Bodies in Motion: Stories - Hardcover

Mohanraj, Mary Anne

3.78

171 ratings by Goodreads

9780060781187: Bodies in Motion: Stories

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060781181 ISBN 13: 9780060781187

Publisher: Harper, 2005

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Like the sweet heat of a curry prickling your tongue or the bursting radiance of bougainvillea, the short stories in Mary Anne Mohanraj's gorgeous debut collection, Bodies in Motion, will delight your senses and your sensibilities. Linked by the thread of kinship, these stories trace the lives of two generations of two families living on the cusp of disparate worlds: America and Sri Lanka. Through them we see just how the emigrant-immigrant ebb and flow shapes lives and the bonds of family.

Mohanraj writes effervescent prose, distilling intimate moments to reveal the tug-of-war between generations and gender as modernization comes into conflict with centuries of tradition. Sensual and honest, the stories chronicle love, ambition, and spiritual and sexual quests of mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. Bodies in Motion promises to be a collection you will come back to, again and again.

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About the Author:

Mary Anne Mohanraj teaches fiction at Vermont College and Roosevelt University. She is the author of two collections of literary writings, Silence and the Word and Torn Shapes of Desire, a Sri Lankan cookbook, A Taste of Serendib, and was the recipient of a 2006 Illinois Arts Council Fellowship. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Review:

“A graceful, nimble book.” (Boston Globe)

“A vivid portrait of families in flux, wandering back and forth over borders both geographic and cultural.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Beautifully written...As sensuously fulfilling as the romantic escapades and rich curries in which Mohanraj’s characters indulge.” (Orlando Sentinel)

“Mohanraj’s writing style is spare and piercing, and she exercises a sophisticated economy of language.” (San Francisco Chronicle Book Review)

“These stories transcend time and space.” (Time Out New York)

“...Mohanraj evokes a moving portrait of families searching for love and a place to call home.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Intricately interwoven stories featuring sensual language and surprising sexual twists.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Mohanraj offers readers great insights into her characters and has plenty of material to be mined in future works. Recommended.” (Library Journal)

One writer who earned online celebrity status for her posts of literary erotic fiction is Mary Anne Mohanraj—a writer of powerful voice and impressive range. Her fiction takes many forms and frequently strays from traditional narrative. There are letters, stories told in e-mail exchanges, poems, and stream-of-consciousness musings. Although Mohanraj may take the voice of man or woman, and portrays a variety of sexual orientations, her characters come across as believable individuals, with true-to-life thoughts and—in most cases—behaving in likely ways. Even the exceptions to believability are clearly intentional, as in a comical tale of passion between a beautiful professor and her handsome jock student, which is as much satire of erotica as it is erotica itself. Worthy of note is that the publisher sought out this book as part of the battle against Internet censorship. Portions of the profits are being contributed to organizations working to protect free speech. (Amazon.com review on Torn Shapes of Desire)

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