribution to the Indian Writing in English (IWE) short story canon of the stories of Professor K.V. Dominic, examining a selection of representative texts, most of them published in the three short story collections which have appeared to date under his name. It is shown how the author’s writing reflects the particular characteristics of his native state of Kerala, as a multireligious and multicultural environment and as India’s most literate state. Close examination of the selected stories also points up how they variously highlight issues that are at one and the same time both local and universal, including ethical dilemmas in urgent situations, generosity and gratitude, and humanity’s relationship to animals and to nature. It is further shown how in line with the varying subject-matter the author activates both classical realist and magic-realist or fabular modes of narration.