The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises

Its a simple car bomb, and its rigged to a busload of schoolgirls. No one knows it is there except for me.

Unpleasant truths await a Sri Lankan president in the back of a London cab. An advertising agency has to come to terms with a blown-up collection of its employees penises. A man presumed missing, quietly journals by the sea. A being dispassionately recalls the numerous births it had taken and absurd fates it had to endure. An Englishman, a Dutchman and a Portuguese man walk into a Ceylon bar with grand narcotic designs.

A masterful blend of dry wit, morbid charm and earnest observations, Booker-winning author Shehan Karunatilakas The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises is a collection of fantastic short stories that serves up fantasies for both doomsday and everyday, marking the return of one of South Asias most compelling storytellers.