Mary Anne Mohanraj has written twenty stories, whose sensual expression deftly conveys the depth of her characters. I was disconcerted at times with the focus on sexual intimacy, and would have prefered more on the aspirations and development of the families' children, and on the advancement of women. However, each tale in Bodies in Motion reveals fears and hopes, joys and sadness, as the two families struggle for happiness and survival, amid divorce, alcoholism, civil war, and the loss of children.Michael tells me that the book was listed in the NY Post's Required Reading on Sunday, July 17.
Also, nice capsule review from Elliott Bay Books:
"This seductive collection of short stories explores the struggles, ambitions, and successes of many family members as they face both future and past. Set in the modern United States and traditional Sri Lanka, these artistically written stories weave through each other, and through time, place, and theme. When finished, you realize the stories are able to stand alone as well as join together intricately in a strong, solid collection that tests the definitions of love, sex, gender, and place. The stories represent Mohanraj's successful attempt to shape and define generationsindividually and together. This book is a rare and delightful find." - A.P. KingI particularly like that last bit, about shaping and defining generations, because that does relate to something I was actually trying to do, and which I don't think any of the other reviews have mentioned. Glad it came across to someone.