The Greatest Enemy of Rain presents fourteen memorable short stories about the mundane and mysterious aspects of everyday life of the eccentric and oddball characters that occupy its pages. These unforgettable men and women grapple with questions of life and death, newfound freedoms, lifelong vendettas, love and longing, and memories of days gone by.
In ‘The Greatest Enemy of Rain’, Gopi recounts the ups and downs of his lifelong quest to outsmart a formidable enemy—the persistent Kerala rain. In the ancient India of ‘These New Fangled Ways’, Mista decides to do what no one has done until then—cooking over fire—even as her parents swoon and faint in the background. In ‘Shabari and Anita’, a couple eschews the humdrum activity of daily life to pursue new trends in men’s fashion and beauty at their shiny new salon. ‘The Answer’ is a befitting response to the epic highs and lows of a supercomputer tasked with proving the existence of God.
Written with Manu Bhattathiri’s characteristic wit and humour, The Greatest Enemy of Rain is a breezy exploration of the peculiarities of human nature.
MANU BHATTATHIRI is a Keralite settled in Bengaluru. He has worked as an advertising copywriter, a journalist, and a college lecturer. At present he co-owns a small advertising agency. His previous book, Savithri’s Special Room and Other Stories, was widely praised and shortlisted for numerous awards. He is the author of two novels, The Town That Laughed, and The Oracle of Karuthupuzha.