This selection of Rabindranath Tagore's stories exemplifies his remarkable ability to enter the complexities of human relationships. Within seemingly simple plots, Tagore portrays with extraordinary compassion and lyricism the predicament of women in traditional Bengali contexts, moving from the loneliness of an intelligent, beautiful woman neglected by her husband in the Nobel Laureate's acclaimed novella Broken Nest, to the powerlessness of a young girl whose prized possession is taken away in Notebook, from the casual abandonment of an orphan in Postmaster, to a girl robbed of her childhood in The Ghat's Tale. Powerful, brilliant and astute, the novella and three short stories included in this collection - translated here by acclaimed fiction writer Sharmistha Mohanty, who has brought into English the music of Tagore's narratives - are Tagore's finest prose works.

A beggar girl struggling her way out in this big, bad world helplessly hoping for a benevolent hand, a housewife for whom marriage has lost its meaning long back and she is only carrying the habit of it now, a young girl who wishes to bring quality education to her illiterate village folks, an orphan who roots for her true identity in the child she is yet to birth, a village tea seller who wishes to become a famous actor in Bombay. 'Temple Classroom and Other Stories' is a collection of various facets that form our lives and the lives around us. These are the stories that were written over a period of 2 years in buses, trains and metros…on laptop, mobile and computer. Some of these tales were written from the myriads of experiences that life threw at the author and some are figments of her imagination, borne out of its various impressions.

“The Nest leaves a lasting mark on the memory.” —The New York Times Book Review Steve just wants to save his baby brother—but what will he lose in the bargain? Kenneth Oppel’s (Silverwing, The Boundless) haunting gothic tale for fans of Coraline, is one of the most acclaimed books of the year, receiving six starred reviews. Illustrations from Caldecott Medalist Jon Klassen. For some kids summer is a sun-soaked season of fun. But for Steve, it’s just another season of worries. Worries about his sick newborn baby brother who is fighting to survive, worries about his parents who are struggling to cope, even worries about the wasp’s nest looming ominously from the eaves. So when a mysterious wasp queen invades his dreams, offering to “fix” the baby, Steve thinks his prayers have been answered. All he has to do is say “Yes.” But “yes” is a powerful word. It is also a dangerous one. And once it is uttered, can it be taken back? Celebrated author Kenneth Oppel creates an eerie masterpiece in this compelling story that explores disability and diversity, fears and dreams, and what ultimately makes a family. Includes illustrations from celebrated artist Jon Klassen.

With their penetrating psychological insight and their emphasis on human dignity, respect and forgiveness, Dostoyevsky's early short stories contain the seeds of the themes that came to his major novels. Poor Folk, the author's first great literary triumph, is the story of a tragic relationship between an impoverished copy clerk and a young seamstress, told through their passionate letters to each other. In The Landlady Dostoyevsky portrays a dreamer hero who is captivated by a curious couple and becomes their lodger. Mr Prokharchin, inspired by a true story, is a sly comedy centring on an eccentric miser, and Polzunkov is a powerful character sketch which, in common with the other tales in this volume, questions the very nature of existence.

A FREE-FLOWING NARRATIVE IN VERSE AND PROSE THAT MARKED THE DEBUT OF AN ASTONISHING NEW VOICE IN LITERATURE. ‘Reading Sharmistha Mohanty’s Book One, you keep turning the pages, not to follow the story—though there is a story being told in every page, and in every page she tells a different story which is yet part of the fabric of the same telling—but to follow her sentences. They are unflinching, tender, unexpected, aphoristic, violently observant and violently restrained: “to feel pain but never to come to tears”. You read because you want to know where they will take you next. She gives no hint. Whether it is to the unnamed riverine land of her ancestors or, in an unnamed city, to a house whose plaster keeps falling, they invariably lead to a place “as clear and unsentimental and right as life”.’ —Arvind Krishna Mehrotra ‘What she writes about, with great sensitivity and originality, is her life and those of her ancestors, of changing traditions which nevertheless remain radically unchanged, of weather, water and sexual relationships … She tautens and tightens her words around every situation to create it almost visibly in the mind … She seems to me a real discovery. What she has written may be in the tradition of Tagore, but she has made it original and modern.’ —Dom Moraes