India, Sept. 12 -- Imagine Shashi from English Vinglish being confident right from the beginning of the film, and responding to her husband's condescension. What if she had left him for the French chef? Imagine her life if she had jettisoned the marriage and family that didn't value her or her skills.

Shanta Gokhale's collection of 12 short stories, The Way Home, which presents marriage from the woman's perspective, provides multiple answers to questions about situations much like the one in the hit Sridevi film. It also shows how women often manipulate the patriarchal institution to make it meet their own needs, and differentiate it from relationships based on ideas of love and commitment.

Short story collections can be tricky. Often, ...