I Am an Executioner: Love Stories

Rajesh Parameswaran

ISBN 10: 0307595927 / ISBN 13: 9780307595928

Published by Knopf Publishing Group, 2012

About this Item

In the unforgettable opener, 'The Infamous Bengal Ming, ' a misunderstood tiger's affection for his keeper goes horribly awry. In 'Demons, ' a woman tries to celebrate Thanksgiving after the sudden death of her husband, even though his corpse is still sprawled on their living-room floor. In 'The Strange Career of Dr. Raju Gopalarajan, ' an ex-CompUSA employee sets up a medical practice in a suburban strip mall armed only with textbooks from the local library and fake business cards. The heroes - and anti-heroes - of this collection include a railroad manager in a turn-of-the-century Indian village, the newlywed executioner of the title, and an elephant writing her autobiography - the creations of a riotous, singular imagination that promises to dazzle the universe of American fiction.

Seller Inventory # CIN0307595927G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: I Am an Executioner: Love Stories
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0307595927
• ISBN 13: 9780307595928
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

An explosive, funny, wildly original fiction debut: nine stories about the power of love and the love of power, two urgent human desires that inevitably, and sometimes calamitously, intertwine.
In I Am an Executioner, Rajesh Parameswaran introduces us to a cast of heroes—and antiheroes—who spring from his riotous, singular imagination. From the lovesick tiger who narrates the unforgettable opener, “The Infamous Bengal Ming” (he mauls his zookeeper out of affection), to the ex-CompUSA employee who masquerades as a doctor; from a railroad manager in a turn-of-the-century Indian village, to an elephant writing her autobiography; from a woman whose Thanksgiving preparations put her husband to eternal rest, to the newlywed executioner of the title, these characters inhabit a marvelous region between desire and death, playfulness and violence. At once glittering and savage, daring and elegant, here are wholly unforgettable tales where reality loops in Borgesian twists and shines with cinematic exuberance, by an author who promises to dazzle the universe of American fiction.

About the Author

Rajesh Parameswaran’s stories have appeared in McSweeney’s, Granta, Zoetrope: All-Story, and Fiction. “The Strange Career of Dr. Raju Gopalarajan” was one of three stories for which McSweeney’s earned a National Magazine Award in 2007, and it was reprinted in The Best American Magazine Writing. He lives in New York City.