Readers pick short stories for an experience—something new, something enchanting, something that gives them a reason to read. With novels, there isn’t that expectation; except for good writing, novels always offer a journey and expansiveness. Short stories, though an exciting genre, often lack the ability to hold a reader’s attention for long. This is why publishers are often heard saying, “Short stories are hard to sell.”

Life on Mars, a collection of 15 short stories, is the 25th book by Namita Gokhale and serves as the latest example of what all an author can do with short stories. Gokhale’s imprint on these stories, weaving together women’s experiences while developing a sense of timeless relatability, makes this short story collection very absorbing. Gokhale amalgamated mythology and reality to develop some of the most “bohemian” women characters.

Gokhale’s characters meander, make decisions while figuring things out, and act without interference from external agencies or institutions like marriage or conventional morality—they are driven by their own sense of morality.

The story Savithri and the Squirrels follows Savithri, who works at a matrimonial agency. It is narrated by a writer researching the matrimonial service sector for a German magazine. Savithri claimed to be married, but whether her husband existed, had deserted her, or was simply absent was something the narrator never inquired about. She would feed squirrels—believing them to be dear to Lord Ram. She tells Sita, didn’t feed squirrels. Perhaps to convey to herself that she has not been deserted due to a doubt about her character. In the end, she died peacefully on the street.

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