A History of Objects

 

A History of Objects by Carlo Pizzati is a collection of 23 short stories (more precisely 22, the first story ‘The Hard Drive’ is a prelude to the book) with each story named after a certain object. From the mundane sweater, a pair of shoes or slippers, a bench, an umbrella to the currently obsolete VHS tape, the recently ubiquitous mask and hand sanitizer, there are many objects that find a place here. In some stories, these objects are clearly the focal point, in some these are catalysts that precipitate life-changing events and in others they only make a guest appearance.

Apart from taking us places - Italy, Germany, the USA, India & Philippines in his stories, the author gives us an array of diverse characters and a gamut of emotions to explore. His writing is lucid, carefree & marked with ‘dry’ humor and ‘out of the box’ imagination. One cannot predict when the object in the title will appear in the story or how it will alter its course. For instance, everything in the stories ‘The Teddy Bear’, ‘The Candy Box’ is far from ‘mushy cute’ or innocent, there’s nothing scandalous in ‘The VHS tape’ and nothing related to rain/greenery in ‘The Umbrella’. These stories, mostly open-ended, are differently structured too - story within a story as in ‘The Coconut Scraper’, starting from the end and moving backwards in ‘The Slippers’, a series of interconnected vignettes in ‘The Teddy Bear’. 

It is no secret that objects are reserves of stories & memories, they have a life of their own. But not all objects are embodiments of nostalgia - with cached ‘sweet’ memories waiting to tumble out, the author points out. Here a wind-up cockroach toy and a mantlepiece fish destroy relationships, a portrait warns a man of his future, a man changing his baby’s diapers vows to turn vegetarian. Characters in these stories largely suffer from self-doubt, depression, failed relationships and heartbreak. There is an undercurrent of violence and dysfunctionality. A young man who announces he's gay to his family and is looking for acceptance, a woman who cannot open herself to the love of mortals on Earth openly embracing the skies, men and women authors debating about the idea of equality as preached by feminism - their stories lie curled up within the objects that appear in these stories. 

Reality in fiction gets an expression as the author incorporates Monica Ghurde murder case & MV Greenpeace voyage in his stories and even lends an autobiographical ‘feel’ to some parts.

A quirky potpourri of stories (better savored slowly) where objects are as potent as characters in flesh and blood.