"I Am An Executioner", by Rajesh Parameswaran ****

• Short Stories
• Audiobook
• Indian author
• Originally published 2012
• Debut
• Story #1:  Tiger as narrator, accidentally kills a keeper, eventually develops "instinctive" killing
• Story #2:  Simple man decides to masquerade as a physician, with disastrous results
• Story#3:  Simple minded, yet wise executioner tries to understand his wife
• Story#4:  Narrator, created based on an old photo of a relative of the author's, tries to understand a man considered crazy, also, he speaks to the author, even yells at him regarding the conclusion to the story
• Story #5:  Boy who speaks "Engliphant"
• Story #6:  Woman kills husband...no one pays attention...metaphor for alienation she feels since moving from India to the USA
• Review:   This is a tough review to write.  This collection of short stories is well worth reading, yet inconsistent in quality.  There are fabulous characters, including a tiger as narrator, a man masquerading as a physician, an elephant and a boy who speaks "Engliphant", an alienated immigrant, and more.  The plots are distinct yet connected by the thread of what it means to be an animal....human or otherwise.  Warning...not an uplifting, upbeat collection; rather an intense and thought-provoking collection.   This is a debut collection and I am definitely interested to see where this writer goes with his talents from here!