The Loneliness of Hira Barua

Fifteen stories of women in Assam during decades of insurgency, army operations and political unrest, written in modes ranging from gritty realism to folklore and magical realism. Hira Barua, an ageing widow living with her beloved Tibetan spaniel, fears she is turning into Mariam Austin, a lonely Englishwoman from her past. A cheerful Bodo girl loses her long hair after defying an extremist group; a mother's tale of an ogress is left unfinished on the day her daughter goes to school for Independence Day; women driven into a shelter home after an assault by soldiers, and a group of prostitutes on a fateful night, face violence, family and ambition with quiet endurance.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Short stories

Length

216 pages in the original

Genres

War, Politics (assigned by AI)

Set in

India

First published

2012 by Chandra Prakash

Author's age

56 when first published

ISBN

9789324400369 (original)

9789389109450 (Macmillan, India)