Tokyo Cancelled

I'm reading a pseudo-novel at the moment called Tokyo Cancelled by Rana Dasgupta. I mean the cover says it's a "brilliant first novel" (aren't they all?) but it's really a collection of short stories on the same model as The Canterbury Tales . Thirteen people are delayed in an airport in the middle of the night with nowhere else to go until the plane in the morning. They are from all over the world (Japan, USA and India are mentioned.) They spend this time supposedly telling each other the stories that fill the book. These stories mimick the form of fairytaleswith quite simple language and beautilful princesses and young children being left in boxes to be raised by strangers and having mysterious destinies and magical powers.

But, unlike Chaucer's stories, they really don't lend themselves to being read out loud; they're far too long and are far too programmatic. So far they seem preoccupied with themes of colonialism and post-colonialism and echoes of Indian mythology (why oh why are Indian writers always talking about monkey armies?). I don't mind using the airport as a framing device but I really think there should be more attention to making it more realistic by making the stories more different, making the tellers of the tales more distinct.

Maybe it will improve in the next few tales.