Trying too hard to have fun

This collection of short stories, despite intriguing plots, suffers from stilted language and bad editing.

Are You Enjoying?’ is a collection of seven short stories by Mira Sethi from Pakistan. These tales vary in tone, substance and length and follow a diverse cast of characters. Some are men, some are women, but all of them seem thoroughly confused.

‘Mini Apple’ features the television presenter Javed and his infatuation with an American diplomat. His infatuation borders on obsession, with a rather singular focus on the mysterious Marianne Almond. Mehak, of ‘Breezy Blessings’, becomes an actress and is exposed to the not–so-comfortable world of films and the capricious nature of certain individuals on set. In ‘A Life of its Own’, the persona of Zareena Bokhari, or ZB, is on full display as she acts philanthropic towards the citizens of Maujpur, where she lives.

The characters of ‘A Man for His Time’ are fiery, young, and radicalised, especially the protagonist Hafeez. His life, it seems, is controlled by a certain individual called Omar Bhai. ‘Tomboy’, written in the first person, has at its core a woman who cannot fit in with the rest of society. ZB, her son and daughter–in–law, make a reappearance in ‘A Life of its Own Part Two.’ And then there’s ‘Are You Enjoying?’, the story that lends the book its title, featuring Soni and Asher who are in an unusual relationship.

Odd turns of phrase

As a collection of short stories, ‘Are you Enjoying?’ certainly has some interesting ideas. Javed of ‘Mini Apple’ has some issues with himself and his failed marriage, and his subsequent over-dependence on a woman who is rather remote, feels realistic. The trials and tribulations of an actress depicted in ‘Breezy Blessings’ are intriguing to read about, as is the extreme poverty Hafeez grew up in, and his need to become more than he is.

However, the collection suffers from stilted descriptions and some extremely odd turns of phrase. Dialogue is, for the most part, strained and wooden. Roshan, in ‘Breezy Blessings’, indicates that he wants to talk to protagonist Mehak with “a coy pinch of the eyes.” There is also a very, very strange scene featuring ZB’s wrist in ‘A Life of its Own’ — “A brief dip in her wrist sprang into a mound of arm.”

As for the characters themselves, they behave erratically. Characterisation is inconsistent and the people in these stories somehow have strange episodes of identity crisis that have nothing to do with their personalities. Kashif and Farah in ‘A Life of its Own’, for example, are shown to be awkward, even childish, when the story begins. Kashif, to all appearances, is a son willing to give up his life in New York for his mother. Farah is young and idealistic and disappointed that her dreams of starting a new life in a swanky office abroad are dashed. Then, suddenly, both Farah and Kashif are yelling at the supposedly indomitable ZB with a choice selection of profanity. And the indomitable ZB, true to form, is suddenly dithering.

Asher of ‘Are You Enjoying?’ is shown to be clingy, desperate and whiny. Soni is stronger and more independent. Then, abruptly, they are different people altogether. It is unfortunate too that the stories, after the build-ups and quirky characterisations, end abruptly and without warning.

The stories have intriguing ideas which could have used better editing and consistency in characterisations. Human conflict and identity crises form the crux for most of stories and those are themes a reader can identify with. Unfortunately, the ideas are marred by the choppy writing. It may have also helped to cut down on the length of the tales a bit and put stories that run in sequence one after the other. ‘A Life of its Own’ would have benefitted greatly if its sequel had been placed right after it, instead of after a break.

Some of the utterances made by the characters are also out of place and it is difficult to place the language they are speaking in. Overall, this is a light read that tries hard to be literary.