The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories by Ankita Sharma

Title:The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories
Author:Ankita Sharma
Pages:135
Price:180 INR/-
Publisher:Humming Words 
Source:review copy(author)
amazon,flipkart
              

         (Ankita Sharma is a blogger and independent publisher,'The Wedding Trousseau.....' is her debut work as an author.You can read her blog posts at hummingwords)

          Short Fiction is the 'in' thing in the desi publishing arena.'The Wedding Trousseau and Other Short Stories' is a collection of eleven short tales of fiction which is inspired by the various shades of life(a welcome change from the assembly line 'anthologies of love' which hit the book stores every other week!).Though the stories don't have a common theme or character which link them,it's pretty evident that they are based on real people and incidents whom the author has met with/experienced in her day to day life.

         The best thing about Ankita's writing is the believability of her characters.From the timid lover in 'The Pink Card' to the hypocritical mother in 'One More Bite',Ankita's characters are all flesh and bones and having their own share of vices and virtues.The writer's attempts at making a satirical dig at the society and it's pretentious approach towards the underprivileged section of people do hit the bull's eye.From maternal bond to puppy love,Sharma explores varied themes through her short,yet poignant tales.The writing is so powerful that some of the stories do manage to disturb and shake you up totally('The Fresh Stock' and 'Courtesy').The writer deserves a pat on her back for giving us a genuine book like this and not succumbing to the 'market pressures'. 

         The book design and lay out are quite appealing with the spacing and font size being quite easy on the eyes.The Cover design is also quite competently done and suits the overall mood of the book.At just about 140 pages,the book is undoubtedly a quick read and can be easily finished in one sitting.

       The book is not entirely devoid of flaws either.As in the case of any collection of short-stories,this work too has got some tales which are quite mediocre.Some stories do miss the mark completely(though they are very few in number) and fail to leave any emotion in the reader's mind.Likewise,some of the stories have an 'incomplete' feel to them and leave you wanting for more!

Verdict-On the whole,this debut work by Ankita Sharma is a decent read and is totally worth your time and money.I'm giving it a 3.75 out of 5.

-nikhimenon

Two for the Heart by Ekta R Garg

(Stories in Pairs is a new series by publisher-turned-author Ekta Garg.The series will essentially feature two novellas which will share two things:a theme and a link.To know more about this series,visit the author's website.This post is going to be a review of the first book in this series)

        The first book in this series,'Two for the Heart' narrates two tales which emphasis the impact of love and it's power to cross boundaries, overcoming all the negative feelings within us.The book opens with 'Proposal' which tells the story of Akshay Mehra and Dr Pooja who are into a marriage of convenience.Akshay's mother is a terminally ill patient and that was the reason why he chose to enter into a wedlock with the famboyant Dr Pooja,though they share nothing in common.Akshay also has a troubled past and the duo are in an agreement to free themselves out of this 'strange arrangement',once his mother succumbs to cancer.'Proposal' is all about their emotional struggles and how they alter their destinies in a positive way.The second story,'Remembrance' is about two sisters,Rose and Helen.Their relationship is on the verge of collapse but that doesn't deter Rose from lending a helping hand to her sister when she needs it, the most.Blood is indeed thicker than water! 

       Ekta's writing is of superior quality.Though the stories are a bit predictable,the emphasis is clearly on the way they have been told.The first one is more of a mature love story between a doctor and a corporate lawyer while the second one portrays the emotional bond between two sisters in a pretty realistic and touching manner.The writing never becomes cheesy or emotionally manipulative which proves that Ekta is indeed a writer to watch out for.There aren't too many characters in either of these stories but that doesn't make these tales dull or boring at any point of time.

      The book has it's own share of flaws though.Some characters felt half-baked and lacked purpose.For instance,in the first story,there is a character named Patrick.The reader never gets to know what kind of a person he really is and only gets the feeling that he is a stalker who is harassing Dr Pooja.Likewise,the situations which made Pooja accept Mehra's proposal to get into their 'strange' agreement is also left un-explained.May be,their characters will recur in the future books in the series,I don't know.

These minor flaws apart,'Two for The Heart' is a decent debut work.Looking forward to the future works by the same author.

Verdict- A decent debut.Rating-3/5

(I received a review copy of this e-book from the author.This post is not a paid review)

Title:Two for Heart
Publisher:Prairesky Publishing
Price:185 INR/-
Author:Ekta R Garg
Pages:70+
Format:E-Book
amazon

-nikhimenon

The Devil's Gate-An impossible Journey by Deepak Kripal

Title:The Devil's Gate-An impossible Journey
Author:Deepak Kripal
Price:175 INR
Source: review copy send by the author
Pages:240+
Publisher:Leadstart/Frog Books
Genre:Fantasy/Thriller

                   I am not sure how many of you have heard about this cute little book called 'The Devil's Gate:An Impossible Journey' by first time author Deepak Kripal which had hit the stores recently.Frankly speaking,even I was not aware about this book till it's author sent me a review request a couple of weeks back.I was a bit apprehensive about choosing this book for review but still decided to give it a try as the blurb managed to impress me.

The Plot :Well,the story is pretty weird.United Animals (U.A.),a secret agency meant for the protection and welfare of the animal kingdom decides to send their special task team comprising of a Cat (Katy) and a Dog (Dug) to the island of five hundred graves,an island which becomes visible only at night and  widely believed to be inhabited by Devils.Their Mission is to negotiate with the Demons and persuade them to allow animals to inhabit the island as human beings are fast destroying their natural habitats.During their pursuit the duo gets an acquaintance in Billy,the tawny fish owl.True to the tag line,'TDG' narrates the story of the trio's impossible journey to meet the ruler of the island of five hundred graves.The climax is open ended leaving room for a sequel.

The Characters: The book has three principal characters.Katy-the stubborn but intelligent Cat;Dug-the 'trained' yet jovial Dog and Billy-the geeky and philosophical Owl.These three characters have been well etched out though the dialogues given to them go overboard quite often.The villain and the peripheral characters are also well written and the author definitely deserves applause for lending some degree of believability to his characters.

The Writing:It's hard to believe that 'TDG' is a debut work.The writing is imaginative,well researched (honestly,I didn't know that there was a prehistoric fish called Dunkleosteus) and packed with enough twists and turns to keep even the most disinterested reader hooked to the proceedings.Except for the heavy philosophical lines which appears often,Deepak has used simple,conversational English to tell his fantasy tale.Infact it's his competent writing which makes even the most implausible of the situations/scenes work.

Possible Inspirations and references: The overall tone of the story is similar to that of the 'Madagascar' series and Nikhil Advani's National Award winning  animation adventure,'Delhi Safari'(animals embarking on an adventurous journey).Though the inspiration is pretty evident,the book never relegates itself to a bargain-basement version of the above two.'TDG' definitely has an original and a solid story to tell and succeeds in it's efforts to a very large extend.Likewise,I believe that the inspiration for the 'island of five hundred graves' comes from the algae island in 'Life of Pi'.

The scenes/stuff which I liked the most in this book-

1.The scene in which Katy meets Dug for the first time.

2.The sequence in which Billy rescues Katy and Dug from Kako.

3.The meaningful dialogues (though their placement and relevance in a genre like this are debatable). Sample this-" I know about a resource that is fading,humanity it is"

What I didn't Like: The book isn't entirely devoid of flaws.

1.The heavy duty philosophical dialogues between the animals (Katy- Dug-Bill) though well written don't quite gel with the overall mood of the book.
2.The pace slackens a bit towards the middle.A little bit of editing could have made these portions crisper.
3.Another thing which I felt is that the animals in the story quite often talks and behaves like humans.

Verdict: On the whole,'The Devil's Gate' is a good read.If you have a penchant for 'Madagascar'/Delhi Safari kind of stories,you will definitely enjoy this journey to the mysterious island! Rating- 3.25/5

-nikhimenon

Banquet On The Dead by Sharath Komarraju

Kauveramma loved life. She was terrified of water. So why was her body found floating gruesomely, hair fanned out, limbs outspread, in the well of the family compound?  Her sons, daughter, grandchildren—some of them resident, others far-flung—assemble at her death with expressions ranging from composed or confused to those of outright maniacal grief.
Things don’t quite fit, and one of them demands an investigation into the mysterious drowning.  Enter a policeman, Inspector Valmiki Nagarajan, and a charming rogue, Hamid Pasha. The latter is an elderly Muslim and a reformed criminal. He and the policeman regard each other with reluctant admiration and gruff affection. The duo interrogates each member of the family and staff in turn, unearthing secrets of their past, and calculating the degrees of their love, hatred or loyalty to Kauveramma and each other.  As it happens, everyone had something to gain from Kauveramma’s banishment from their lives…

When I first read about the book, I kind of liked the plot. I had imagined a laid back setting , lot of relatives and hence lot of secrets layered within the folds of household gossip.

I am glad to say, I wasn't wrong. Moreover I was delighted to see all these fit into this book so picture perfectly. Its a commendable job to make the lady , her three sons , a daughter , and the extended family with such clearity that you could almost imagine them to be moving in front of you. Thats when you get really immersed in the book I feel.

I totally loved the character of Hamid Pasha and together with Nagrajan , the duo does look like tailored for each other pair. I almost wished there were more books involving both of them , a series sort maybe *wishful thinking*


Like each family , Kauveramma's family members are neither good nor bad. Every one has their own issues to deal and Life hasn't really been kind to all. They are people like us - selfish yet caring , kind yet wishful , angry yet restrained. But of course some one did cross the limits and ended up killing the lady who was a mother figure to even the servants of the home. why would some one who is so scared from even showering , go near the well and end up drowning in the same ? Why would some one commit the crime in broad daylight and in presence of people working nearby ? The timeline of events as described by the residents match for some but not all. The proceedings of the day are as routine as different for the day Kauveramma died.

The author has made sure to thicken the plot as much as trying to provide the clues with every person's account of the day and otherwise. Add to this Hamid's charm and easy  going approach to all the facts presented to him , one does get hooked to the book instantly. but as the curtain falls and Hamid gathers everyone one last time to bring forth the murderer , I feel something missing. The "how" was revealed well but the "why" wasn't convincing. I needed a bit more to believe that the people involved in the crime did think and plan it all. when and how of the plan was as important for me as the execution itself.

Overall , this is one of the most enjoyed crime book from an Indian author for me this year.
It reminded me of the Byomkesh bakshi stories I had read some months back and partly gave the feeling of watching a series unfold.

Rating : 4/5

Other details :

Pages : 276
Price : 168 ( at homeshop18.com )

==
This is an author requested review. Thank you Sharath for sending such an interesting read to me. I have already added your other book to my wishlist :D