I sent this as an e-mail…

I sent this as an e-mail to Kate a few days ago, when I was whinging [Karina, did I spell that right?] about having to write an abstract. I wasn't sure that it'd be wise to post it, but on reflection, I think that even if it comes to the eyes of my committee, they'll forgive me the natural frustration that prompted the following:

Abstract: Mary Anne Mohanraj's Bodies in Motion

This is a collection of short stories concerning Sri Lanka. And America. And people moving back and forth between them. Hence the title. Also lots of sex. Hence the title again -- see, it's a pun. Get it?

There are 18 stories in the collection. None of them are longer than 6000 words. None of them are shorter than 1000 words. Few of them use words that are technically obscene, but many of them are probably inappropriate for tender academic ears.

This book has many themes. They are good, complex, interesting themes which only an fool would try to distill into three paragraphs of abstract. But since I am required to make the attempt, they include: [insert list of great themes which appear in pretty much every major and minor work of literature here].

Thank you for your time.