Bitter Fruit: The Very Best of Saadat Hasan Manto by Saadat Hasan Manto

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Manto was a controversial writer of his times and while reading his stories you come to understand why that might have been the case. These stories, which I imagine to have been inspired from real life instances, present to us the ethos of a world long gone, of a country which witnessed turmoil of Partition and of the people who lived through those times. Manto writes plainly, even blatantly and with sarcasm at times. Perhaps that is why the stories leave such an impact on the reader. A few of his stories left me shaken in terror and I could only imagine the horrors that the people who went through the violence of Partition must have faced. He is a writer who must be read, for his stories lay bare before us the bestiality of human nature which inflicts torture on others in times of extreme turbulence. He doesn't give hope, maybe because he was cynical and had remained distressed most of his life. But he is definitely to be read. Recommended.



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