Blurb:
A City Full of Stories is a collection of short fiction stories, divided into three volumes. All stories bring to life the magical cities of Mumbai and adjoining Thane. Hence the name A City Full of Stories. Volume 1 contains 12 short stories. Volume 2 contains 4 medium-length stories. Volume 3 contains a novella - ‘CUPID OVER COFFEE’. The story unravels two propositions of love, by two different men - Flight Lieutenant Manoj Bisht and Anand Ramakrishnan, a Mumbai based IT professional, to the protagonist Ananya Bhattacharya, in contrasting styles - more importantly, a decade apart. The story spans across a decade of Ananya’s life, her growth, struggles and her response to both the propositions, all over different forms of coffee.
The stories are bound to bring the reader a range of emotions and thoughts connecting to the characters’ lives. The narratives are also contrasting as can be. Join the author in exploring a cocktail of simplicity and depth of Mumbai’s stories. Don’t forget to read the Author’s Notes which reveal the secret sauce at the end of each story.
My Review:
A City Full of Stories is a collection of contrasting stories presenting diverse characters. The stories are a combination of emotional, tragic, romantic, and inspiring moments of the characters’ lives.
I really liked the short story “The White Dress”. It kept me guessing and ultimately left me in a burst of spilling laughter.
Many of the stories are about how a typical urban mind works—the confusion, chaos, and clarity. A new way of storytelling called ‘thought fiction’ is used. One of the stories in this genre “Vanishing Vagabond & The Forest Fire” is pretty deep. I read it twice to understand what the writer intends to present. I am pretty sure that there are some things that I can still catch up on.
The novella “Cupid Over Coffee” is an interesting journey of the protagonist, Ananya, over the span of a decade. The story is different from most of the other stories in the romance genre. It is about finding yourself and loving yourself before loving anyone else. Though I do feel that the story could have ended better. The author could have made it about the second chance at love, given the title of the story.
The writing style is easy to understand. The author has tried to maintain suspense in some stories, which is later cleared through the author’s note.
The stories are obvious yet so unique. These are the characters you see on a local train or on the streets while travelling in a cab, but don’t pay attention to. The author has very smartly brought them together in this book.
After reading this book, I am pretty sure, I am going to pay more attention to the people around me and their stories.
The title and the cover of the book represent the idea behind this book aptly.
I would recommend this book to those looking for something light to read and who are not picky about genres.