Selected and edited by Jobeth Ann Warjri, The Greatest Stories from the Northeast Ever Told is a magnificent collection of twentyseven short stories from the region. The anthology includes stories by established writers such as Saurav Kumar Chaliha, Bhabendra Nath Saikia, Temsula Ao, Mamoni Raisom Goswami, and Mamang Dai; contemporary writers such as Janice Pariat, Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, Anjum Hasan, Avinuo Kire, Prajwal Parajuly, and Aruni Kashyap; and distinct new voices such as Gankhu Sumnyan, Mainu Teronpi, Shalim M Hussain, Mayookh Barua, and Lede E Miki Pohshna.

In Nini Lungalang’s ‘Child of Fortune’, a mother is forced to make a choice between life and death as political unrest and violence strike a Naga village. Death, devastation, and daily life come together in Sudhiranjan Moirangthem’s ‘News of a Beloved Friend’. In Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih’s ‘His Mother’s Pork and Why He is Not a Christian’, the protagonist Ap Jutang criticizes organized religion and lays bare its hypocrisies with fire and wit. Janice Pariat’s ‘Boats on Land’ is an evocative exploration of a teenager’s inexplicable desire as she encounters a mysterious human being. In ‘Sacred Pool’ by Rishav Kumar Thakur, a recurring dream haunts the protagonist until he discovers his grandmother’s diaries that force him to confront his long-suppressed sexuality. The abrupt appearance and subsequent disappearance of an ominous black umbrella spark confusion, curiosity, and fear among the villagers in ‘Black Moon’ by Aisu Minam Yirang. In ‘The Smell of Bamboo Blossoms’ by Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi, the flowering of the bamboos, a rare phenomenon, signals impending doom.

At once tender and turbulent, political and personal, magical and real, these stories will leave an indelible imprint on all readers.