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I Am an Executioner: Love Stories
An explosive, funny, wildly original fiction 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.
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.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 10, 2012
67 people are currently reading
2489 people want to read
About the author
Rajesh Parameswaran
6 books37 followersFrom The Washington Post:
"Rajesh Parameswaran takes [a] taste for the bizarre and catapults it into the realm of the masterful. I AM AN EXECUTIONER: LOVE STORIES marks the advent of a genuinely distinctive voice in American fiction, abundantly inventive, deceptively cunning and fearless in its careening disregard for the strictures of careful, polite storytelling... Parameswaran has the knack for mimicry and ventriloquism of a born outsider, guilelessly transporting the reader into a Swiftian upside-down land where the rules of logic and of sense have been temporarily suspended.... a debut collection of startling freshness and force."
"Rajesh Parameswaran takes [a] taste for the bizarre and catapults it into the realm of the masterful. I AM AN EXECUTIONER: LOVE STORIES marks the advent of a genuinely distinctive voice in American fiction, abundantly inventive, deceptively cunning and fearless in its careening disregard for the strictures of careful, polite storytelling... Parameswaran has the knack for mimicry and ventriloquism of a born outsider, guilelessly transporting the reader into a Swiftian upside-down land where the rules of logic and of sense have been temporarily suspended.... a debut collection of startling freshness and force."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 250 reviews
April 27, 2016
This is some weird ass niche as fuck PoMo shit with dashes of Clockwork Orange and District 9, but that's not why I'm amazed it got published in the first place. I'm amazed cause there's nary a white man thought or white man feel or white man character put into any legit prominence as far as the eye can see, and if you have any familiarity with weird ass niche as fuck PoMo shit, you know how much that plague of a borefest soaks the genre to its gills. Instead, we got tigers and elephants and India and its diaspora, which is a very nice fresh breath of air indeed when the [redacted] interjections and three-quarter page foot notes start to wear a bit thin. Also, Bechdel test anyone?
It's true that sometimes Parameswaran got carried away in places, and it's a wonder some editor or MFA proctor didn't gut this for what they believed to be the collection's own good, but the prof who assigned this is the same one who said Adichie wouldn't have made it thorugh the prof's current writing program. Yet she was assigned as well. So. What gives? Parameswan, like my recently reviewed Philip/author of Zong!, was also previously (currently?) some flavor of law type, so maybe the future is of financially stable via law school turned experimental writers/poets/peeps who churn out weird ass niche as fuck PoMo shit. Adler was one too. It'd be less impressive if the stuff didn't span from decently intriguing to misunderstood great. I guess you can't conduct improve Shakespeare plays in limited settings with the actual potential to imprison for years and/or murder an actual person without picking up on some of the lingo and how effed up formalism is when exposed to life.
If I had to categorize the stories in order of the table of contents,. I'd go with Tiger, Diaspora Gone Wrong, Self-Reflexive Self-Reflexive Maybe-History, Clockwork Orange in the Time of Naxalites, Salem's Witch Trials meets 21st Century Culture Clash, Bechdel CIA, Bollywood, Holy Fuck Footnotes, and Postcolonial Satire with Aliens. I'm not even going to attempt ratings of individual stories cause most of them alone would be wut. Simply put, if you like historical trivia Easter eggs outside the same-old Europe shit and are as sick as I am of only white people getting to be experimental, give this a go.
P.S. McSweeney's is also a thing.
It's true that sometimes Parameswaran got carried away in places, and it's a wonder some editor or MFA proctor didn't gut this for what they believed to be the collection's own good, but the prof who assigned this is the same one who said Adichie wouldn't have made it thorugh the prof's current writing program. Yet she was assigned as well. So. What gives? Parameswan, like my recently reviewed Philip/author of Zong!, was also previously (currently?) some flavor of law type, so maybe the future is of financially stable via law school turned experimental writers/poets/peeps who churn out weird ass niche as fuck PoMo shit. Adler was one too. It'd be less impressive if the stuff didn't span from decently intriguing to misunderstood great. I guess you can't conduct improve Shakespeare plays in limited settings with the actual potential to imprison for years and/or murder an actual person without picking up on some of the lingo and how effed up formalism is when exposed to life.
If I had to categorize the stories in order of the table of contents,. I'd go with Tiger, Diaspora Gone Wrong, Self-Reflexive Self-Reflexive Maybe-History, Clockwork Orange in the Time of Naxalites, Salem's Witch Trials meets 21st Century Culture Clash, Bechdel CIA, Bollywood, Holy Fuck Footnotes, and Postcolonial Satire with Aliens. I'm not even going to attempt ratings of individual stories cause most of them alone would be wut. Simply put, if you like historical trivia Easter eggs outside the same-old Europe shit and are as sick as I am of only white people getting to be experimental, give this a go.
P.S. McSweeney's is also a thing.
November 15, 2011
I am about halfway through this book of stories and it is a REAL struggle for me. What I cannot tell is whether that's because I'm not the core audience for them or if the book just really feels unpolished. So far each story has felt like I've been reading an exercise for an undergraduate writing class: write a story narrated by an animal; write a story in which a photograph (yes, a photograph) narrates the story of its subject; write a story (in English) with a narrator who doesn't speak English as as first language; etc.
This is a writer whose work appears in McSweeney's and other fine literary journals, and it's published by Knopf, so perhaps the fault lies with me. I don't know. But it will be an act of supreme determination for me to finish this book.
This is a writer whose work appears in McSweeney's and other fine literary journals, and it's published by Knopf, so perhaps the fault lies with me. I don't know. But it will be an act of supreme determination for me to finish this book.
August 15, 2015
When the first story of a collection starts out like this: “The one clear thing I can say about Wednesday, the worst and most amazing day of my life is this: it started out beautifully,” you know you’re in the hands of a good story-teller. And when it soon becomes clear that the “I” in this story is a misunderstood tiger, you also know that this is a writer who is not afraid to take chances.
Parameswaran’s world is always slightly off-kilter, with often well-meaning characters and animals who are navigating the life vs. death conundrum and totally puzzled by the concept of love. In this first story, The Infamous Bengal Ming, the tiger thinks he’s in love with his handler, but his primal urges still reign supreme.
In I Am An Executioner – arguably the very best of this collection – an executioner-by-trade justifies his profession in fractured and mangled English. “It made me wonder the universe, even we was here many years,” he marvels, as he does his work with “no fussing” and tries to win the affections of his disdainful new bride who is put off – yet strangely attracted – by her husband’s unsavory profession and his impending execution of a young girl for reasons unknown.
There are many inventive and sometimes, ingenious stories in this collection. In “Four Rajeshes”, the aforementioned Rajesh, a railway station manager, admits and yet fights his man-love that appears to be going off track, all the while obsessing about the mysterious gibberish written by his newly-hired clerk. In the sci-fi last story, On the Banks of Table River, two disparate worlds – Earth and Planet Lucina – come together and the life-death mystery again takes center stage: “Think of life as a story. Each one must come to an end, for it to have form and meaning. What gives life to the stories are the bodies at the end of it.”
There’s more: an exCompuUSA employee sets up a fake medical practice, even performing surgery – although he doesn’t have an ounce of qualification, while his wife hides the secret of her growing cancer. A housewife attends a Thanksgiving party, even though her stubborn husband’s corpse is sprawled on her living room floor. And so on. All in all, this is a satisfying collection that augers a bright talent.
Parameswaran’s world is always slightly off-kilter, with often well-meaning characters and animals who are navigating the life vs. death conundrum and totally puzzled by the concept of love. In this first story, The Infamous Bengal Ming, the tiger thinks he’s in love with his handler, but his primal urges still reign supreme.
In I Am An Executioner – arguably the very best of this collection – an executioner-by-trade justifies his profession in fractured and mangled English. “It made me wonder the universe, even we was here many years,” he marvels, as he does his work with “no fussing” and tries to win the affections of his disdainful new bride who is put off – yet strangely attracted – by her husband’s unsavory profession and his impending execution of a young girl for reasons unknown.
There are many inventive and sometimes, ingenious stories in this collection. In “Four Rajeshes”, the aforementioned Rajesh, a railway station manager, admits and yet fights his man-love that appears to be going off track, all the while obsessing about the mysterious gibberish written by his newly-hired clerk. In the sci-fi last story, On the Banks of Table River, two disparate worlds – Earth and Planet Lucina – come together and the life-death mystery again takes center stage: “Think of life as a story. Each one must come to an end, for it to have form and meaning. What gives life to the stories are the bodies at the end of it.”
There’s more: an exCompuUSA employee sets up a fake medical practice, even performing surgery – although he doesn’t have an ounce of qualification, while his wife hides the secret of her growing cancer. A housewife attends a Thanksgiving party, even though her stubborn husband’s corpse is sprawled on her living room floor. And so on. All in all, this is a satisfying collection that augers a bright talent.
January 12, 2013
Short stories have become very attractive to me of late. This has partly to do with the amount of time I spend reading Malayalam literature these days ( it is indeed sad that most of those books aren't featured here on GR). It was on browsing through Amazon's top reads of 2012 that I came across this book and on seeing it at my library, grabbed it without a second thought. Now that I am done with all nine of the tales in the book, it was an average one.
The foremost thing about this book is that there are no great shakes here. The stories do not proclaim themselves to be path breakers or innovative in any fashion. They come before the theater of your mind, perform their roles and receive your modest applause before retreating to the green room. The stories are told by animals, photographs, guilty wives and they are set in the past, present and the future. The author's prose is delightful in the fact that there is zero fat in them. It is functional and serve to guide you the reader in the right ways. My personal favorite from this collection was The infamous Bengal Ming . It was merely a matter of pure coincidence that I wanted to read a story from an animal's POV and I came across this one.
Not too much to write for it did not light in me the fire to write oodles about it. Worth a one time read.
The foremost thing about this book is that there are no great shakes here. The stories do not proclaim themselves to be path breakers or innovative in any fashion. They come before the theater of your mind, perform their roles and receive your modest applause before retreating to the green room. The stories are told by animals, photographs, guilty wives and they are set in the past, present and the future. The author's prose is delightful in the fact that there is zero fat in them. It is functional and serve to guide you the reader in the right ways. My personal favorite from this collection was The infamous Bengal Ming . It was merely a matter of pure coincidence that I wanted to read a story from an animal's POV and I came across this one.
Not too much to write for it did not light in me the fire to write oodles about it. Worth a one time read.
March 22, 2019
Fantastic collection of short stories with highly inventive viewpoints. Couldn't put it down.
[Rating: 4.5*]
[Rating: 4.5*]
July 7, 2012
When I read books, sometimes I wonder where the writer got his or her inspiration. Where did this story come from? Did the threads of it originate in a newspaper article, or an overheard conversation, or another story? That was the running theme in my head as I read I Am An Executioner. How in the world did Rajesh Parameswaran think of these things? What kind of a mind concocted such bizarre themes and completely fresh, original voices and narrations? Bizarre, strange, weird, I tell you, but mostly because I have never read anything like this before. I don't mean these adjectives as negatives, because they certainly aren't. These stories were so well woven, and so interesting and so new to me, that I sincerely want to sit down with this man and ask him, "What the heck?!" From a story narrated by an insect decades into the future, to the simplest of unrequited love stories, this story collection was brilliant, novel and romanticized even the gory act of execution.
April 6, 2013
Brilliant. Disturbing. Ghastly. Passionate. Unexpected.
All these stories are remarkable. For every one, I wish it was a full-length novel, and yet it feels complete, like I don't need any more. I especially enjoyed how Parameswaran's Indian heritage makes the stories feel different. Each story will be with me for a long time to come, in kind of a wonderful and horrible way. They're not exactly "pleasant" stories, but they're so, so good.
"Elephants in Captivity (Part One)" is probably my favorite, if you can call it that. I recommend taking the story's advice and reading the main story through once, then going back and reading along with the footnotes.
All these stories are remarkable. For every one, I wish it was a full-length novel, and yet it feels complete, like I don't need any more. I especially enjoyed how Parameswaran's Indian heritage makes the stories feel different. Each story will be with me for a long time to come, in kind of a wonderful and horrible way. They're not exactly "pleasant" stories, but they're so, so good.
"Elephants in Captivity (Part One)" is probably my favorite, if you can call it that. I recommend taking the story's advice and reading the main story through once, then going back and reading along with the footnotes.
April 12, 2012
This book is seriously good. It knows what it's doing and does it with finesse. The author is also a fine executioner, just like the character who provides the title of the book. This author can do a lot with 30 or so pages. The stories reminded me of Roald Dahl's adult short stories...morbid and witty, always with a hint at the sinister and unsettling, and usually with a twist at the end. You can also see that a huge inspiration for this book has been Vladimir Nabokov, as all the stories display some form of unreliable narrator ala Charles Kinbote from Nabokov's 'Pale Fire' (who even gets a mention near the end of the book!) I enjoyed every story (there are nine of them) and each was different and surprising. I will go through each story and describe what really struck me about them, or, in a couple what didn't really work for me.
1. The Infamous Bengal Ming
The Story: This story is told by the tiger of the cover, who resides in captivity- a life he was born into. His main concerns are his mating partner's aloofness and his intimidation by the alpha male of the cage. Oh, and his unconditional love for the zookeeper who feeds him.
My Thoughts: I found the narrative voice of the tiger really effective. It sounds strange to say that a tiger could pull off a believable character you care about, but it works. The story is simple and heartbreaking and there are moments when the tiger's reckless actions take your breath away and really kick-start your maternal instincts! There is an innocence and naivety about the tiger, who loves his captor unquestioningly and everything he does, although disastrous consequences ensue, was done for the right reasons and out of care or love or fear. What he does after he escapes the zoo is often bloody, brutal and horrifying but you still worry about him and want to protect him because what he does is instinctual not evil, and, to him, beautiful because it equates with his life and his survival.
2. The Strange Career of Dr Raju Gopalarajan
The Story: Gopi Kumar moves himself, and his reluctant wife Manju, from India to the USA. Gopi is a confirmed trickster and fraudster, having previously impersonated a police officer to move on some traffic outside their window. Having always wanted to be a doctor, Gopi decides to fulfill the ultimate American Dream and make himself one...
My Thoughts: This was a really interesting story which sees Gopi's self-awarded doctorate put to some grotesque, and harmful, uses. The narrative describing how he collects his patients (largely immigrants who can't afford the American health-care system) in bus stops and happily cuts them is gripping. The story is underpinned by Gopi's relationship with his wife which is very moving. They rarely communicate or have sex. She describes him as flaring up with passion and enthusiasm when he's excited about something but it soon dies down when he's bored. I think most couples can relate. Gopi's hopes, dreams and aspirations are built on shoddy foundations and he drags his wife along for the ride...resulting in sorrow for them both.
3. Four Rajeshes
The Story: This story is written as though a man is looking at an old photograph of an unknown man, and it is inspiring him to write a story about him. However, the imaginary photo-man interjects in the narrative too! The photo-man/narrator is the manager of a train station and employs a strange youth who proves to be more sinister and trouble-making than he ever expected.
My Thoughts: This story had me less gripped than the first two but I still really enjoyed it. I really liked the way the imaginary man from the photo, who provided the muse for this story, kept butting in to claim the author had got things wrong and was making him look stupid or perverted! The author portrays him as committing homosexual affairs behind his fiance's back...which he highly disapproves of. The man he employs (named R) is a really fascinating character too- you're never quite sure if he is a sinister and creepy boy on the verge of madness (as the narrator paints him) or if he is a misunderstood genius and it is the narrator who is the strange one. The ending surprised me!
4. I Am An Executioner
The Story: This one is about a man whose occupation as an executioner becomes a barrier between himself and his new wife. Particularly when a young girl arrives at Death Row.
My Thoughts: I ADORED this story. It was so gorgeously written and had so many layers. The executioner hangs and stones people to death with such a detached manner that it becomes horribly disturbing to read. He befriends the people who find themselves on Death Row and can't understand why they cry and plead and beg him for their lives when their time comes. It's not his concern. He just wants a light-hearted chat and to maybe share a beer. We get flashes of his insanity; the way he disregards these pleas of the friends he has made, his evaluation by a psychologist as deeply disturbed, the strange and unexplained horrible event that happened to his first wife at his hand. He has acquired his new wife through a dating website, where it becomes apparent he has lied about his job, age, looks and height to secure her. She sits all day in filthy clothes and abject depression. His unwanted physical advances made my skin crawl. The ending had me in tears.
5. Demons
The Story: An wife in surburbia sits in her living room with her husband's dead body at her feet. She continues as normal, until the guilt of 'did she/ didn't she' leads her to remember her past.
My Thoughts: This was another story which didn't hold my interest as well as the others. I found it a little tedious. Again, it is narrated by the wife who is an unreliable narrator, and we get flashes of her not-so rational behaviour towards her daughter and her daughter's roommate. It's like Henry James's 'The Turn of the Screw'...did she kill him or is she mad? You want to find out, but I found the explanation unsatisfactory.
6. Narrative of Agent 97-4702
The Story: The narrator is part of the Agency which, from what I could gather, is a kind of surveillance organisation which enrols people secretly and then gets them to spy on other people who are subject to investigation. It's a Fight Club thing; no one talks about the Agency and no one knows who else is in it. I'm pretty sure that this takes place in a dystopian future too. The story takes the form of a confession that te narrator is submitting, admitting to accessing unauthorized information on the person she has been surveying.
My Thoughts: This story was very interesting in the way that the narrator was so cold and detached towards the people she was meticulouly following and writing reports on all day long. The notes she makes are so detailed, down to the tiniest gestures he makes, to what he says to his wife each morning and in what tone. It seems as though the narrator has been trained to be emotionless and not become emotionally involved with the subjects of the investigations, to the point where she even stages a four year relationship with one just to spy on him more thoroughly. I read it aloud to my boyfriend and I think that made the narrative seem even more stilted and unnatural, which I loved because it fit the character so perfectly. I found it gripping and, as the story went on and she becomes more and more disallusioned about the Agency and its implications and wanting to find out more about it, I felt the same.
7. Bibhutibhushan Mallik's Final Storyboard
The Story: Bibhutibhushan Mallik is the production designer for famous film director Jogesh Sen. And he is also having an affair with Sen's wife. His dream is to direct his own film and move with Sen's wife to NYC, but things start to unravel AFTER he gets his big break.
My Thoughts: I liked this story, but didn't love it. The narrative is from Mallik's perspective and you become aware that you're not entirely sure why Sen's wife is having this affair. She seems reluctant to return his advances and you're fairly sure she never really wants to leave her husband. Why then? The ending also really confused me. I liked the story of how Sen became a renowned film director and the descriptions of the film sets etc because imagining these two young guys in India filming boys in trees and tying cameras to the backs of wagons was really cool. It was quite obvious that Sen was the real genius of the operation and Mallik only thought he was...and it is always compelling to hear the point of view of a seriously deluded character!
8. Elephants in Captivity (Part One)
The Story: A difficult one to explain, but basically the narrator is watching some elephants in a circus and imagining how they came to be there, which he can do easily as he believes he can communicate with them. The elephant who tells him the story (through her written autobiography) is called Shanti, who was the daughter of the old herd leader Amuta. However, to make things even more complicated there are extensive footnotes on every page of Shinta's narrative, with backstory about how Amuta came to be the pack leader and her betrayal of the previous leader Ania told in a Shakespearean or Revenge Tragedy style. There are also footnotes relating to the narrator's own life and his family's history of suicide, and his own resemblance to an elephant and how that may have occurred.
My Thoughts: This was my favourite story of all- it is just brilliant. At first I was a bit put off by the footnotes; I usually love footnotes and unusually shaped narratives but there were so many of them and so long! However, as soon as I got to the dialogue between Amuta and Ania I was absolutely hooked. I loved the way it was in the style of a Revenge Tragedy and how the elephants had these huge soliloquies and Aside's, as that is really how I imagine elephants talking! They are very wise and regal animals, with a hint of ancientness about them too, which the dialogue reflected nicely. The narrator's story is also interesting; his parents died in a car accident... in that they accidentally sat in their car in a closed garage with the motor running, clasping hands. Hmm! He is obviously a very deluded and quite deranged narrator, and I was so excited when he referred to Charles Kinbote from Nabokov's 'Pale Fire' as I had long been thinking whilst reading the other stories that Parameswaran must have been influenced by Naokov. Charles Kinbote is an incredibly strange and complicated narrator, who is both a literary creation and not, which is the same with the narrator of this story. Both stories are brilliant and I highly recommend reading this if you like unusually structured stories with questionable narrators! Metafiction at its best!
9. On the Banks of Table River (Planet Lucina, Andromeda Galaxy, AD 2319)
The Story: As the title suggests, this story is set on another planet in the future. Humans have occupied it and live alongside the native 'beings' who have many legs and feelers. The narrator, Thoren, is one of the beings, and he has a daughter, Nippima. He has a fraught relationship with her due to her interest in humans and her recent job of giving them tours of the planet. However, her actions may be a lot worse than even he thought possible.
My Thoughts: I was dubious about the title as I am not really into Sci-Fi but this story is so brilliant that I quickly forgot all that! I loved the characters and the way the aliens had such a distinctive voice and customs. There are parallels with humans, such as Thoren's teenage daughter, insead of shrugging at him constantly, 'twitched her feelers indifferently- an irritating gesture'. I loved this as it not only showed familiar gestures in a new light but also showed how human customs and gestures were perhaps infiltrating the new planet. Humans seem to treat the planet either as a holiday camp or a science experiment, which makes you sympathise more with the aliens than the humans...in an Avatar kinda way! The main part that will stick in your head is the mating ritual of the aliens. I imagined it as two praying mantis's fighting to the death...it is a horrific and brilliant description and was my favourite part of the story.
Overall, I loved this book of short stories. Most of them were fantastic and even the stories I found less interesting had amazing ideas behind them. I know I will definitely be re-reading some of them in the future; particularly the last two as Parameswaran's writing is beautiful and his ideas are flawless. I am a huge fan of an unreliable narrator, and if you are too you really need to read this book.
Other Thoughts
This Book has Inspired me to Read: Re-read 'Pale Fire' by Vladimir Nabokov.
Three Words to Describe this Book: Gripping. Moving. Thought-Provoking.
1. The Infamous Bengal Ming
The Story: This story is told by the tiger of the cover, who resides in captivity- a life he was born into. His main concerns are his mating partner's aloofness and his intimidation by the alpha male of the cage. Oh, and his unconditional love for the zookeeper who feeds him.
My Thoughts: I found the narrative voice of the tiger really effective. It sounds strange to say that a tiger could pull off a believable character you care about, but it works. The story is simple and heartbreaking and there are moments when the tiger's reckless actions take your breath away and really kick-start your maternal instincts! There is an innocence and naivety about the tiger, who loves his captor unquestioningly and everything he does, although disastrous consequences ensue, was done for the right reasons and out of care or love or fear. What he does after he escapes the zoo is often bloody, brutal and horrifying but you still worry about him and want to protect him because what he does is instinctual not evil, and, to him, beautiful because it equates with his life and his survival.
2. The Strange Career of Dr Raju Gopalarajan
The Story: Gopi Kumar moves himself, and his reluctant wife Manju, from India to the USA. Gopi is a confirmed trickster and fraudster, having previously impersonated a police officer to move on some traffic outside their window. Having always wanted to be a doctor, Gopi decides to fulfill the ultimate American Dream and make himself one...
My Thoughts: This was a really interesting story which sees Gopi's self-awarded doctorate put to some grotesque, and harmful, uses. The narrative describing how he collects his patients (largely immigrants who can't afford the American health-care system) in bus stops and happily cuts them is gripping. The story is underpinned by Gopi's relationship with his wife which is very moving. They rarely communicate or have sex. She describes him as flaring up with passion and enthusiasm when he's excited about something but it soon dies down when he's bored. I think most couples can relate. Gopi's hopes, dreams and aspirations are built on shoddy foundations and he drags his wife along for the ride...resulting in sorrow for them both.
3. Four Rajeshes
The Story: This story is written as though a man is looking at an old photograph of an unknown man, and it is inspiring him to write a story about him. However, the imaginary photo-man interjects in the narrative too! The photo-man/narrator is the manager of a train station and employs a strange youth who proves to be more sinister and trouble-making than he ever expected.
My Thoughts: This story had me less gripped than the first two but I still really enjoyed it. I really liked the way the imaginary man from the photo, who provided the muse for this story, kept butting in to claim the author had got things wrong and was making him look stupid or perverted! The author portrays him as committing homosexual affairs behind his fiance's back...which he highly disapproves of. The man he employs (named R) is a really fascinating character too- you're never quite sure if he is a sinister and creepy boy on the verge of madness (as the narrator paints him) or if he is a misunderstood genius and it is the narrator who is the strange one. The ending surprised me!
4. I Am An Executioner
The Story: This one is about a man whose occupation as an executioner becomes a barrier between himself and his new wife. Particularly when a young girl arrives at Death Row.
My Thoughts: I ADORED this story. It was so gorgeously written and had so many layers. The executioner hangs and stones people to death with such a detached manner that it becomes horribly disturbing to read. He befriends the people who find themselves on Death Row and can't understand why they cry and plead and beg him for their lives when their time comes. It's not his concern. He just wants a light-hearted chat and to maybe share a beer. We get flashes of his insanity; the way he disregards these pleas of the friends he has made, his evaluation by a psychologist as deeply disturbed, the strange and unexplained horrible event that happened to his first wife at his hand. He has acquired his new wife through a dating website, where it becomes apparent he has lied about his job, age, looks and height to secure her. She sits all day in filthy clothes and abject depression. His unwanted physical advances made my skin crawl. The ending had me in tears.
5. Demons
The Story: An wife in surburbia sits in her living room with her husband's dead body at her feet. She continues as normal, until the guilt of 'did she/ didn't she' leads her to remember her past.
My Thoughts: This was another story which didn't hold my interest as well as the others. I found it a little tedious. Again, it is narrated by the wife who is an unreliable narrator, and we get flashes of her not-so rational behaviour towards her daughter and her daughter's roommate. It's like Henry James's 'The Turn of the Screw'...did she kill him or is she mad? You want to find out, but I found the explanation unsatisfactory.
6. Narrative of Agent 97-4702
The Story: The narrator is part of the Agency which, from what I could gather, is a kind of surveillance organisation which enrols people secretly and then gets them to spy on other people who are subject to investigation. It's a Fight Club thing; no one talks about the Agency and no one knows who else is in it. I'm pretty sure that this takes place in a dystopian future too. The story takes the form of a confession that te narrator is submitting, admitting to accessing unauthorized information on the person she has been surveying.
My Thoughts: This story was very interesting in the way that the narrator was so cold and detached towards the people she was meticulouly following and writing reports on all day long. The notes she makes are so detailed, down to the tiniest gestures he makes, to what he says to his wife each morning and in what tone. It seems as though the narrator has been trained to be emotionless and not become emotionally involved with the subjects of the investigations, to the point where she even stages a four year relationship with one just to spy on him more thoroughly. I read it aloud to my boyfriend and I think that made the narrative seem even more stilted and unnatural, which I loved because it fit the character so perfectly. I found it gripping and, as the story went on and she becomes more and more disallusioned about the Agency and its implications and wanting to find out more about it, I felt the same.
7. Bibhutibhushan Mallik's Final Storyboard
The Story: Bibhutibhushan Mallik is the production designer for famous film director Jogesh Sen. And he is also having an affair with Sen's wife. His dream is to direct his own film and move with Sen's wife to NYC, but things start to unravel AFTER he gets his big break.
My Thoughts: I liked this story, but didn't love it. The narrative is from Mallik's perspective and you become aware that you're not entirely sure why Sen's wife is having this affair. She seems reluctant to return his advances and you're fairly sure she never really wants to leave her husband. Why then? The ending also really confused me. I liked the story of how Sen became a renowned film director and the descriptions of the film sets etc because imagining these two young guys in India filming boys in trees and tying cameras to the backs of wagons was really cool. It was quite obvious that Sen was the real genius of the operation and Mallik only thought he was...and it is always compelling to hear the point of view of a seriously deluded character!
8. Elephants in Captivity (Part One)
The Story: A difficult one to explain, but basically the narrator is watching some elephants in a circus and imagining how they came to be there, which he can do easily as he believes he can communicate with them. The elephant who tells him the story (through her written autobiography) is called Shanti, who was the daughter of the old herd leader Amuta. However, to make things even more complicated there are extensive footnotes on every page of Shinta's narrative, with backstory about how Amuta came to be the pack leader and her betrayal of the previous leader Ania told in a Shakespearean or Revenge Tragedy style. There are also footnotes relating to the narrator's own life and his family's history of suicide, and his own resemblance to an elephant and how that may have occurred.
My Thoughts: This was my favourite story of all- it is just brilliant. At first I was a bit put off by the footnotes; I usually love footnotes and unusually shaped narratives but there were so many of them and so long! However, as soon as I got to the dialogue between Amuta and Ania I was absolutely hooked. I loved the way it was in the style of a Revenge Tragedy and how the elephants had these huge soliloquies and Aside's, as that is really how I imagine elephants talking! They are very wise and regal animals, with a hint of ancientness about them too, which the dialogue reflected nicely. The narrator's story is also interesting; his parents died in a car accident... in that they accidentally sat in their car in a closed garage with the motor running, clasping hands. Hmm! He is obviously a very deluded and quite deranged narrator, and I was so excited when he referred to Charles Kinbote from Nabokov's 'Pale Fire' as I had long been thinking whilst reading the other stories that Parameswaran must have been influenced by Naokov. Charles Kinbote is an incredibly strange and complicated narrator, who is both a literary creation and not, which is the same with the narrator of this story. Both stories are brilliant and I highly recommend reading this if you like unusually structured stories with questionable narrators! Metafiction at its best!
9. On the Banks of Table River (Planet Lucina, Andromeda Galaxy, AD 2319)
The Story: As the title suggests, this story is set on another planet in the future. Humans have occupied it and live alongside the native 'beings' who have many legs and feelers. The narrator, Thoren, is one of the beings, and he has a daughter, Nippima. He has a fraught relationship with her due to her interest in humans and her recent job of giving them tours of the planet. However, her actions may be a lot worse than even he thought possible.
My Thoughts: I was dubious about the title as I am not really into Sci-Fi but this story is so brilliant that I quickly forgot all that! I loved the characters and the way the aliens had such a distinctive voice and customs. There are parallels with humans, such as Thoren's teenage daughter, insead of shrugging at him constantly, 'twitched her feelers indifferently- an irritating gesture'. I loved this as it not only showed familiar gestures in a new light but also showed how human customs and gestures were perhaps infiltrating the new planet. Humans seem to treat the planet either as a holiday camp or a science experiment, which makes you sympathise more with the aliens than the humans...in an Avatar kinda way! The main part that will stick in your head is the mating ritual of the aliens. I imagined it as two praying mantis's fighting to the death...it is a horrific and brilliant description and was my favourite part of the story.
Overall, I loved this book of short stories. Most of them were fantastic and even the stories I found less interesting had amazing ideas behind them. I know I will definitely be re-reading some of them in the future; particularly the last two as Parameswaran's writing is beautiful and his ideas are flawless. I am a huge fan of an unreliable narrator, and if you are too you really need to read this book.
Other Thoughts
This Book has Inspired me to Read: Re-read 'Pale Fire' by Vladimir Nabokov.
Three Words to Describe this Book: Gripping. Moving. Thought-Provoking.
March 22, 2019
Fantastic collection of short stories with highly inventive viewpoints. Couldn't put it down.
[Rating: 4.5*]
(I thought I already rated this but it was still in my "Currently Reading" list)
[Rating: 4.5*]
(I thought I already rated this but it was still in my "Currently Reading" list)
May 2, 2012
The title of this book seems to be about contradiction, and so does its content. The stories in this debut collection are all about love, but that love can be dark, intense, and violent just as easily as it can be tender, enduring, and affectionate. Rajesh Parameswaran's style is a heady mix of tradition, imagination, and perspective as he takes us through the vagaries of the heart.
With traditional Indian cultural influences creating a foundation for his stories and the ability to delve into unlikely perspectives and put a new slant on reality, Parameswaran's voice is compelling. There are elements reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri and Steven Millhauser, which blend together with his own unique take to create strong, resonant work. Whether a fugitive tiger, a strip mall con-man, a government agent, or a giant alien insect, the characters in I Am an Executioner each have something to show about what love means to them, how it is expressed, and what happens as a result. And Rajesh Parameswaran does a masterful job showing it.
With traditional Indian cultural influences creating a foundation for his stories and the ability to delve into unlikely perspectives and put a new slant on reality, Parameswaran's voice is compelling. There are elements reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri and Steven Millhauser, which blend together with his own unique take to create strong, resonant work. Whether a fugitive tiger, a strip mall con-man, a government agent, or a giant alien insect, the characters in I Am an Executioner each have something to show about what love means to them, how it is expressed, and what happens as a result. And Rajesh Parameswaran does a masterful job showing it.
July 6, 2013
This seems to be a pretty divisive book...you either love it or you don't get it. It's sort of like sorting out the sports fans from the people I want to hang out with.
April 13, 2020
Rep: Indian characters, gay character in one story
CWs: death, gore, domestic abuse
CWs: death, gore, domestic abuse
May 3, 2012
I LOVE this book! I am not going to do it justice. I say unique voice all the time, but this is a UNIQUE VOICE. Sometimes the narrator wasn't human, often he/she was a very flawed human, and there were clear, fascinating, thought-provoking themes of love and psychology that tied everything into a collection. A collection of stories that actually relate! The first story slayed me and "Demons" was almost as good. Parameswaran is similar to DF Wallace at times (I said it) and, I swear, reminded me of Carver. I will reread this collection and wait eagerly for more stories from him. GO FIND THIS BOOK.
March 28, 2020
Storie d'amore che finiscono male (o malissimo): la traduzione italiana del titolo secondo me è molto azzeccata, perché tutti i racconti, diversissimi tra loro, che fanno parte di questa raccolta, hanno al loro centro un qualche amore malato che porta a conseguenze dal tragico al grottesco, passando per diverse sfumature di paradossale e di macabro.
Devo ammettere che l'irriverente originalità dell'autore che molte recensioni acclamano mi è un tantino sfuggita: molte delle storie sapevano di già visto e sentito altrove, come la prima - una storia narrata dal punto di vista di una tigre allo zoo, che potrebbe tranquillamente essere un temino assegnato in prima media, o quella della madre di famiglia di mezz'età il cui mondo e la già fragile salute mentale vanno in frantumi con la morte improvvisa del marito.
Altre invece le ho trovate più interessanti, in particolare la seconda storia che, pur partendo da una premessa non originale (un immigrato indiano negli Stati Uniti, dopo l'ennesimo fallimento lavorativo, si improvvisa medico e inizia a somministrare cure sempre più rischiose ai suoi ignari pazienti) riesce a creare tensione nel lettore e a risolverla a mio parere in modo molto intelligente. Anche l'ultima storia, dall'ambientazione fantascientifica, i cui personaggi sono delle specie di alieni insettomorfi dai sentimenti più che umani, è stata una lettura molto carina.
2,5 stelline.
Devo ammettere che l'irriverente originalità dell'autore che molte recensioni acclamano mi è un tantino sfuggita: molte delle storie sapevano di già visto e sentito altrove, come la prima - una storia narrata dal punto di vista di una tigre allo zoo, che potrebbe tranquillamente essere un temino assegnato in prima media, o quella della madre di famiglia di mezz'età il cui mondo e la già fragile salute mentale vanno in frantumi con la morte improvvisa del marito.
Altre invece le ho trovate più interessanti, in particolare la seconda storia che, pur partendo da una premessa non originale (un immigrato indiano negli Stati Uniti, dopo l'ennesimo fallimento lavorativo, si improvvisa medico e inizia a somministrare cure sempre più rischiose ai suoi ignari pazienti) riesce a creare tensione nel lettore e a risolverla a mio parere in modo molto intelligente. Anche l'ultima storia, dall'ambientazione fantascientifica, i cui personaggi sono delle specie di alieni insettomorfi dai sentimenti più che umani, è stata una lettura molto carina.
2,5 stelline.
January 7, 2021
Short stories are always an easy read, especially when you have younf hildren running around. I love the brutality in these love stories. Some were better than other. One i skipped altogether, couldnt get past the first page.
October 3, 2013
Oh, man. I have to admit defeat on this one. Can I give it no stars?
In my review of 'Afterwards', I wrote: '...when an author produces a book which is a muddled mess, I am really unhappy to flog myself to finish. I usually do slog on to the end, to be honest, since I almost seem to make it a point of pride to finish a book which I have begun.' But I am stunned and dispirited to report that I have finally - finally! - found a book that is so bad, I cannot find it in myself to carry on to the end. No way, no how. I accept my wounded pride if it means that I never have to read another word of this damn book, ever again.
I suppose you'll want me to go in to detail about why I hated this book, and that is fair enough. I think, though, that I have 2 big reasons.
The first is that it is just so pretentious. I can just imagine the author writing this garbage and congratulating himself on his 'insight' and 'artistic integrity'. He thinks he's SO BRAVE for writing some of the stuff he wrote, I can just tell. This is the kind of writer who writes disturbing stuff just to say that he was courageous enough to write disturbing stuff.
OK, some clarification now: I have no issue with disturbing, dark, upsetting themes. I have no problem with the gross and the macabre. I agree that writing can be provocative, and I love it when it is. But this book feels more like those cheap tabloid 'newspapers': it is sensational just for the sake of the sales. No real heart or soul; no sense of reflection. It's like this guy sat down and wrote a list of truly upsetting things, and then went ahead and wrote a short story for each one.
So this is my second reason for hating this book: when the focus of a story is the horrible 'act', and the whole story is designed just to get to that act, then the characters make no sense. They are window dressing - their job is to just carry the dialogue and the scenes to the main point - the awful, upsetting, disturbing thing, the thing designed to shock.
The problem is this, though: the fact that the thing happens is totally incomprehensible. It's not incomprehensible because the thing is awful; it is incomprehensible because there has been no character development, no time or effort or care put in to a background or context. There is, literally, no story. It's like a porno or a snuff film - they can throw in all the dialogue and 'plot' that they want, but the aim of the porno and snuff film is clear from the get-go. All the other stuff is just a pointless excuse to get the viewer to the main event. And that is what this book does: it pretends to be a book, but it's really a snuff film.
In my review of 'Afterwards', I wrote: '...when an author produces a book which is a muddled mess, I am really unhappy to flog myself to finish. I usually do slog on to the end, to be honest, since I almost seem to make it a point of pride to finish a book which I have begun.' But I am stunned and dispirited to report that I have finally - finally! - found a book that is so bad, I cannot find it in myself to carry on to the end. No way, no how. I accept my wounded pride if it means that I never have to read another word of this damn book, ever again.
I suppose you'll want me to go in to detail about why I hated this book, and that is fair enough. I think, though, that I have 2 big reasons.
The first is that it is just so pretentious. I can just imagine the author writing this garbage and congratulating himself on his 'insight' and 'artistic integrity'. He thinks he's SO BRAVE for writing some of the stuff he wrote, I can just tell. This is the kind of writer who writes disturbing stuff just to say that he was courageous enough to write disturbing stuff.
OK, some clarification now: I have no issue with disturbing, dark, upsetting themes. I have no problem with the gross and the macabre. I agree that writing can be provocative, and I love it when it is. But this book feels more like those cheap tabloid 'newspapers': it is sensational just for the sake of the sales. No real heart or soul; no sense of reflection. It's like this guy sat down and wrote a list of truly upsetting things, and then went ahead and wrote a short story for each one.
So this is my second reason for hating this book: when the focus of a story is the horrible 'act', and the whole story is designed just to get to that act, then the characters make no sense. They are window dressing - their job is to just carry the dialogue and the scenes to the main point - the awful, upsetting, disturbing thing, the thing designed to shock.
The problem is this, though: the fact that the thing happens is totally incomprehensible. It's not incomprehensible because the thing is awful; it is incomprehensible because there has been no character development, no time or effort or care put in to a background or context. There is, literally, no story. It's like a porno or a snuff film - they can throw in all the dialogue and 'plot' that they want, but the aim of the porno and snuff film is clear from the get-go. All the other stuff is just a pointless excuse to get the viewer to the main event. And that is what this book does: it pretends to be a book, but it's really a snuff film.
April 27, 2012
As I've mentioned a number of times before, I avoided reading short stories and short story collections for years because I didn't enjoy getting attached to a character or getting drawn into a plot, only to have it end fairly quickly. But then I realized how a good writer can often give their stories so much depth that you feel as if you've actually read a novel. I'm glad I finally opened my mind in this way, because I've had the opportunity to read some exceptional short stories over the years.
Rajesh Parameswaran's debut collection, I Am an Executioner: Love Stories, introduced me to a writer with some terrific promise. A number of the nine stories in this collection started with fascinating ideas and memorable characters, and left me thinking about them even as I moved on to the next story. While a few of the more experimental stories fell flat for me, there are definitely some stories to savor, including the opening story, "The Infamous Bengal Ming," narrated by a tiger who realizes he has fallen in love with his trainer at the zoo; "The Strange Career of Dr. Raju Gopalarajan," which tells of a former CompUSA employee so drawn to becoming a doctor that he actually masquerades as one; "Demons," in which a woman's wish for a moment's peace from her husband's nagging leads to disastrous results during Thanksgiving; and "Bibhutibhushan Mallik's Final Storyboard," narrated by the art director of a famous Indian movie director who wants to break away from his boss and old friend to make his own movies and start his own life anew. I'm not much of a fan of the more free-form story styles, a category into which two of the stories I liked the least fell, because I felt they distracted me from the heart of the characters and the narrative.
I really marveled at Parameswaran's ability to capture many different voices, from the housewife to a train station manager with an inflated sense of self-importance, to tigers and elephants. (My biggest problem with the title story was the voice of the main character, who used a pidgin-type of English I found tremendously distracting.) The stories that worked best for me in this collection were those which laid out the plot fairly simply, only to let me discover all of the amazing nuances of character and narrative he created. I definitely found some of the characters occupying my mind—and some even infiltrated my heart, which is the mark of an excellent storyteller. I look forward to seeing what else Parameswaran has up his sleeve in the future!
Rajesh Parameswaran's debut collection, I Am an Executioner: Love Stories, introduced me to a writer with some terrific promise. A number of the nine stories in this collection started with fascinating ideas and memorable characters, and left me thinking about them even as I moved on to the next story. While a few of the more experimental stories fell flat for me, there are definitely some stories to savor, including the opening story, "The Infamous Bengal Ming," narrated by a tiger who realizes he has fallen in love with his trainer at the zoo; "The Strange Career of Dr. Raju Gopalarajan," which tells of a former CompUSA employee so drawn to becoming a doctor that he actually masquerades as one; "Demons," in which a woman's wish for a moment's peace from her husband's nagging leads to disastrous results during Thanksgiving; and "Bibhutibhushan Mallik's Final Storyboard," narrated by the art director of a famous Indian movie director who wants to break away from his boss and old friend to make his own movies and start his own life anew. I'm not much of a fan of the more free-form story styles, a category into which two of the stories I liked the least fell, because I felt they distracted me from the heart of the characters and the narrative.
I really marveled at Parameswaran's ability to capture many different voices, from the housewife to a train station manager with an inflated sense of self-importance, to tigers and elephants. (My biggest problem with the title story was the voice of the main character, who used a pidgin-type of English I found tremendously distracting.) The stories that worked best for me in this collection were those which laid out the plot fairly simply, only to let me discover all of the amazing nuances of character and narrative he created. I definitely found some of the characters occupying my mind—and some even infiltrated my heart, which is the mark of an excellent storyteller. I look forward to seeing what else Parameswaran has up his sleeve in the future!
November 29, 2012
I love short stories. I preface this review with that confession, because I think that you have to love obscure short stories in order to love this collection. I am a seasoned reader of short stories, cherishing Murakami's The Elephant Vanishes, and Jonathan Lethem's The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye. Both of these share much with the stories from I Am an Executioner: Love Stories.
These stories are "Love Stories." They are not "happy ending, feel good" stories. They are tragic. That is the only way to describe them. As with Murakami and Lethem, you cannot expect Parameswaran to give you clear cut resolution to each story. You cannot even expect an entire plotline. But where some stories appear to be mere fragments, others are developed enough to form the basis for a novel of their own. Again, similar to Lethem and Murakami.
But let me focus on Parameswaran alone for a moment - comparison detracts from his own talent, itself highly deserving of recognition. Each story recounts the tale of a different set of characters - from tigers, to people, to aliens. The human characters hail from different cultures, different backgrounds, and even invented societies and locations. Each has their own tragedy, their own vice, their own flaws, and Parameswaran very cleverly embraces these flaws, and puts them on display for the reader. You don't always love his flawed heroes. And you're not supposed to. The perspective changes from story to story, and some are more abstract than others - for example, The 3 Rajeshes is told from the perspective of a man in a painting, whose story is being invented by the imagination of the purchaser of the painting. It's obscure. But Parameswaran manages to make it believable and relatable.
The one star is deducted only because the obscurity could go too far at times, and there was a disconnect of the last three or four stories that wasn't present at the beginning. It felt as though these last few stories weren't meant for this book. The themes are certainly similar, and there's no doubt they follow the same vein, but I guess it felt as though the stories, and their obscurity, were forced. Not a terrible critique, but it diminished the experience somewhat.
These stories will not give you a warm and fuzzy feeling. But they are thought-provoking, creative and well-written. Worth every minute I spent reading them.
These stories are "Love Stories." They are not "happy ending, feel good" stories. They are tragic. That is the only way to describe them. As with Murakami and Lethem, you cannot expect Parameswaran to give you clear cut resolution to each story. You cannot even expect an entire plotline. But where some stories appear to be mere fragments, others are developed enough to form the basis for a novel of their own. Again, similar to Lethem and Murakami.
But let me focus on Parameswaran alone for a moment - comparison detracts from his own talent, itself highly deserving of recognition. Each story recounts the tale of a different set of characters - from tigers, to people, to aliens. The human characters hail from different cultures, different backgrounds, and even invented societies and locations. Each has their own tragedy, their own vice, their own flaws, and Parameswaran very cleverly embraces these flaws, and puts them on display for the reader. You don't always love his flawed heroes. And you're not supposed to. The perspective changes from story to story, and some are more abstract than others - for example, The 3 Rajeshes is told from the perspective of a man in a painting, whose story is being invented by the imagination of the purchaser of the painting. It's obscure. But Parameswaran manages to make it believable and relatable.
The one star is deducted only because the obscurity could go too far at times, and there was a disconnect of the last three or four stories that wasn't present at the beginning. It felt as though these last few stories weren't meant for this book. The themes are certainly similar, and there's no doubt they follow the same vein, but I guess it felt as though the stories, and their obscurity, were forced. Not a terrible critique, but it diminished the experience somewhat.
These stories will not give you a warm and fuzzy feeling. But they are thought-provoking, creative and well-written. Worth every minute I spent reading them.
June 17, 2012
I received this book as part of a lovely surprise collection from Bloomsbury and jumped into it straight away as my daily public transport read. I don’t mind reading short stories in this way as I can generally get a story finished in one or two trips. Some of these stories took a little longer as they are incredibly powerful and demand reflection!
You may be wondering why this book is called I Am an Executioner Love Stories – surely that’s incorrect? But no, that kind of juxtaposition is exactly what you get with these stories – they are stories of love, yet sometimes with death involved. The first story, The Infamous Bengal Ming is about a tiger who suddenly realises his love for his keeper – and kills him. I Am an Executioner deals with the sometimes difficult marriage of the chief executioner. Demons looks at why a wife leaves her dead husband on the floor and goes to a party. The final story, On the Banks of Table River (Planet Lucina, Andromeda Galaxy, AD 2319) deals with sex leading to death in another lifeform. Are the two events so entwined? Parameswaran deals with their linkage in many different situations.
I must admit that sometimes I found these stories overwhelming with the emotions they made me feel and the questions I thought about while reading – in the case of the tiger, is killing your lover the utmost sign of love? Is pretending to be someone you aren’t a betrayal if you do it correctly? In the case of the secret agent, how much do you hide from your partner and how far will you go to break the rules? These stories hide big life questions behind the narrative.
Parameswaran certainly knows how to pack a literary punch in a short amount of words. His use of language to create setting and character makes even faraway planet life sound believable (and I’m normally not one for science fiction). In addition, I really did believe that a tiger and an elephant were telling me their stories! I admire the author for creating the believable from the not so believable. Unique and captivating.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
You may be wondering why this book is called I Am an Executioner Love Stories – surely that’s incorrect? But no, that kind of juxtaposition is exactly what you get with these stories – they are stories of love, yet sometimes with death involved. The first story, The Infamous Bengal Ming is about a tiger who suddenly realises his love for his keeper – and kills him. I Am an Executioner deals with the sometimes difficult marriage of the chief executioner. Demons looks at why a wife leaves her dead husband on the floor and goes to a party. The final story, On the Banks of Table River (Planet Lucina, Andromeda Galaxy, AD 2319) deals with sex leading to death in another lifeform. Are the two events so entwined? Parameswaran deals with their linkage in many different situations.
I must admit that sometimes I found these stories overwhelming with the emotions they made me feel and the questions I thought about while reading – in the case of the tiger, is killing your lover the utmost sign of love? Is pretending to be someone you aren’t a betrayal if you do it correctly? In the case of the secret agent, how much do you hide from your partner and how far will you go to break the rules? These stories hide big life questions behind the narrative.
Parameswaran certainly knows how to pack a literary punch in a short amount of words. His use of language to create setting and character makes even faraway planet life sound believable (and I’m normally not one for science fiction). In addition, I really did believe that a tiger and an elephant were telling me their stories! I admire the author for creating the believable from the not so believable. Unique and captivating.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
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April 2, 2019At two stories in, I would have given this book 5 stars. The first two stories—-one about a captive tiger who falls in love with his keeper, the other about a man who decides to make a living by impersonating a doctor--are wonderfully written: quirky and deeply disturbing while still strangely funny and compassionate.
Farther into the book, though, the writer began to annoy me with what felt like the written equivalent of talking to hear the sound of his own voice. He has an obvious talent for sculpting words to his will, but some of his experiments (ex: writing from the imagined voice of a man he saw in a photograph, while the "real" voice of the man comments on the story in parentheses, often in a self-laudatory way) felt contrived. While they must have been entertaining to write, I think they should have been sacrificed in the editorial process.
For all the times this book frustrated and annoyed me, I would have given it three stars. But the last story was even more compelling than the first two (despite what I felt was a disappointingly vague ending), and whatever else I thought while reading, each story truly did suck me into its beautifully described world in a way that not all stories can. Reading interviews with the author after the fact also did admittedly color my feelings about this book for the better. It's an imperfect work, but it has its moments of brilliance, and it lingered in my mind long after I put it down.
Farther into the book, though, the writer began to annoy me with what felt like the written equivalent of talking to hear the sound of his own voice. He has an obvious talent for sculpting words to his will, but some of his experiments (ex: writing from the imagined voice of a man he saw in a photograph, while the "real" voice of the man comments on the story in parentheses, often in a self-laudatory way) felt contrived. While they must have been entertaining to write, I think they should have been sacrificed in the editorial process.
For all the times this book frustrated and annoyed me, I would have given it three stars. But the last story was even more compelling than the first two (despite what I felt was a disappointingly vague ending), and whatever else I thought while reading, each story truly did suck me into its beautifully described world in a way that not all stories can. Reading interviews with the author after the fact also did admittedly color my feelings about this book for the better. It's an imperfect work, but it has its moments of brilliance, and it lingered in my mind long after I put it down.
August 27, 2012
I AM AN EXECUTIONER: LOVE STORIES BY: RAJESH PARAMESWARAN
Romance is seen very often in our lives today. In Rajesh Parameswaran's book 'I am an executioner; love stories' his brilliant details and unique imagination tells the story of various love stories with a twist. This book is filled with exciting stories that keep you wanting to know more with every page you read. From a tiger falling in love with his trainer and realizing his passion for killing to a man with 'slaughterer' as his job title, these stories are fun, heart-racing, and simply impossible not to love. One thing I liked about the book was the originality and creativity. I can honestly say this authors writing is unlike anything I've ever read before. The stories he told were just so intriguing. Another thing I enjoyed were his amazing details. The author really painted a picture with the word he used. I felt like I always knew where a person was and exactly what they looked like.
Romance is seen very often in our lives today. In Rajesh Parameswaran's book 'I am an executioner; love stories' his brilliant details and unique imagination tells the story of various love stories with a twist. This book is filled with exciting stories that keep you wanting to know more with every page you read. From a tiger falling in love with his trainer and realizing his passion for killing to a man with 'slaughterer' as his job title, these stories are fun, heart-racing, and simply impossible not to love. One thing I liked about the book was the originality and creativity. I can honestly say this authors writing is unlike anything I've ever read before. The stories he told were just so intriguing. Another thing I enjoyed were his amazing details. The author really painted a picture with the word he used. I felt like I always knew where a person was and exactly what they looked like.
May 2, 2013
Wat een bizarre verhalenbundel. Het zijn wel degelijk liefdesverhalen, maar aan de andere kant zit er aan elk verhaal weer een ander raar element. Elk verhaal is uniek en geen enkel verhaal lijkt op de ander. Telkens wanneer ik een verhaal uit had en aan de volgende begon dacht ik; hoe krijg je dit verzonnen? De verschillende werkelijkheden van Rajesh Parameswaran zijn onvoorstelbaar. In de huid van een tijger, olifantentaal vertaald, een onbehouwen beul met een zachtaardige kant en ga zo maar door. Behalve dat elk personage anders is, is ook de stem van elk personage verschillend. Op deze manier hebben alle personages van Parameswaran unieke eigen karakters. Tevens zit er een eigen Indiaas tintje aan elk verhaal, wat de bundel juist weer wel situeert in de werkelijkheid en het thuisland van de auteur.
March 15, 2016
I'm a bit divided about this one. Some stories I really liked while others I didn't care for. I guess a 3-stars is somewhere in between. I do like good short stories, even when they don't end up in a very clear way like a full-length novel, and this book as some great gems, like "The strange career of Dr. Raju Gopalarajan", and "Bebhutibhushhan Mallik's final storyboard". I didn't care at all for the Sci-Fi "On the banks of the Table River (Planet Lucinda, Andromeda Galaxy, AD 2319)". Also "I am an executioner" missed the mark for me.
May 20, 2012
This was a happy surprise - bought it without knowing anything about the author and really really enjoyed it. Each story was unique and most were written in voices so different from one another, it was a wonder that it came from the same mind. Some of the stories were dark and disturbing but treated in a very gracious way. However, I would not recommend for the sensitive or the breastfeeding (at least skip the Tiger story if you're full of maternal hormones).
July 2, 2013
Rajesh Parameswaran is a genius. I have not been this thrilled in a very long time. Goddamn. Dazzling. I'm sputtering with delight. Look what a truly creative mind, look what a great artist, can do. Wow.
September 4, 2013
These stories were amazing. Definitely the kind that made me wish I'd written them first. Some of them, I felt like the guy must have done drugs to write, because the perspectives were so crazy. I can't wait to see what other stories Mr. Parameswaran publishes in the future.
November 1, 2015
I really loved those short stories. There was tension, humour; the characters were interesting and intriguing and different; it was a different read from what I am used to and I have really enjoyed every single sentence.
July 8, 2015
Absolutely loved this book, these stories. They lifted me out of myself and into a wonderful world created by an imagination I wish I had.
June 8, 2021
This was my first audiobook experience and what a wild ride it was. I borrow the title randomly from hoopla without investigating the content matter, had I given it more effort, I probably would not have bothered with this title at all. The stories in this collection are very unsettling; however, I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t captivated by some of them. Overall, I think the collection is very hit or miss, but I can see why this collection of short stories may have a strong appeal to certain audiences.
January 5, 2024
Oke oke ik heb hem niet helemaal uit, ik kreeg mezelf gewoon niet door dat laatste verhaal heen.
Het eerste verhaal vond ik veruit het meest interessant. De eerste 3 hadden me wel hooked maar daarna verloor ik snel interesse in de karakters en de verhaallijn. Doen dat laatste verhaal kwam met alle footnotes haakte ik echt af. Wel verfrissende verhalen, creatief bedacht en met nieuwe invalshoeken.
Het eerste verhaal vond ik veruit het meest interessant. De eerste 3 hadden me wel hooked maar daarna verloor ik snel interesse in de karakters en de verhaallijn. Doen dat laatste verhaal kwam met alle footnotes haakte ik echt af. Wel verfrissende verhalen, creatief bedacht en met nieuwe invalshoeken.
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