1. Labels

The narrator talks about hobbies, and the hobbies that he dabbled with. Eventually, the hobby that he sticks with is: collecting the labels from catfood tins. He goes into great details describing those tins, and the process of removing the label from the tin. Soon, he becomes obsessed. His wife leaves him. He starts travelling overseas to collect European catfood labels, loses his job and his mind.

And then comes a twist that we didn’t see.

The opening of this story immediately pulled me in, with the simple yet captivating (and hilarious, might I add) prose about different people in narrator’s life and their hobbies. The description of catfood tins and their labels never once bored me; although, at one point, I felt yucky. Read the story to know which part it was.

2. Günter Weber’s Confession

This was apparently a continuition to some earlier work and felt a bit out-of-context initially. A hauntingly beautiful story, nonetheless, of guilt and confession.

3. The Turks Are so Wonderful with Children

Oh, the vivid description of Turkish bazaar! Reminded me of all the Turkish drama I’ve watched. The story is about a married couple and their son Vinnie. But he was a difficult child and found they could not cope with his behaviour. The very long description of Vinnie’s “childhood” made me laugh, spit out my tea and also feel extremely sorry for his parents. I particularly loved the doctor who suggested exorcism even though he was an atheist. 

Awesome!!!

4. Stupid Gringo

#relatable as I could completely understand how the main character Jean-Louis Langevin felt about his shitty colleagues (story of my life).

I could see the end from a mile away but still enjoyed the story.

5. Romance on the Underground

The narrator warns a 14-year-old boy by his perpetual adoration of women, and that the boy would definitely undergo the same.

6. Mamacita’s Treasure

Mamacita was an elderly midwife

7. Our Lady of Beauty

Freaky, for sure.

8. The Complete Continent

Father Alfonsin believed that it was a wife’s duty to have children at their husband’s whim. Peru’s mother was married at 14 and his father was determined that all their children were to be named after all the countries in Latin America, from Colombia to Suriname.

This story made me uncomfortable because of it’s subject matter and the length to which Peru described his parents’ private life.

9. The Two Dolphins

Most of this story made no sense to me, not just because of the story, but also the language. It was the most difficult one to read, with a lot of new words. Easily my least favourite of the lot.

10. The Man Who Sent Two Dead Fish

This was a funny story about a quirky man. Loved it.

Capacious belly as round as a tumulus, and as tight as a drum

 

Joao was rather like a cat in that he had mastered the art of doing absolutely nothing without ever been bored.

Needless to say, that I’m also mastering the art of doing absolutely nothing. Haha.

11. The Deposit 

OMG!

It was hauntingly beautiful and beautifully haunting. Loved the ending, a much deserved one.

12. Andouil and Andouillette Begin Their Holiday

Andouil and Andouillette start their annual holiday and it turns into what can only be described as a disaster.

Funny story, and I loved the couple and their dynamic.

13. A Day Out for Mehmet Erbil

Mehmet Erbil is on his side-business of collecting softdrink cans and runs into a foriegner who knows only a few phrases in Turkish language. The language barrier leads to hilarious altercations, also leaving the user sad and emotional that they could not tell each other the thing they had in common. The story was about kindness and struggles and yearning. The wordplay at end also made me smile. I love that kinda thing.

Funniest, most emotional and the best, for sure.

14. A Night Off for Prudente de Moraes

This one was also nice, although the end left me confused. Here are my favourite lines from this story.

Trick to walking on hot sand was to keep going and not think about it.

He liked his beauty to be slaked by just a touch of terror.

Final Verdict

I started it during my one-day trip to Pune and enjoyed it a fair bit. Can’t say I hate it, can’t say I love it — but it was a pleasant enough companion for the journey and a few days of liesure after returning home.