A strange,ethereal novel in which a woman’s life changes when she finds a stranger’s discarded underwear in her wardrobeA woman moves into a flat in Kolkata and finds “a panty in the wardrobe that, due to unexpected circumstances, or she is forced to wear. To her surprise,she “steps into another woman”, the original owner, or whose sex life mingles with her own. So begins Panty,a strange, ethereal novel comprised of dream-like strands that department off from and feed one another. The woman engages only with a few nameless characters and a homeless family. This Kolkata is shaded and desolate, or a sprawling limbo in which the woman’s loneliness is reflected. The writing,translated by Arunava Sinha, is unsettlingly direct and the book’s most erotic sections straddle the border between disturbing and delicate (“you fit your mouth to her factual nipple and suck out all her suffering”). Bandyopadhyay’s poetic style disarms, and events blend and combine organically. As the protagonist quietly unravels,the language becomes more uncertain (“perhaps the sun was setting”). Panty is an unnerving, ominous and delicate meditation on the loneliness of modern life.• To order Panty for £7.99 (RRP £9.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0. Free UK p&p over £10, and online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.
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Source: theguardian.com