Cet article est disponible en anglais seulement.
Par Stephanie Domet, Correspondante Frye
Death by a Thousand Cuts is both the title story of this collection, and also a kind of thesis statement here, as the characters Shashi Bhat 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.
Bhat writes with wit and humour, but also with a keen-eyed grasp of the human condition—particularly 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.
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.
This is one of Bhat’s formidable powers as a writer—the 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 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.
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.
Shashi answered a few questions by email recently.
How are you feeling these days?
Overwhelmed! I’m teaching three classes and I’m the editor of a literary magazine, so I’m 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’m buying Canadian and comfort-watching Gilmore Girls and going on a lot of brisk walks.
When you think of the themes you explore in Death by a Thousand Cuts, what stands out to you now? (It seems like a good time for stories about consent, rage, bodily autonomy…)
Sadly, I think the themes are still relevant, if not more urgent. It’s 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’t be reading like dystopian fiction.
Why do you write?
I’m happiest when I’m writing, at least when it’s 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—and sometimes humour.
What’s preoccupying you lately, as a writer? What ideas are you exploring or obsessing about?
Lately I’ve been writing fiction about women’s 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—rage and consent are definitely in there, too.
What are you most looking forward to right now?
Honestly, I’m 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’t know if that’s in my skill set, but we’ll see!
Œuvre mentionnée : Bhat, Shashi. Death By a Thousand Cuts. McClelland & Stewart, 2024. (voir sur Tidewater Books)
Citer cet article : Domet, Stephanie. « Shashi Bhat hits out of the park ». Discours/e : Catalogue numérique des littératures et cultures de l’Atlantique, 18 mars 2025. <https://discours-e.ca/2025/03/18/shashi-bhat-hits-out-of-the-park-2/>
Suivez Stephanie Domet sur Instagram.
Pour citer cet article:
Shashi Bhat
Shashi Bhat est l’autrice de Death by a Thousand Cuts (McClelland & Stewart), sélectionné pour le prix Giller, The Most Precious Substance on Earth (M&S, Grand Central), finaliste pour le prix du Gouverneur général pour la fiction, et The Family Took Shape (Cormorant), finaliste pour le Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. Ses œuvres de fiction ont reçu le Writers’ Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. Shashi est rédactrice en chef du magazine EVENT et enseigne au Douglas College.
Stephanie Domet
Stephanie Domet est l’auteure de deux romans, Homing et Fallsy Downsies, tous deux publiés par Invisible. Elle a également coécrit un ouvrage de non-fiction pour les lecteurs de niveau intermédiaire intitulé Amazing Atlantic Canadian Women, publié par Nimbus. Elle est cofondatrice et codirectrice exécutive du AfterWords Literary Festival et rédactrice en chef de The Dalhousie Review. Elle enseigne la création littéraire aux adultes et aux enfants à son domicile de Kjipuktuk/Halifax. Elle porte sans doute un vêtement qu’elle a cousu elle-même.
