Book Review: Namaste Trump and Other Stories by Tabish Khair

Cristina M. Gámez-Fernández reviews Tabish Khair’s Namaste Trump and Other Stories (Published by Interlink books, 2023) observing how these stories serve as contemplative pearls, exploring the intricacies of both human and non-human existence.

Namaste Trump and Other Stories comprises a collection of ten tales authored by Denmark-based Indian writer Tabish Khair. Although six of these stories were previously published separately in different outlets in India, the UK or US, their masterly gathering coheres this volume in impressive ways. A relatively new practice in Khair’s fiction, the book also includes a glossary featuring over seventy terms, each accompanied with explanations to help readers in grasping the culturally specific contexts of these captivating narratives. 

Khair is a prolific author with a diverse body of fictional work, encompassing drama, such as The One Percent Agency (2014); poetry, including When Parallel Lines Meet (2000), Man of Glass: Poems (2010), and Quarantined Sonnets: Sex, Money and Shakespeare (2020); more than five novels, including, among others, The Thing about Thugs (2010), Just Another Jihadi Jane (2014), and The Body by the Shore (2022); and short stories, with Namaste Trump and Other Stories being published 2023.