Of course, there’s more than one reason why this collection of 12 stories won this year’s International Booker Prize, but one reason is greater than all the others (for me). It’s definitely great writing; it speaks to universal themes of domesticity; but, above all else, it calls out the arrogance, the deceit, the hapless ignorance and the innate misogyny of men.
The collection begins with ‘Stone Slabs for Shaista Mahal’, and this is an indication of what will come. Initially, it seems there could be no greater love than that of a man for his wife, but appearances are deceiving. ‘Fire Rain’ and ‘Black Cobras’ speak to the primacy – and idiocy – of the patriarchy, but it is the titular story which needs to be highlighted.
In ‘Heart Lamp’ a daughter returns to the family home after her husband has abandoned her and his children. Is she welcomed into a nurturing environment and given succour? No, she is not. How is it possible that tolerance of a man’s abuse of a woman by that woman’s family members is greater than the love (is it love?) for their daughter/sister? And they have the gall to call this ‘honour’.
There’s respite either side of that piece. ‘Red Lungi’ talks of the arrangements for ritual circumcision for boys, but the subplot compares rich with poor. ‘High-Heeled Shoe’ focuses on a man’s adoration of ridiculously impractical footwear. This is superb writing. Kudos should also go to the translator. Her afterword is a great lesson on the importance of staying true to the original.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Banu Mushtaq began writing within the progressive protest literary circles in southwestern India in the 1970s and 1980s: critical of the caste and class system, the Bandaya Sahitya movement gave rise to influential Dalit and Muslim writers, of whom Mushtaq was one of the few women. She is the author of six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection.
She writes in Kannada and has won major awards for her literary works, including the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards. Heart Lamp is the first book-length translation of her work into English, having been translated into Urdu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam. One of the stories from Heart Lamp has been published in the Paris Review.
In May 2025, Heart Lamp won the International Booker Prize 2025.
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