A Kitchen in the Corner of the House

A Kitchen in the Corner of the House collects Ambai's most daring, original stories. Her narrators are always filled with courage, stretching the concepts of home, marriage, and world. They embark on journeys small and large: taking offerings across town to the goddess Mariamman or packing up four deities in a plastic box and flying them to America. These women knead mountains of chapati dough, step deep into rivers threaded with fish, and stay up late talking about books and music. Ambai's words are sharpened knives, carving out a new terrain for young women in a tradition-bound world. It's in the small lapses—when a character forgets, fast forwards a tape, or begins another journey—that Ambai frees up a new linguistic and mental space.