Is 'Welcome to Paradise' by Twinkle Khanna her most compelling work yet?
Twinkle Khanna is often boxed into that breezy, witty columnist persona—yes, the one who zings and zaps her way through society columns with sarcasm sharper than a sushi chef’s knife. But Welcome to Paradise refuses to be defined by genre expectations. It’s not just funny. It’s reflective. It doesn’t simply entertain. It stirs.
Across 213 pages, Khanna takes us on a journey that’s equal parts absurd and astute. Published by Juggernaut Books in 2023, this anthology doesn’t follow a predictable template. It dances between grief, guilt, loneliness, and laughter with a rhythm that feels entirely her own. The stories don’t shout. They nudge. They tickle your humour bone even as they pinch your heart.
Also read: One Summer by JoAnn Ross-A stunning emotional saga about second chances, community, and personal rebirth.
At its core, this book captures how humans deal with the three big d’s—death, desire, and deception—with a straight face and a wink. The absurdity of how we grieve, how we cope, and how we lie to ourselves and others forms the meat of this collection.
The storytelling voice is deeply observational—never preachy, always piercing. With every story, Khanna strips away facades and leaves her characters emotionally naked in front of the reader. No easy bows. No clichéd conclusions. Just broken people making questionable decisions—sound familiar?
Editor's pick-"Devious" by Lisa Jackson – A gripping and suspenseful thriller that exposes how little we truly know those closest to us.
What makes this book different from her previous works?
You might’ve read Mrs Funnybones or Pyjamas Are Forgiving—and expected another light-hearted jab at modern life. You’ll find humour here too. But it’s not the kind that makes you laugh out loud in public. It’s the kind that makes you smirk, then stop, and then… wonder.
In Welcome to Paradise, Khanna moves into darker, more poignant terrain. The wit is quieter, more mature, and sometimes uncomfortably accurate. It reminds you that laughter is a coping mechanism, not an escape route.
The characters in this collection aren’t caricatures. They are fleshed-out, painfully human, and occasionally unlikeable (which, in a way, makes them even more loveable). And here’s what stands out—Khanna writes about death, loss, and family drama not with a lens of drama, but of daily absurdity.
This book is a new story and a new tone. A new layer of Twinkle Khanna as a storyteller.
Must read: Tough Customer by Sandra Brown – A thrilling ride or a formulaic repeat?
Who are the protagonists, and do they feel so real?
Khanna's characters don’t feel like fiction. They feel like people we know, people we avoid at weddings, people we text at midnight but never meet. Here’s a quick glance at four of them:
-
Huma: Stuck between a cemetery and a crematorium—literally. Her family debates over Amma's funeral rites while slinging pig jokes and penis euphemisms. It’s grotesque. It’s real. It’s unforgettable.
-
Madhura Desai: This eighty-something woman writes to the Chief Justice suggesting a national policy on dying. You laugh, then gasp, then reflect. Who decides when life is “enough”?
-
Nusrat: A mother who has lost her voice and her child. Her silence screams through the pages. You can almost hear the sound of heartbreak in the white spaces between paragraphs.
-
Amita: She talks to her husband about her breast implants but withholds the truth about Bua and Bangalore. It’s a story about self-image, secrets, and selective honesty.
Each character is meticulously drawn, painfully flawed, and hauntingly believable.
What happens when a family splits over Amma’s body?
In the opening story, the dark humour unfolds quickly. Amma has died. The family—already splintered in beliefs—breaks into two camps: one that wants her buried, another that insists on cremation.
Sounds like your average family drama?
Think again.
Arguments turn surreal, comical, and almost philosophical. At one point, there’s a serious debate over pigs and penises. These aren’t just jabs for shock value; they represent how death forces the living to reveal their true selves. Everyone’s trying to outdo the other in grief etiquette, all while nursing old wounds and personal agendas.
This is Khanna’s brilliance at work—she lets the chaos speak for itself.
Why did Madhura write to the Chief Justice about death?
In “Nearly Departed,” Khanna pushes the boundaries of how we discuss aging and death. Madhura Desai writes a public email suggesting a national policy with a “cut-off age” to die.
It’s absurd. It’s brilliant. And it’s horrifyingly plausible.
Madhura’s logic is darkly hilarious: If governments can decide when you marry, vote, or drink, why not when you die? The story quickly escalates into a national debate. News anchors, social media pundits, and spiritual leaders join the fray.
What’s clever here is Khanna’s satirical eye. Through humour, she shows how society avoids difficult conversations until someone dares to voice them—in the most inappropriate way possible.
And guess what? The way Madhura handles it… you kind of wish she ran for office.
How does Nusrat mourn in silence on the shores of Satpati?
You know that kind of sorrow that doesn’t cry, doesn’t shout, but quietly ruins you from the inside out? That’s Nusrat. She doesn’t speak anymore. Her son is gone, and so is her voice. But in that silence lies the most devastating scream you’ll never hear.
Set against the hauntingly calm backdrop of Satpati’s shoreline, this story doesn’t need dramatic plot twists. Its strength lies in what’s not said. The mother’s pain ripples through every sentence, like a tide that always returns but never rests.
And yet, Twinkle Khanna resists turning this into a sob story. Instead, she makes us sit with Nusrat’s pain—uncomfortable, yes, but necessary. Grief, in this story, is not linear. It meanders. It loops back. It makes you ask, how do you live when the centre of your world disappears?
Khanna paints a portrait of maternal despair that is as poetic as it is piercing. And if you've ever lost something you couldn't replace, you’ll see yourself in Nusrat.
What’s the story behind Amita’s breast implants and beautiful men?
Marriages are weird. There are things we share with our partners… and then there are things we hide just well enough to avoid starting a conversation.
Amita’s tale isn’t just about silicone and secrets. It’s about identity. About how we build ourselves—not just physically, but emotionally—to feel enough. She’s had implants. She tells her husband. But she keeps quiet about other things—like Bua, Bangalore, and a beautiful man who may or may not have meant something.
This story is like a Russian doll of confessions. Each layer you peel off reveals another insecurity, another lie, another longing.
It’s also deeply, uncomfortably relatable.
We all curate versions of ourselves, especially in long-term relationships. We withhold. We package. We pretend. Khanna captures this with such restraint that it almost slips by unnoticed… until it hits you in the gut.
Does Twinkle Khanna mix humour and heartbreak seamlessly?
Think of the most awkward family WhatsApp group fight you've ever seen. Now imagine it narrated by someone who’s equally empathetic and exasperated. That’s Twinkle Khanna’s style in a nutshell.
Her stories work because she never laughs at her characters—she laughs with them, even when they’re falling apart. She knows that real life isn’t either tragic or funny. It’s both, and often at the same time.
Whether it's pig penis debates over Amma’s body or an elderly woman planning her own funeral via email, Khanna finds comedy in the chaos of real life. But it never undermines the grief underneath.
That duality—where you laugh even as your throat tightens—is her gift. And she uses it to maximum impact in Welcome to Paradise.
It’s storytelling that doesn’t just entertain—it disarms you.
Which stories are featured in 'Welcome to Paradise' – and what are they really about?
Let’s talk about the five tales in this anthology and what they really say (beneath the surface).
| Story Title | Surface Plot | What It’s Really About |
|---|---|---|
| The Man from the Garage | Family fights over Amma’s funeral arrangements | Control, unresolved trauma, and the absurdity of tradition |
| Nearly Departed | An old woman wants legal death at 80 | Autonomy, ageism, societal hypocrisy |
| Jelly Sweets | A mother loses her son and her voice | Inarticulate grief, motherhood, isolation |
| Let's Pretend | A woman reveals implants but hides an affair | Identity, guilt, selective vulnerability |
| Welcome to Paradise | A man wakes up from a coma in a fantasy resort run by women | Desire, male fragility, the lies we tell ourselves |
What are the book’s strengths – and its few weaknesses?
🌟 Where it shines:
-
Voice: Khanna’s voice is so unique, you can almost hear her chuckling in the margins.
-
Characters: Flawed, raw, real. You’ll see parts of yourself in each one.
-
Themes: The mix of comedy and melancholy is addictive.
😐 Where it stumbles:
-
Some stories feel too abrupt. Like they were building to something… and then just ended.
-
Not every character’s arc feels complete. (Though maybe that’s the point? Life doesn’t always tie up neatly.)
If we’re holding Khanna to the highest bar—which we should—then we can say this: a few stories deserved more breathing room.
What have critics said about this book?
Twinkle Khanna’s work has garnered plenty of attention, and Welcome to Paradise has drawn praise for its balance of satire and sentiment.
-
Scroll praised Khanna’s “clean lines of prose, edged with humour,” particularly highlighting her vivid description of Bombay’s Ismaili quarter.
-
India Today noted that the stories “effortlessly straddle amusing and poignant.”
-
HuffPost India said Khanna manages to tackle big topics without becoming “a preachy martyr.”
That’s not easy. And in a world where every Instagram influencer seems to have a book deal, Khanna’s prose feels polished, considered, and actually… literary.
How does this book compare to other short story collections?
Looking for more collections to read this summer?
Try these bestselling short story anthologies of 2025:
-
"The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Stories of migration, gender, and resilience, written with poetic force.
-
"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri – A classic exploration of identity, diaspora, and emotional inertia.
What’s a quote from the book that sticks with you?
Every good book leaves you with at least one sentence that lingers in your mind long after you’ve put it down. In Welcome to Paradise, that sentence comes quietly, from the depths of grief and maternal silence:
“Loss feels like the needle of a sewing machine – piercing through and lifting rhythmically; forgotten for a few moments, it slams down again.”
This line is Khanna’s literary precision at its best. She doesn’t overstate the emotion. She underlines it. There’s rhythm to pain, the story reminds us. Just when you think you’ve healed, the needle drops again.
It’s the kind of quote that readers scribble into notebooks, post on Instagram stories, or find themselves whispering late at night. Not because it’s poetic—but because it’s honest. Brutally, brilliantly honest.
Who is Twinkle Khanna – A note on the author?
Twinkle Khanna is no longer just the witty columnist or the former actress who became an entrepreneur. She’s solidified herself as one of India’s most emotionally intelligent storytellers. With three bestselling books already in her belt—Mrs Funnybones, Pyjamas Are Forgiving, and The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad—Khanna has consistently evolved her voice.
Her stories aren’t about big events. They’re about small moments. The kind you don’t realise matter until years later.
She writes like someone who’s lived through awkward dinner conversations, emotional betrayals, solo cries in the car, and post-midnight philosophical arguments with herself. And she makes those the centre of her universe.
Twinkle Khanna isn’t writing to impress anymore. She’s writing to connect—and it shows.
Who published this book?
Let’s talk about Juggernaut Books, the publishing house behind Welcome to Paradise.
Juggernaut is known for backing unconventional Indian voices—authors who break rules, who resist the literary elite’s obsession with the overly academic, and who prefer to speak to readers rather than at them.
Their catalogue includes everything from feminist manifestos to noir thrillers. Choosing Juggernaut as her publisher shows Khanna’s intent: to tell stories on her terms, to a diverse audience.
And the paperback edition of Welcome to Paradise (ISBN: 9789353451882, ₹399) is refreshingly accessible. Not just in price, but in packaging. A Bhavi Mehta cover design that’s equal parts minimal and evocative makes the book an easy pick off any shelf.
Which short story anthologies should you read this summer (2025)?
If you’re a short story enthusiast—or just someone with a short attention span and a long to-be-read list—here are some top recommendations that will complement the emotional and thematic vibes of Khanna’s collection.
| Title | Why You Should Read It |
|---|---|
| The Thing Around Your Neck | Adichie’s stories cut deep with themes of dislocation, race, and love in diaspora communities. |
| Unaccustomed Earth by Lahiri | This Pulitzer-winner gives us characters who try (and fail) to belong. Stories layered in melancholy and beauty. |
| Girls at War by Chinua Achebe | Achebe’s command of narrative turns African political realities into deeply human stories. |
FAQs about Welcome to Paradise
4. Is Twinkle Khanna now a serious writer?
5. Where can I discuss this book with others?
Should you read it? Here’s why
Let’s keep it real: If you want a fast, fun read with substance, Welcome to Paradise is a solid choice. Twinkle Khanna has crafted a book that’s clever without being condescending, emotional without being manipulative, and funny without ever losing heart.
No, it’s not flawless. But neither is life—and that’s exactly why this collection works so well.
Comments