Two new stories by Akhil Yerrapally bring in dark themes of life’s harsh reality. While his works have been discussed before here, his newer pieces “The Maelstorm” and “Mule” both contrast in tone in comparison to “The Unforgiving Jungle,” where it captures to intimidating beauty of the forest, but similar to “Foxtrot,” a story of loss.
“The Maelstorm” is a short story that depicts a man on his horse struggling to find shelter in the harsh winter storm. The story also depicts humanity’s ceaseless survival against the unchanging elements, which portrays the everlasting battle against man’s resillience and the unrelenting character of nature. While there isn’t much inspiration Yerrapally took to write “The Maelstorm,” he was compelled to write when school was cancelled due to a snow storm in January. He picked the word maelstorm for the title because its tone struck him with such a punch.
“The Mule” is another short story, this time not on unstoppable nature, but rather the life of someone working for the cartel in Guadalajara, Mexico. Unlike “The Maelstorm,” “The Mule” is more centered on entertainment rather than expressing deeper meanings about life, but it hints on the lack of trust in the environment: “they may talk about high-class alcohol and colorful suits, but deep within, there’s always a sense of danger, a sense of brooding and loss.”
“[I] encourage reading them and I hope you see the artistry and complexity…” -Akhil Yerrapally
The Maelstorm: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eTgY7-e5aFJ9JP0FBIo3QKFDM52IUEdE6yecZtcjbks/edit
