Dark Tales, Unexpected Twists

Short stories are, in my opinion, slightly more difficult to write than novels. You have to compress a whole wealth of information into a tenth of a novel's length, allowing you little liberty to flesh out your characters. From my experience of her books – and I have every single one of them – Madhulika Liddle is at her best when she is constrained by length. She has the facility to tell much within the constraints of a short story, subtly suggesting nuances and undertones that leave themselves open to interpretation. What is left unsaid is as important as what is stated. However, whether novel or short story, what grabs me by the throat and pulls me in is her ability to make a place, an atmosphere, a person come alive. When I read the Muzaffar Jang books, for instance, I could almost smell the odours of Old Delhi – the horse stables, the inns, the sweetmeats, the reeking mass of humanity.    

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