Abstract emotions

THE RUPA BOOK OF LOVE STORIES Edited by Ruskin Bond, Rupa, Rs 295

For the last few years, Rupa has been consistently bringing out anthologies of short stories edited by Ruskin Bond. The Rupa Book of Love Stories is the latest entry into this already extended list. There are as many as 18 stories in this volume, which have been gleaned from different languages and cultures. The book also rises above period-specifications as ancient and medieval romances co-exist with modern tales.

Most great love stories end tragically and thus, an authentic anthology of love stories is likely to leave the reader sombre and sullen. But as the editor, Bond did not want that to happen. Without any hesitation, he decided to sacrifice authenticity for variety. As he states in the introduction: “I have gone out of my way to track down a number of cheerful love stories in order to counter-balance those that end sadly or in despair.”

This “counter-balancing” tactic is not bad but has also thrown up a few problems. Next to Guy de Maupassant’s “Happiness”, a story of ever-lasting love in a obscure island, Bond posits Charles Read’s “The Box Tunnel”, a hilarious romance about kissing a lady after winning a bet. O. Henry’s tender exploration of marital love in “The Gift of the Magi” is flanked by two stories, one of which — Peter Tizack’s “The Girl Called Marie” — outlines the bizarre and premature ageing of a lovelorn lady. The other — Noel Langley’s “The Folder” — cheerily mixes mystery, love and humour. Such editorial devices ensure swift shifts of moods but, by the same token, do not allow a single mood to linger on once a story has been read. This is not always desirable.

Readers of this volume should accept, albeit regretfully, the exclusion of certain great stories because of a space constraint. When stories like Ivan Turgenev’s “First Love” and James Joyce’s “Araby” or “The Dead” are left out (even though the editor includes two of his own, which maybe touching but are certainly not among his best), eyebrows are bound to be raised. Bond’s taste for variety seems to have eclipsed his concern for merit in the matter of selection. It is also inexplicable why lesser-known authors have not been properly introduced.

Despite these ambiguities in editorial policy, most of the stories in this book are gripping. In the introduction, Bond laments that women do not prefer the short-story medium for writing about love. He should be thanked for “tracking down” an engrossing tale written by a woman — “The Duenna” by Belloc Lowndes, and including it in this volume.