The Unicorn Expedition and Other Fantastic Tales of India

Ray, Satyajit

ISBN 10: 0525245448 / ISBN 13: 9780525245445

Published by Dutton, 1987

About this Item

New York. 1987. Dutton. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Slightly Wrinkled Dustjacket. 0525245448. 190 pages. hardcover. Jacket design by Earl Tidwell. keywords: Asia India Literature World Literature. DESCRIPTION - Satyajit Ray created two very popular characters in Bengali children's literature - Feluda, a sleuth, and Professor Shonku, a scientist. He was a prominent writer of science fiction in Bengali or any Indian language for that matter. He also wrote short stories which were published as volumes of 12 stories, always with names playing on the word twelve (for example Aker pitthe dui, or literally Two on top of one'). Ray's interest in puzzles and puns is reflected in his stories, Feluda often has to solve a puzzle to get to the bottom of a case. The Feluda stories are narrated by Topshe, his cousin, something of a Watson to Feluda's Holmes. The science fictions of Shonku are presented as a diary discovered after the scientist himself had mysteriously disappeared. Ray's short stories give full reign to his interest in the macabre, in suspense and other aspects that he avoided in film, making for an interesting psychological study. Most of his writings have now been translated into English, and are finding a new group of readers. inventory #10100 Very Good in Slightly Wrinkled Dustjacket.

Seller Inventory # z10100

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Unicorn Expedition and Other Fantastic Tales of India
• Publisher: Dutton
• Publication Date: 1987
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0525245448
• ISBN 13: 9780525245445
• Binding: hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

This collection of magical and supernatural stories that feature mild-mannered characters who confront elusive but threatening creatures and eerie warpings of reality includes "Night of the Indigo," "Corvis," and "Ashamanja Babu's Dog"

Reviews

This charming collection of modern-day folk tales proves that the author is as skillful a writer as he is a filmmaker. These 11 stories are in every sense of the word a family affair; originally they appeared in the magazine Sandesh, founded by Ray's grandfather, and draw heavily on characters developed by his father, known as the Edward Lear of India. Many of the stories deal, as do Ray's films, with a search for identity. In "The Night of the Indigo," a young Indian with aspirations as a writer finds himself reliving the last night of a British indigo planter who died a century before. In "Ratanbabu and That Man," a middle-aged bachelor meets his double while on vacation. Other tales deal with a common motif of Indo-European literaturethe sanctity of the life of an animal. In "Khagam" a visitor who kills the snake of a holy man finds himself undergoing a metamorphosis; in "Corvus" a crow outwits an evil magician. All told, this collection offers a delightful sampler of Indian culture and mores.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.