Memories and Impressions of Switzerland: Ten Short Stories by Anita Sumariwalla. Published in 2011 by Xlibris Corporation, 1663, Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, Indiana 47403, USA. Pp: 639. Price: $ 23.99 (paperback), $ 34.99 (hardback), $ 9.99 (eBook).
It’s a small photograph, but so revealing.
A lovely face; youngish; large questioning eyes that will accept nothing less than the truth. A wide, broad forehead; a dimpled, friendly smile. A face belonging to a person you cannot but be friendly with. So tell us, dear Anita, what is your third book going to be about?
Having brought readers Alexa-Alessandra:
A Story of Love, Anita Sumariwalla has now created a memorable anthology of short stories. She devises plots that are intriguing, characters so real that if you just stretch your hand, you can make friends with them, good and bad, but never so bad as to be repulsive. They are the memories and impressions created out of her deep affection for Switzerland, the country of her birth and childhood.
Sumariwalla was born in a hamlet nestled in the hills of the French speaking part of Switzerland, between Lausanne and Geneva. While a child, however, her family moved to Basel, the German speaking part of the country, but she still felt more at home in the French speaking part. She has travelled extensively almost all over the world, meeting and observing people who become characters in her stories.
She met her husband-to-be, Rustom (Russy) Sumariwalla, in Switzerland, which led to her immigrating to the US.
In 1965, they decided to make Switzerland their home, but unfortunately it did not work out for Russy so they returned to the US a year later. But Switzerland was in her blood and she made no less than 35 extended trips to the country to meet her family and walk in her beloved Swiss mountains.
Her book, Memories and Impressions of Switzerland comprising 10 short stories, is dedicated to her late mother Marta Hurlimann and her husband. Each of the 10 stories is a masterpiece in itself with a strong plot, living characters and different and difficult situations. Now and again one senses a strong French influence in the writer’s turn of phrase and choice of expressions, which add a piquant charm to her narrative. The very titles are intriguing ¯ "Appendicitis Helps a Dream Come True,” "Painful Discoveries,” "Purchased Silence,” "The Stolen Money,” and so on.
The sketches and drawings by her mother open all the stories, and there is a key to characters at the end of each tale. Most important is the typesetting, with a large font that is singularly easy on the eye.
Each reader will find a favorite in at least one of these 10 stories. For this reviewer, they were all favorites — suspenseful, though occasionally sentimental. But this needn’t be frowned upon because sentiment is part of our lives. All the stories have happy endings, which is somewhat unusual in these cynical times. All in all, Anita’s collection of short stories is a breath of fresh air, as wholesome as the mountain landscape that inspired it.
BURJOR K. KARANJIA