Penguin Evergreens || Ismat Chughtai ||

The Quilt: Stories is a collection of liberating short stories that feature women.

This collection was originally in Urdu and has been translated into English. The book is remarkable for its boldness, humour and satirical elements. The stories are about sex, lust and relationships.

Two of the stories that stand out in the collection are Homemaker, which is about an erstwhile prostitute and another story about a painter and his female inspiration. The stories break several social conventions and at the time of publishing, were even considered to be obscene for their bold themes.

The Quilt: Stories is an illuminating book for its honesty, unabashed portrayal of reality and for its unconventional take on gender and sexuality. It was published by Penguin India in 2011 and is available in paperback.