Home in the Dark: Selected Stories (The India List) - Jayanta Dey

Home in the Dark: Selected Stories (The India List)

(Author: Jayanta Dey | Translator: Sayari Debnath)

When civility is just a mask, what happens when it slips? A gripping collection of fifteen short stories exposing the dark undercurrents, moral ambiguities, and hidden psychological tensions of modern urban life.

Home in the Dark peels back the polished surface of middle-class respectability to reveal the raw shadows lurking underneath: unspoken violence, quiet betrayals, and the unsettling truths of human nature. Set against the backdrop of Kolkata and its surrounding suburbs, Jayanta Dey’s tales uncover a world where desperation takes strange, unsettling forms.

In these fifteen darkly compelling narratives, a woman on the brink of suicide finds an improbable ally in a rat, a stolen clock becomes heavy with communal hatred, and a lucrative writer-publisher partnership in underground pornography spirals out of control. Dey masterfully deciphers the psychological conflicts simmering beneath polite facades, where ordinary people find themselves driven to extraordinary lengths simply to survive.

Translated expertly from Bengali by Sayari Debnath, this collection introduces English-language readers to a bold, uncompromising voice in contemporary Indian literature—offering sharp twists that provoke, disturb, and deeply illuminate.

Key Features:

• Bold Bengali Voice in Translation: Expertly translated from Bengali by Sayari Debnath for The India List series.

• 15 Gripping Psychological Tales: Explores themes of urban alienation, human survival, morality, and the macabre set in Kolkata and Bengal.

• Unflinching Social Realism: Unpacks the hidden hypocrisies and psychological fractures beneath middle-class domestic life.

• Essential for Short Story Lovers: A standout volume for readers of dark psychological fiction, Indian literature in translation, and modern short story anthologies.