Portrait in Words

Mumtaz Hussain's stories meet the definition of short stories because his most extended story is ten pages!

Behind the stories, contextually, two worlds clash - human differences, tragedies of classes, attachment to individuals, and dissatisfaction with the prevailing society. Amidst the grief and sorrow, the reader finds himself enmeshed in lives that unfold uniquely and unpredictably. This book contains fourteen stories, each with bitter social and political questions. It is not as if the issues he brings to the fore are new; it is the treatment that makes one sit up and take notice.

Like any good author, Mumtaz's stories arise from his own perspective; he is as much the author as he is a witness. As an author, he must express; as a witness, he must bear the weight of his experiences. His narrative shifts between stark, raw realism and embedded mythology.

As a witness, his stance seems to reject traditional norms and social codes, but the truth is that he is merely writing from his vantage point as an observer. This collection of fiction is a circular journey - from reality to abstraction and from abstraction to reality. Welcome to a refreshing and seductive narrative, wholly stripped of social mores and clichés.