Madhouse

The most unique part about the stories in this collection is that they sound so familiar yet surprize you. It is so easy to identify with the characters in the various stories. The plot is simple but, very subtle.

"Home theatre", for instance, is a story of a proud mother of a girl who refuses to obey and study maths as she doesn't like it. The mother far from being angry is glad her daughter can stand up for herself. She (the mother) like all good girls was taught obediance but, she has learnt the utility of it from the fate her own mather met with. "Yellow shirt", on the other hand, is the story of a teenage girl's romantic fantasies. "Parting gift" is an unusal lesson a retired woman learns from her ex-collegue in a very unexpected and harsh manner. "Poetic" is a story of friendship and jealousy, of competition and success.

"Privately yours" is a story of woman after her husband ran away. She is trying hard to cope with work while, managing problems at home. Her sole complaint however is not her problems! Her statement: "Why is it that when husbands leave their wives they take away their dignity with them?" cuts right through your heart. "Night of dar shadows" is the story of two people: A man who killed his disabled brother and a women who is ready to sacrifice her happiness for her little sister who's had a similar fate.

Title story, "Madhouse" and another story called "Desire" stunned me in their boldness. Both talk of woman's desire; how different it is from a man's, how innocuous and yet needs to be shrugged under the carpet. "The sissy" goes a step ahead and questions the basic notions of masculinity and femininity that exist not just in a man but, also a woman's mind. The ease and the elegance with which Santwana Chatterjee deals with some of this very complex issues, its hard to believe that this is her debut collection. She writes flawlessly like a seasoned writer.

Grishma Udani

The youngest of 5 children and with a childhood of suppression and neglect, Santwana Chatterjee seems to have drawn from this rich store of experiences to create her stories which portray the stark reality of our times enhanced by her vivid imagination.
It explores various ideas, happenings, events, and people encountered by the author in her life. A web of stories, woven around the quintessential woman. It emanates a Bangla flavour, but it is the voice of every woman. You and I can connect to these stories.

- Sowmya Srinivasan