100 classic tales from the master of Bengali short fiction ‘Banaphool’s love of precision and economyof words, his eye for the apparently insignificant detail give us a sudden glimpse of the human condition ‘ -Nabaneeta Dev Sen Translated into English for the first time, these stories by legendary writer Banaphool cleverly explore how life’s absurdities are negotiated through human relationships- whether between friends, lovers family or strangers. In the title story, a lovelorn boy waits earnestly in his hostel room for the arrival of his beloved, only to be greeted by a rude shock. The fickle nature of love is at the centre of ‘Conjugal Dreams’ , as two newlyweds confront their old loves. ‘The Homecoming’ is about an isurance agent’s encounter with a most unexpected co-passenger while travelling home by train for Durga Puja. And a harmless wager leads to very dramatic consequences in ‘The Corpse’. These sparkling vignettes are moulded out of the everyday, and range from poignant and tragic to whimsical and satirical. Reminiscent of the effortless prose of O. Henry, Banaphool’s stories conjure up a host of enduring characters while making sharp observations about the human condition.