Here are stories told with verve and vitality, with vim and vigour. They range from the politics of furniture selling to the problems of filial love, from the etiquette of saris to the consequences of silence. Sometimes, magically, inanimate objects are given voice. Some tales are short - both tense and terse - recalling the masterly concisions of Lydia Davis while others breathe more easily, charting love in all its dimensions and complications, from forbidden desire to desperate longing but constantly with a love of language and the true engagements of story. - Jon Gower Munize Manzur is an accomplished storyte1ler. She knows how to weave a story from different strands of narrative. I admire her projection of everyday reality and the conflicts that define our lives, told in a sophisticated language. - Syed Manzoorul Islam