{"product_id":"nine-yard-sarees-a-short-story-cycle","title":"Nine Yard Sarees: a short story cycle","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNine Yard Sarees: a short story cycle\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNine Yard Sarees\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a multigenerational portrait of a fictional Tamil Brahmin family. Comprising eleven interlinked stories, this short story cycle traces the lives of nine women from 1950 all the way to 2019, shedding light on the community and its evolution through the decades. As the stories take us from India to Singapore, Australia and even America, we follow the experiences of the women in the family: Raji the matriarch who lives in seclusion at an ashram; her daughter Padma who struggles to raise her family the traditional way; Padma’s daughter Keerthana who is about to be married and don the nine yard saree, a symbol of womanhood. Tender, dynamic and full of heart, this cycle is a resonant portrayal of female solidarity and the complexities of the diasporic experience in contemporary Singapore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“There is so much to appreciate in Prasanthi Ram’s debut collection,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNine Yard Sarees\u003c\/em\u003e. As a portrait of a family, these stories connect to form a layered narrative about women, migration and identity. As a work of diaspora fiction about the Tamil-Brahmin community in Singapore, these connecting stories comment on questions of belonging and the pertinent tension between tradition and modernity. Ram writes with precision and clarity about this family while also treating the characters with the warmth and compassion that they deserve. Shifting narrative perspectives and covering a wide landscape of time and geographic space,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNine Yard Sarees\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003econfronts diaspora in all its complexity. A thoroughly enjoyable and meaningful work of fiction about family, community and the reverberations of migration and displacement.”\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e—Balli Kaur Jaswal, Author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eErotic Stories for Punjabi Widows\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The madisar, the eponymous nine-yard saree, weaves these stories together beautifully and artfully, these stories about Tamil Brahmin women living mostly in Singapore, but also living, in Prasanthi Ram’s deft, sensitive and humorous telling, in full, human complexity in their loves and hates, joys and sorrows, envies and regrets.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eNine Yard Sarees\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis an uncommonly rich and precise debut, closely observed, magically empathetic and formally ambitious. If you love the stories of Jhumpa Lahiri and Alice Munro, you will love these stories.”\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e—Jee Leong Koh, Winner of the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize in English fiction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A gripping, masterfully crafted work that is both haunting and comforting. I read it in one night.\"\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e—Akshita Nanda, co-winner of the 2020 Singapore Literature Prize in English Fiction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe following stories contain some references to sensitive topics which may warrant content notices:\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eAgni’s Trials—sexual harrassment\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Perfect Shot—sexual assault\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eNine Yard Sarees—racism; fat phobic language\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eLoose Threads—self-harm; pregnancy loss\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eIn Her Graveyard, She Bloomed—homophobic language; pregnancy loss\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBefore the Rooster Calls—domestic abuse\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhile the content of these stories is fictional, these topics reflect real issues. We recognise that the ways in which readers might respond to and deal with these issues may vary, as our relationships to these topics are unique. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or not in the right headspace to experience the stories, do put the book down and talk to someone about how you feel.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSize: 130mm x 200mm\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eExtent: 272\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePublished: October 2023\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0754\/0317\/files\/Nine_Yard_Sarees_Sample_Pages_cdbeb5b8-c7ed-4de5-9d6e-e99f881c9ca3.pdf?v=1696918931\" title=\"Nine Yard Sarees: a short story cycle Book Sample\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBook Sample\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca rel=\"noopener\" title=\"WANTE Book Sample\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0754\/0317\/files\/WANTE_sample_pages_2.pdf?v=1710134384\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0754\/0317\/files\/WANTE_sample_pages_2.pdf?v=1710134384\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e*\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ethos","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40435369476151,"sku":null,"price":27.5,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1066\/2066\/files\/Nine-Yard-Sarees-Front_500x_65bc53e2-2be1-4cf7-b36f-cf2cfd1c589b.png?v=1712908000","url":"https:\/\/www.independentmarket.mom\/products\/nine-yard-sarees-a-short-story-cycle","provider":"Independent Market","version":"1.0","type":"link"}