DISINHERITANCE

Short fiction by the writer best known for her Merchant Ivory screenplays and the Booker Prize–winning novel Heat and Dust.

Born in Germany in 1927, Jhabvala fled with her parents to England in 1939; she married and moved to India at 24, then relocated to New York 24 years later. Explaining the title of this collection in an introduction, she describes herself as “a writer without any ground of being out of which to write…a cuckoo forever insinuating myself into other’s nests.” This gift is evident in 17 stories distinguished by a sharp eye for character and revealing details. The chronological organization (1957 to 2011) spotlights shifting subject matter that reflects Jhabvala’s transnational odyssey. The first six are immersed in Indian culture with authority and sensitivity; “Lekha,” “Better Than Dead,” and “The Elected” are notable for the implicit social criticism in their portraits of unhappy wives. “A Birthday in London” and “Wedding Preparations” shift the scene to Britain while evincing the same gimlet eye and brilliant ear for speech patterns. These pieces set the stage for the remarkable ones that follow. Some examine the complex interactions between expatriate Europeans and Indians (“In Love With a Beautiful Girl,” “An Indian Citizen,” “Foreign Wives,” “A Very Special Fate”). Others delineate New York lives: The love affair of “An Intellectual Girl and an Eminent Artiste” depicts a cultural chasm that sex does little to close; “Commensurate Happiness” and “Grandmother” feature stinging portraits of breathtakingly selfish people preying on the kinder-hearted. The chilling final story, “Aphrodisiac,” takes selfishness to a whole new level in its tale of a naïve Cambridge graduate and aspiring novelist who returns to New Delhi and becomes enmeshed in the shameless manipulations of his brother’s wife. Despite all the bad behavior on display, the acuity of Jhabvala’s observations and the clarity of her prose make this collection exhilarating rather than depressing.

Brilliant, unsparing examinations of the human condition in all its variety.