Manto: Selected Short Stories

Unexpected discovery and a big surprise for me personally. It is hard to over-emphasize the importance of Manto's contribution to the sub-continental's narrative during India's partition. He holds his own place among greats such as Zola, Balzac and Chekhov.Being oblivious to Manto until now is embarrassing for me as an Indian (I feel downright stupid). It was not until I saw Nandita Das' movie earlier this month...Dec. 2018...that I decided to even look him up. But I am not alone. For some distorted reason, Indian (and British) education system left Manto out of our curricula, at least during my school and college years. Even in Pakistan, Manto's adoptive country, his recognition came more than a half century after his death. What a huge loss for the whole sub-continent.I would be remiss if I did not mention Aatish Taseer's contribution in this translation. He is clearly a student of Manto's art and stays faithful to the spirit of Manto's writing. How do I know? I don't. But even if part of the spirit is lost in translation, the book still ranks high among those of great masters.

I like the selection of the stories.....I felt that the translation is kinda literal..... But the author mentioned it in his introduction and explained why he chooses to use such a style.. but to get the true essence you probably have to read it in Urdu.This is definitely a great start to Manto's prose

A must if you want to read the great writers of India/Pakistan.

'Beautiful stories about Bombay during the division of India, terrible beauty in a word.