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Tentacles Numbing, taking place in present-day Seattle, centers around two Bengali brothers, Ravi and Vavi. The younger brother, Ravi, constantly daydreams about hanging himself, while Vavi lives on the streets in his own drunken world. While Ravi copes with his dreams, Vavi dreams of turning his screenplay, "Tentacles, Numbing" into a movie. Both brothers are struggling to manage their lives as they deal with the death of their parents, nostalgia, and alienation. They try to help each other, but at the same time, they are losing themselves. Ravi tries to get Vavi to live with him rather than on the streets. And Vavi tries to guide Ravi through life, though he, himself cannot face reality. Brandi, Ravi's love interest, helps Ravi to open up, but she also has her own issues to deal with-her ex-boyfriend and drugs. Eastern and Western cultures combine, and a triangle is formed, between Ravi, Vavi, and Brandi-they need each other for love and support, but by the end of the story, while Vavi and Brandi are progressing, Ravi finds himself confused as to what is real and what is just a dream.
About the author
Shome Dasgupta is the author of ten books, including The Seagull And The Urn (HarperCollins India), Spectacles (Word West Press), i am here And You Are Gone (Winner of the 2010 OW Press Fiction Contest), Anklet And Other Stories (Golden Antelope Press), and a poetry collection, Iron Oxide (Assure Press). Forthcoming novels Tentacles Numbing (Thirty West) and The Muu-Antiques (Malarkey Books). His writing has appeared in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Hobart, New Orleans Review, X-R-A-Y, American Book Review, New Delta Review, Magma Poetry, and elsewhere. His fiction and poetry have been anthologized in Best Small Fictions 2019 and Best Small Fictions 2021 (Sonder Press), The &Now Awards 2: The Best Innovative Writing (&Now Books), and Poetic Voices Without Borders 2 (Gival Press). His work has been featured as a storySouth Million Writers Award Notable Story, and his stories and poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, Best Microfiction, Best Of The Net, and the Orison Anthology. He is the series editor of the Wigleaf Top 50. He lives in Lafayette, LA and can be found at www.shomedome.com and @laughingyeti.
