BEYOND THE CAYENNE WALL: Collection of Short Stories

by Shaila M. Abdullah

Abdullah takes us into the hearts and minds, realities and yearnings, and daily existence of women young and aged in and from South Asia. Her stunningly beautiful prose and elegant iridescent descriptions of the land that these women love is juxtaposed with the brutality and coarseness of their everyday existence.-Dr. Shirley Hord, author of Implementing ChangeBeyond the Cayenne Wall captures the cultural chasm-and sometimes the collision between the East and the West-as the characters struggle to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society. Tannu refuses to give up her firstborn to the caretakers of the shrine of Shah Daullah as tradition dictates. Dhool is a defiant, spirited woman who confronts the five mistakes in her life and ventures out among the wolves in human clothing to make ends meet. In a striking account of alienation and the clash of two worlds, Mansi faces some tough choices when she brings her widowed mother back with her to live in the United States.In these and several other stories, Abdullah weaves together a collection of events that spin around betrayals, confessions, acceptance, and denial, shaken in with exotic spices and flavor, a potpourri for the senses.

Genres: Short Stories

114 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2005

About the author

Shaila Abdullah is an award-winning author of five books: Saffron Dreams, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, My Friend Suhana, Rani in Search of a Rainbow, and A Manual for Marco. The author has received several awards for her work including the Golden Quill Award, Norumbega Jury Prize for Outstanding Fiction, Patras Bukhari Award for English Language, Reader Views Award, Written Art Award, and a grant from Hobson Foundation. Several academic institutions have adopted her books as course study or recommended reading, including the University of California, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Indiana University, Boston University, California State University, and George Washington University.

Reviews

[Kylie Hannant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunningly beautiful prose - thought provoking and varied tales of women and young girls in India, and the surrounding countries. The imagery was wonderful, evoking sensory reactions of smell, taste, touch and sound. Having recently visited India, it was really interesting to read some stories behind the faces; fictional yet probable nonetheless.

[Shirley Kingery · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Excerpt Only*

I appreciated the chance to download this e-book (excerpt) from the author in exchange for signing up for her newsletter. I had not read any of her material before.

The story is an interesting one and I would certainly like to read the book in its entirety.

That being said; I did feel there is (way) too much flourish being used in the English language with this work. Far too many descriptions, metaphors; too much attention to embellishment. It served as quite a distraction to me. I definitely feel style could use some improvement; particularly in this regard.

Again, however, the story is an interesting one full of raw emotion and begs to elicit compassion from its readers. A full scope of human tragedy is laid out before us and we all become sympathizers.

[Lara Zuberi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Loved the portrayal of the city of Karachi, which I could strongly connect with, such as "there being so many nameless streets, yet nobody gets lost.." The most moving stories for me were "Forever dusk" which is about a mother's loss, and also about a woman's attachment to her home, and "The Arrangement" which explores the issues surrounding adoption and the reciprocal love between adoptive parents and their child. Every story is engraved in emotion, with each character having to face a unique struggle. Looking forward to reading more work from Shaila

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are seven stories in this 100-page book. Each story centers on a woman's marriage and the choices she makes. I enjoyed the stories and also felt that I knew much more about women's lives in Southeast Asia after reading them.

[Claire S]

Shaila has a new book releasing, and is doing a book give-away for that.
In the meantime, this looks really interesting! Not at MPL though, drat. Or the bigger Hennepin County. Some day though.