Quarantine - Rahul Mehta.

Touted as a book written by and about 'gay' relationships, I was a little vary about reading it. Hype about anything other than the writing itself, almost always means bad writing. But I was pleasantly surprised. The tales explore relationships, displacement and move at a dark lazy pace that draws the reader in. There are some patches that are plain boring, but never does the author try the 'gay shock and awe' tactics that most gay writers seem to do nowadays to draw attention. There is a bit of sex but always where necessary. What he excels at, is describing the Indian diaspora, the slow crumbling or building of relationships. In one story, an achingly lonely young man pretends to be interning at Vogue while staying in a family friends house and connecting with the lady of the house even through language barriers. In another a grandmother is gently forced to apply for citizenship, so she is not 'thrown out' of the US. Every character is gently sketched and closely observed.


Now all the author has to do is move out of this close sphere he has constructed for his writing and experiment. Waiting for his next work, hopefully one that goes beyond the sexual orientation of the characters or the author.

7/10.