‘As Invisible Cities was Calvino’s ode to Venice, Jayant Kaikini’s No Presents Please is a love letter to Mumbai — its citizens, their struggles and triumphs. The language and cast of characters combine to offer readers a bouquet of rough diamonds and freshwater pearls.’
Devi S. Laskar, author of The Atlas of Reds and Blues
‘Jayant Kaikini’s stories are like portals opening from the routines of our lives into the unusual and mysterious, where everything contains unseen possibilities. For the outsiders in these stories, even the act of dreaming feels rebellious. A wonderful, and wonderfully translated, collection of stories.’
Akil Kumarasamy, author of Half Gods
‘Like no other Indian writer, Jayant Kaikini brilliantly reveals the foundations of Mumbai concealed under its high-rises. Kaikini perceptively captures details from the inner lives of people who have become a part of Mumbai, a microcosm of India. Even the most ordinary happenings in these stories have traces of history in them, with little gestures evoking deep memories. The joys in routine chores from everyday lives, the unfading aspirations of innocent lives even in the face of the macabre — Kaikini unravels all of this with a subtle lightness. He captures the transformation Indian cities are undergoing, but not without recognising the tussle between the worldviews of the village and the city.’
Vivek Shanbhag, author of Ghachar Ghochar
‘This Mumbai is not a distantly observed city. Kaikini is right there, in the midst of it, rubbing shoulders with his people, intuiting their lives and emotions through skin-touch.’
Shanta Gokhale, Mumbai Mirror
‘An insightful, illuminating, and powerful collection. Kaikini’s evocative stories are infused with the body and soul of Mumbai … Kaikini is powerful and valuable as a documenter, a mapper of the city. But he is much more than that … He is an antenna, gathering up the city’s dreams and hurt, bewilderment and rage, and transmitting them ever so gently back into the zeitgeist. The result is a gift worth receiving.’
Trisha Gupta, Scroll
‘Dense with details and gentle observations, these stories explore the lives of people we see without seeing, every single day … Kaikini examines these small but brave lives with deep sympathy. He captures their voices with unerring humour; conjures up their world with exquisite precision; and recreates the strange blend of anonymity and intimacy that is so characteristic of this teeming megapolis by the sea.’
Shabnam Minwalla, The Hindu
‘Kaikini is one of the foremost writers of short fiction in Kannada and the translation makes it evident that he is a master of the form.’
M.K. Raghavendra, Firstpos
‘There are many arresting and haunting moments in Jayant Kaikini’s No Presents Please… Kaikini uses his considerable talent to yoke together quotidian images to create a picture of Mumbai that’s both exact and impressionistic.’
Sanjay Sipahimalani, CNBC TV18
‘The collection affirms Kaikini as one of the most influential writers today.’
Nikhil Govind, The Times of India
‘Very few writers have caught the absurdities, pathos and comic turmoil that drive life in an Indian city today with the vibrancy of Jayant Kaikini.’
Girish Karnad
‘Jayant Kaikini’s compassionate gaze takes in the people in the corners of the city … This is a Bombay book, a Mumbai book, a Momoi book, a Mhamai book, and it is not to be missed.’
Jerry Pinto
‘No Presents Please is a compelling and engaging collection which demonstrates why Kaikini has the reputation he has. In this series of quick sketches he brings a range of complex characters to life and over the course of these stories he exposes the spirit of the city of Mumbai.’
Pile by the Bed
‘This volume includes writing from as early as the mid-1980s and sheds a bright light on the complexities of Indian society.’
Kerryn Goldsworthy, The Age
‘No Presents Please won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, the first book in translation to do so. It is a wonderful opportunity for English language readers to experience some of Kaikini’s beautiful writing for the first time. I’m very glad I did.’
Marie Matteson, Readings
‘Kaikini’s talent lies in his ability to simultaneously capture the humdrum routine of his characters’ lives and plumb the depths of their desires … These stories poignantly express the characters’ feelings of triumph amid the limitations of circumstance.’
Publishers Weekly
‘[Kaikini’s] style and themes will have a familiar ring for Western audiences; there are echoes of Jhumpa Lahiri and George Saunders. But his vision of a bustling city, his sense of its drama and magical moments, is his own. A welcome introduction of a commanding writer to a wider audience.’ STARRED REVIEW
Kirkus Reviews
‘No Presents Please won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, as well as the Atta-Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize, and with good reason … Highly recommend.’
Lit Hub
‘No Presents Please is a compelling and engaging collection which demonstrates why Kaikini has the reputation he has. In this series of quick sketches he brings a range of complex characters to life and over the course of these stories he exposes the spirit of the city of Mumbai.’
Robert Goodman, psnews
