Miscellaneous
Prawin Adhikari's short story collection launched
A collection of nine short stories written by Prawin Adhikari titled 'The Vanishing Act' was launched on Friday on the premises of the Nepal Academy Hall in Kamaladi, Kathmandu.
The book, published by Rupa, consists of stories set in places ranging from a village in Khaireni, in central Nepal, to California.
The release of the book was conducted in a rather informal manner, during which the host, Pranab Man Singh, started things off by cracking a joke about a brown dog—who had snuck up on stage— being the chief guest of the show.
Rabi Thapa, the editor of La.Lit, was the first person on stage, and he delved into the nuances of the work, followed by slam poet Ujjwala Maharjan, who read excerpts from the book and also shared with the people gathered her take on the book.
Thapa started by pointing out that he was rather disappointed by the fact that most of the stories in the collection were ones that he had already read but went on to say that Adhikari was a rare talent as a writer and that the text had a certain richness and charm.
Whilst reading from the book, Maharjan admitted that the book might seem quite complex at first, but that it gradually becomes an easier read as one understands the writer's sentence structure. She added that the stories were very visual and poetic. The only aspect of the book that she was critical about were the typos that she had come across.
The collection, bearing a photograph by Natasha Capstick and a blurb by Mohammed Hanif on the cover, can be purchased from the Educational Book House, Jamal, and is also available as an e-book.