Rohinton Mistry

Contemporary Indian Writers in English (CIWE) is a series that presents critical commentaries on some of the best-known names in the genre. With the hgh visibility of Indian writing in Englihs in academic, critical, pedagogic and reader circles, there is a perceivable demand for lucid yet rigorous introductions to several of its authors and genres.Rohinton Mistry has provided some of the most sustained explorations of post-Independence Indian society through his chronicles of individual and community lives. Mistry's fiction covers many themes, from politics to Parsi community life and economic inequality to national 'events' such as wars, rigorously examining the impact of historical forces and social events on 'small' lives. Nandini Bhautoo-Dewnarain's study, a schematic introduction to Mistry's works, looks at the process of marginalization or 'Othering' in his fiction. Exploring Mistry's themes of tradition, ageing and families, Bhautoo-Dewnarain demonstrates how his fiction moves from the local to the universal.