Author: Sonia Sahijwani
Publisher: BecomeShakespeare.com
A lot has been written in and around the law
in fiction, and imagining a short story to come out in a legal context is
difficult, right?
Yours Legally by Sonia Sahijwani is a collection of 6
short stories which have a centre around the legal profession, and each of the
story bears a connection to the 6 elements of the legal profession- The Case,
The Court, The Counsel, The Complainant. The confinement and The Criminal.
Another thing that makes the book unique is that all the 6 stories are connected
by a single character, Sia. The first story 99 vs Ninyanve is the story
where we see the concept of the complainant coming forward and how Sia realizes
why her boss had taken up the case. The Kid on the last Bench was a
lesson for Sia that it might be said that the law is blind, but the court takes
cognizance of whatever happens before it and considers it in its entirety.
Indian Justice system has a lot of pending cases, and one of which features as
the third story in the book The Wait for Item No. 25 where Sia is faced
with a fact, no matter how late it is, the system never fails in delivering
justice. Behind Those Dark Shades is a true story encountered by the
author and speaks volumes about the dedication of the counsels to their cases. Jail
No. 5 and Qaidi No. 90 are two parts of a complete story where we
have an inside account of the Jails in India, as well as an account of The
Criminal housed inside it.
Yours Legally is an amazing read that explores the subject
of law from a very fresh perspective. Being an insider’s account, the incidents
are wonderfully created and as a reader, one can immerse themselves in the
story, moving with Sia. The language is quite simple to understand and that is
a point that works both ways for me. The story telling is engaging and Sonia
has used quite a lot of legal terms which are duly explained. I loved the concept
of relating each story with an element in the profession which is mentioned
quite clearly with each story. Another thing that I loved was that each story
began with a Latin phrase, relating to the legal profession, as well as the
story.
The characterization if Sia is quite
realistic and it was a pleasure journeying around her in a city in North India
and learning few things about the legal system through her eyes. The character
has been shown to having many facets to her personality-she is chirpy, bubbly,
serious, emphatic and what not.
Overall, the book is a decent read and scores a 3.56/5 for me.
Get a copy here.
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