The Ancient Anarchist and Other Stories
My First Book - A Collection of Short Stories
Since this is the first book I have put together and decided to publish, I should perhaps talk about myself a little bit first. I was born and brought up in Bangalore, India. Books and literature were always talked about in my home, and there always was an artistic air around me in my family when I was growing up. I started reading novels early on, at the age of eight. I started out with the usual children's books like Famous Five and Goosebumps, but slowly progressed into reading Sherlock Holmes when I was in my early teens. It wasn't until I had read Stephen King that I was really inspired to start writing my own stories.
I remember that my initial motivation to explore writing fiction was a need to understand perspectives that were radically different from mine. So, my first attempt at fiction was a story about Maximilian Robespierre, the post-revolution French dictator. We had a section on him in our history textbook when I was in the ninth grade. I remember reading about his obsessive use of the Guillotine and how he mercilessly beheaded anyone he perceived to be his enemy. I found it utterly horrifying that he thought beheading people was the most appropriate way to get rid of them. But, at the same time, I was also fascinated by him as an individual. I was puzzled by what it was that could have led him to become a monster. There was also an element of irony in his story that was interesting to me: he too was killed by the same machine he used to kill his enemies. So I fictionalized the incidents that I read about him and created a story about Robespierre's journey to the Guillotine. It was through this experiment that I realized my passion for telling stories. As I grew into adulthood, I started reading the works of writers like Kafka and Chekhov. These two writers have had a major influence on me. As I wrote bigger stories and constructed more complex narratives, I began to fall in love with the art of putting words together to make meaning and create worlds.
Bhaasita Athani
December 7, 2022
The above is the preface to my book published in December 2022.
Audiobook
In July 2024, the title story of my book, The Ancient Anarchist was made into an immersive audiobook, thanks to my dad, Pavamana Athani and his team at Qiwi audio - a start-up that has pioneered immersive AI narration and audio storytelling. When I first heard the audiobook version of the story, it took me no longer than five minutes to forget that this was a story I had written! The voices of the characters and the sounds of the pebbles beneath their feet and the birds in the distance brought my own imagination back to life in my ears.
More of my stories
I now write all of my fiction exclusively here, on Substack, along with a broad range of non-fiction writings, from politics and culture to the human condition. All of the content I have written so far on Substack is available for free. If you enjoy my writings, do buy my book to get a glimpse of the stories I wrote during my formative years. I would highly encourage you to listen to the audiobook version of The Ancient Anarchist if you want to be one of the first to experience the wonders of our brave new AI world. I promise you won’t stop listening till you finish.
Purchase links
Here is a comprehensive list of purchase links for my book and the title story’s audiobook version. I have included links for readers and listeners in Canada. But, they are available for purchase in the U.S., India, the U.K. and most other parts of the world, so search for The Ancient Anarchist and Other Stories on Amazon, Kindle, Google Play Books, Kobo, Spotify or Audible to find my book.
Book
Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Ancient-Anarchist-Other-Stories/dp/B0BQC5L6HF/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1
Google Play Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Bhaasita_Athani_The_Ancient_Anarchist_and_Other_St?id=PMylEAAAQBAJ&hl=en
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-ancient-anarchist-and-other-stories
Audiobook
Spotify:
Google Play Books:
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-ancient-anarchist
Audible: