{"id":2885,"date":"2025-03-18T17:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T20:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/?p=2885"},"modified":"2026-07-14T08:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:53:09","slug":"shashi-bhat-hits-out-of-the-park-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/2025\/03\/18\/shashi-bhat-hits-out-of-the-park-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Shashi Bhat hits out of the park"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is available in English only.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Par Stephanie Domet<\/a>, Correspondante Frye<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death by a Thousand Cuts<\/em> is both the title story of this collection, and also a kind of thesis statement here, as the characters Shashi Bhat<\/a> introduces us to face challenges internal and external, cultural and counter-cultural, and often stand firm against the big forces at play in their lives, only to be confounded, felled, or otherwise undone by the small ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bhat writes with wit and humour, but also with a keen-eyed grasp of the human condition\u2014particularly as it pertains to the lives of girls and women right now. These stories trace themes of body, race, identity, relationships, isolation, what we can and cannot change. Characters look for love on dating apps and in manila envelopes filled with profiles of suitable mates as chosen by their parents. Women lose hair, lose men, lose jobs, lose their nerve. Men are attractive, oblivious, thrifty to a fault, deeply loving, occasionally menacing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reader may laugh out loud at one line, and wince in recognition at another. In the title story, an aside about a childhood friend using scissors to trim off the protrusion of her own outie belly button in the misguided hope it would heal into a more aesthetically appealing innie had me reflexively pressing my palm to my own navel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one of Bhat\u2019s formidable powers as a writer\u2014the specificity of detail, the truth of the images she selects, the assured confidence of her storytelling is deeply persuasive and convincing. Though a reader may not share many or any of the circumstances, feelings or experiences of the characters in these stories, Bhat creates story contraptions that transcend the particularities and resonate across generation, culture, and personal history. The predicaments of the characters in Death by a Thousand Cuts<\/em> both entertain and enrage. Bhat is a deeply thoughtful writer who is able to pull off that rare trick of writing about a sometimes shallow and surface culture in a serious and meaningful way. She never mocks her characters, but through them explores where we are right now, in all its sublime ridiculousness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An additional treat, for those who see her present her work at a live event: Bhat is as talented a conversationalist as she is a writer, with an incredible knack for choosing an excerpt that leaves an audience wanting more, and an extremely engaging presentation style. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shashi answered a few questions by email recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are you feeling these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overwhelmed! I\u2019m teaching three classes and I\u2019m the editor of a literary magazine, so I\u2019m somewhat buried in grading and anticipating our next issue deadline, etc. And, obviously, the news feels ominous and alarming. My news consumption has become unhealthy. I\u2019m buying Canadian and comfort-watching Gilmore Girls<\/em> and going on a lot of brisk walks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you think of the themes you explore in <\/strong>Death by a Thousand Cuts<\/em><\/strong>, what stands out to you now? (It seems like a good time for stories about consent, rage, bodily autonomy…)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, I think the themes are still relevant, if not more urgent. It\u2019s been less than a year since the book came out, but some of those stories I wrote drafts of almost twenty years ago. How awful that I was concerned with the same things in 2008 as now. Actually, in my new writing project, which I started a couple of years ago, I briefly referenced something about the state of abortion laws in the US, and I wondered if it would become outdated by the time I was finished writing the book. Apparently not. It makes me wonder what book I might write after another twenty years have passed, or forty. Hopefully my realism won\u2019t be reading like dystopian fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do you write?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m happiest when I\u2019m writing, at least when it\u2019s going well. I like experiencing the world as writer, seeing it through the lens of a story. I write because I see and feel things that upset me, and because when I turn them into fiction I can give them shape and purpose and power\u2014and sometimes humour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s preoccupying you lately, as a writer? What ideas are you exploring or obsessing about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lately I\u2019ve been writing fiction about women\u2019s health and challenges with navigating the healthcare system, as well as female independence. My new work continues some of the themes that were present in my story collection\u2014rage and consent are definitely in there, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are you most looking forward to right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, I\u2019m really looking forward to the Frye Festival. I love literary festivals and the opportunity to spend time with other writers. Apparently one of my events involves working with a DJ? Don\u2019t know if that\u2019s in my skill set, but we\u2019ll see!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u0152uvre mentionn\u00e9e<\/strong> : Bhat, Shashi<\/a>. Death By a Thousand Cuts<\/em>. McClelland & Stewart, 2024. (voir sur Tidewater Books<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citer cet article : <\/strong>Domet, Stephanie<\/a>. \u00ab\u00a0Shashi Bhat hits out of the park\u00a0\u00bb. Discours\/e : Catalogue num\u00e9rique des litt\u00e9ratures et cultures de l’Atlantique<\/em>, 18 mars 2025. <https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/2025\/03\/18\/shashi-bhat-hits-out-of-the-park-2\/<\/a>><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suivez Stephanie Domet sur Instagram<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Shashi Bhat\u2019s Death by a Thousand Cuts, vivid language, keen characterisations, and deep insights propel the reader forward through this collection of nine stories, published by Penguin Random House Canada last spring. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":255556986,"featured_media":2882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":[3072],"meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[2098,2753,3622,1459,2298],"correspondant":[2348,2269],"org-partenaire":[],"projet":[2336],"formats":[1802,3047],"nature":[],"class_list":["post-2885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nouveaute","tag-festival-frye","tag-lecture_fr","tag-litterature-canadienne-fr","tag-mediatheque","tag-carrousel","format-article-fr","correspondant-shashi-bhat-fr","correspondant-stephanie-domet-fr","projet-campagne-correspondants-2025-fr","formats-article-fr"],"acf":{"type_contenu":"","source_de_la_nouvelle":null,"autrice_de_larticle":[2269],"langue_de_la_video":["EN"],"articles_enfants":"","corresp_ordre":null,"presence_au_festival":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pg22Gt-Kx","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/discours-e.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/195668300.jpg?fit=1647%2C413&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/255556986"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2885"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3080,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2885\/revisions\/3080"}],"acf:term":[{"embeddable":true,"taxonomy":"correspondant","href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/correspondant\/2269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/format?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"correspondant","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/correspondant?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"org-partenaire","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/org-partenaire?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"projet","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/projet?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"formats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/formats?post=2885"},{"taxonomy":"nature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discours-e.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nature?post=2885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}