Pardeep Toor is the winner of the PEN American Dau Prize, and his writing has appeared in the Best Debut Short Stories 2021, Southern Humanities Review, Electric Literature, Catapult, and Longreads. His short story collection, Hands (Cornerstone Press) was published in April 2026. He grew up in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, and is currently a librarian in Colorado. More: pardeeptoor.com
SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory – what’s it about and what inspired you to write it?
Pardeep Toor: I can’t say there was a single inspiration for this book but there was inspiration for the individual stories that eventually became the book. My process might be a little different than most folks. Generally, my inspiration for a story is a singular moment (sometimes the climax, sometimes not) and then I write a story around that moment.
For example, in the first story, “Gatsby,” I wanted the characters to be in a dingy 1990s basement watching old wrestling tapes and discovering adult magazines for the first time (is this based on my life? I’ll never tell!). Then I wrote the beginning and end of the story around this moment.
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This was the same process for “Dinner Party,” only this time I was writing around the drunken sari scene.
So, I had multiple inspirations for moments or scenes that then morphed into those stories. I think it would be too simple to say that all these inspirations came from my own life experiences. As the collection grew, the characters themselves inspired their own stories. It was important for me to listen to my characters as much as I directed them on the page.SunLit: Place the excerpt you selected in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole and why did you select it?Toor: I selected this excerpt because it’s Hans’s origin story and every hero/antihero needs an origin story. I chose a scene in high school because of the universality of the high school experience. Everyone can relate to being an outsider in high school and I wanted to use the reader’s own memories and experiences to create affinity with Hans and his immigrant struggle.
I also think origin stories are incredibly important to fully understand a character. An origin story develops a character’s logic, ambitions, and worldview. Once I was able to establish these things for Hans, I could conform his actions to align with his origin story.
Dusty Rhodes was the son of a plumber so he never gave up. Bret “The Hitman” Hart never trusted anyone after the Montreal Screwjob. And Hans is an immigrant desperately seeking the American Dream as retaliation against those who never accepted him. These origin stories dictate a character’s actions and motives and that’s why I wanted to share this foundational excerpt.
“Hands”
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SunLit: What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write?
Toor: Is this a polite way to ask if these stories are about me and my life? I’m not going to take the bait. I plead the Fifth!
I think all writing stems from our life experiences. I grew up in a very blue-collar environment. My parents never went to college and worked multiple odd jobs after immigrating to Canada and the United States. I wanted to write about this sometimes-seedy underbelly immigrant experience that I think is underrepresented in South Asian literature in North America.
I’ve been collecting anecdotes and character traits from my life experiences for as long as I could jot down notes and many of them appear in these stories in some form.
Then, of course, all the writers that I adore significantly influenced these stories. I can’t stop reading Saadat Hassan Manto, Denis Johnson, Avni Doshi, Julie Otsuka, and James Alan McPherson. They have all been inspirations. There are too many others to fairly list out here.
SunLit: What did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?
Toor: This book was an exercise in discovering my writing style. I try to write simply. I’m brief and direct. But I wasn’t sure if it was working or resonating until I received feedback from peers and literary journals. That feedback was important to ensure that my writing style was indeed telling a meaningful and relatable story. Then I was able to double-down on my style and focus on the content of the stories.
Writing is such an experimental process. The ideas in your head never truly illuminate the page in the way you imagined them. Sentences must be continuously made and remade until we’re fortunate enough to achieve a fraction of what we dreamed up in our minds.
This collection allowed me to feel secure about my writing style and then practice it story after story, in an attempt to get as close to the original aspiration as possible.
SunLit: What were the biggest challenges you faced in writing this book?
Toor: I wanted this book to be immersed in the South Asian (specifically Punjabi) blue-collar immigrant experience and that meant adapting the language and tone into English. I thought of these stories in Punjabi in my head. The dialogue was exclusively Punjabi.
But then I had to translate that into English on the page while still maintaining the meaning and impact of the scene or message. This process of translation is always challenging but also rewarding because it required me to obsess over each sentence to ensure that the essence of the story was properly relayed.
SunLit: What do you want readers to take from this book?
Toor: I want this book to add to the readers’ understanding of the immigrant experience. I want it to supplement what readers think they know about immigrants and their pursuit of the American Dream.
It’s critical for immigrant stories to permeate our reading and conversations given the political rhetoric that is preying on stereotypes and misconceptions of folks striving for a better life in America. It’s never been harder to make it in America and I want readers to see that through Hans’s eyes and then see it in individuals in their respective communities.
SunLit: The stories in this collection are connected around a single character, Hans. Are there more Hans stories in the works? What happens to Hans next?
Toor: While writing this collection, Hans became a family member that I never wanted. My life was so much better without him! I hinted at this earlier, but your characters do take on a life of their own over time. I’ve spent hundreds of hours with Hans, trying to mimic his thoughts and actions.
Eventually, Hans’s persona was so formed that he became predictable on the page. For example, the story “Tony and Jim’s” is completely driven by Hans. Yes, it’s true that I wrote it. But Hans led it with his disgusting thoughts and manipulative behavior. I was following Hans’s lead. I’m not sure if there will be more stories about Hans. He’s lying dormant right now but I’m sure he’ll eventually wake up from a drunken haze and pull me in some undesirable direction.
SunLit: Tell us about your next project.
Toor: I started writing this book before I had kids. Now I have two boys (4 and 2) and I’ve become obsessed with fatherhood as a result. Becoming a father has made me think about my own dad and childhood. These are the themes I plan on exploring in my next project but it’s too early to say much more.
Not surprisingly, my boys will dominate my writing just like they took over the rest of my life! I love them so much. I can’t wait to write about the joy of being their dad.
A few more quick items
Currently on your nightstand for recreational reading: Book 3 of “Machineries of Empire: Revenant Gun”
First book you remember really making an impression on you as a kid: “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card
Best writing advice you’ve ever received: Be open to feedback. Listen to everybody. But, in the end, only trust your instincts.
Favorite fictional literary character: Fuckhead from Denis Johnson’s “Jesus’ Son”
Literary guilty pleasure (title or genre): I’m still a sucker for good sports writing, even though it’s harder and harder to find these days.
Digital, print or audio – favorite medium to consume literature: Print. Audio puts me to sleep every time!
One book you’ve read multiple times: “Pedro Paramo” by Juan Rulfo, because I’m still trying to understand it
Other than writing utensils, one thing you must have within reach when you write: YouTube to watch old wrestling matches (1980s and 1990s only, the post 2000 matches are too loud)
Best antidote for writer’s block: Go for a run.
Most valuable beta reader: My dear friends Patrick Hayes and Tim Loperfido
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