Description
The Way Mad Men Smell is a collection of ten stories that move between the real, the unreal, and the surreal, weaving themes of love, loss, memory, betrayal, and resilience. The characters — whether it is Rati, the bullied child; Nangu, the manipulative father; or the elderly woman in Sixty-five — carry within them both fragility and strength. Award-winning tales like ‘Blue-eyed Brown Aunt’ probe caste, violence, and innocence, while ‘The Last Bullock Cart’ explores healing and friendship through a dyslexic child’s journey. From the haunting grief of ‘My Father’s Ghost’ to the imaginative play of ‘Rebirth’, each narrative offers a vivid window into the human condition. Ten of the stories have already appeared in acclaimed journals across the US, Singapore, and India, marking the collection as both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Babitha Marina Justin’s stories weave a narrative magic that’s irresistible. You are carried along by swift-flowing tales about women and men entangled in passion and desire, pain and loss, grief and violence. Yet, hope and courage shine forth in them. — Paul Zacharia
The Way Madmen Smell is a collection of ten stories that will resonate with readers for a long time to come. — A J Thomas
Stark in portrayal, uncompromising in honesty, and unusual in thematic value, the ten stories by Babitha Marina Justin wring their way to your heart. The least else that can be said is that this is a collection worthy of the finest of awards. — Dhruba Hazarika
This collection exists because someone writes unguarded, unashamed, and absolutely alive to the body, where the vernacular is no longer localised, and the relationships, the silences, and the bodies are unmistakably Indian. — Smita Sahay
The narrative voice in almost every story is that of a sensitive, sinned against-and-sinning human with an egalitarian, catholic outlook, fighting colour and caste prejudice, hypocrisy, domestic violence, and patriarchy with varying degrees of success. — Geetha Nair G
Babitha’s prose magnifies focus on the intricate threads that make up the fabric of life — we are, at once, haunted and hunted by memories, love, and hate. Rendered in a voice so fragile and profound, this collection reminds us what and who we really are. — Sonakshi Srivastava
Babitha Marina Justin is a writer and visual artist who moves easily between a paintbrush and a pen. Her poetry lingers on memory, gender, and the small intimacies of everyday life, with a voice that can be tender one moment and uncompromising the next. She has written nine books, including three poetry collections, Of Fireflies, Guns and the Hills (2015), I Cook My Own Feast (2019), and Forty-Five Shades of Brown (2023). She also co-edited salt, pepper and silver linings: celebrating our grandmothers (2019), a tribute to resilience and inheritance.
