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Mother of mysteries: Rosarita, by Anita Desai, reviewed

On a break in Mexico, a young Indian woman is regaled with stories of her mother’s past by a total stranger. But is it all a con?

27 July 2024

9:00 AM

27 July 2024

9:00 AM

There are other reasons beyond shortage of time (the acclaimed Indian novelist Anita Desai has just turned 87) to write a novella; the genre is as attractive and prestigious as it is fashionable. The deceptively slender format can briskly encompass whole worlds and histories, or alternatively, like the short story, depend on strict excisions and limitations for its effects.

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