MOUTH

The mundane and the extraordinary mesh into new and fascinating shapes in this debut story collection.

Ghosh mixes ordinary events with fantastical and ominous realities. In “Desiccation,” a young figure skater has a flirtation with a vampire on the rink while her mother struggles with her job in a government that disappears young men who reach a certain age. A woman decides to get back on dating apps now that the time war has ended and winds up going through a tear in space and time on a first date in “Anomaly.” Life in Ghosh’s stories runs the gamut from odd but close to normal, as in “Natalya,” which takes the form of an autopsy report performed by the dead woman’s ex-partner, to the fantastical, as in “Persimmons,” in which a young girl comes to terms with her fate as the future sacrifice of her small community of space colonists. Each story is tinged with queer themes, most of the protagonists either lesbian or bisexual, and many feature the protagonists’ Indian heritage, as in “The Fig Tree,” in which a woman travels to India with her father to spread her mother’s ashes. Ghosh’s tales push at the limits of comfort, as what seems understandable suddenly morphs into the bizarre. There’s a sensuality to them all that usually works though sometimes feels added simply for the sake of it. As they run the gamut from slightly strange to almost metaphysical, not all the stories will necessarily connect with readers, but when one hits, it will linger. Ghosh shows incredible range, imagination, and depth of feeling with this first collection.

A unique set of stories that show the promise of a bold new voice.