In The Surrogate Wife and Other Stories, Abhijit Sen crafts a haunting and evocative collection that brings to life the raw, unvarnished truths of human existence in the shadowed corners of north Bengal. These powerful narratives unfold in a world where boundaries blur—between love and desperation, belief and illusion, justice and power.

A young homeless woman finds unexpected refuge in a fragile, pseudo-marital bond with a jawan at a desolate border outpost. A bank official’s pursuit of a dead lover’s debt leads him into the orbit of a prostitute, where desire and memory collide. A laborer, mistakenly revered as a god-man, takes justice into his own hands. A mysterious singer offers her voice as a balm to help others erase the burdens of their pasts.

Sen’s stories straddle the divides of caste, class, and community, illuminating both the beauty and brutality of everyday life. His prose, rich and resonant, explores the rituals, superstitions, and social hierarchies that shape the region’s consciousness. Unflinching in its portrayal of love, longing, power, and resistance, this collection presents a deeply textured portrait of lives lived on the margins—lives no less profound for their invisibility.

A bold, lyrical, and unsettling work, The Surrogate Wife and Other Stories is a testament to storytelling that is both politically charged and emotionally piercing.