Author: Milan Vohra
Publisher: Self Published
What is the most interesting date you have had?
Mates, Dates and Double Takes is a collection of three stories
that explore how people meet their first love and how significant minor things
can be at times. Sandwich Soulmates is a heartwarming story of how Mahira and her friends bunk college to go see a mushy movie on V-day, and sees a guy
at the food court ordering the same sandwich she likes, and something clicks
when Prithvi hears Mahira’s phone ringing. Since their tastes match, both in
Sandwiches and Music, are they just mates, or something more? A Double Blind
Date is a story that unfolds entirely in text messages between Mihika,
Raina, Shlok and Pranav. With none of them having met each other before, this string
of messages is the only key to unlocking the fate of the blind date. Its Not
Fiction is Shayari’s story of a chance encounter with a Hungarian guy Matus
on a train from Brussels to Paris, enroute her internship. What begins as a
coffee in the train encounter might just pave way to a larger scheme of things,
that no one could have predicted.
All the three stories are wonderfully crafted and explore the idea of first love in an interesting manner. The storytelling is quite vivid, and the imagery as well as the words are able to paint a virtual picture of the things as they happen. In the first story Sandwich Soulmates, I loved the way food and music were used to depict the idea of soulmates, and how things tumble out one after the other. Slow dance of exploring each other through their choices was done exquisitely by Mahira and Prithvi and the scares in between kept the story realistic. The climax was quite interesting, and I would love to see them come together to see how their lives pan out some day. In Double Blind Date, the idea of using only text messages is an interesting way to give an insight into the characters mind and their idea of love and a blind date. The text messages seem quite organic with emojis and non-stop texts and angry texts, and the way the last text pans out defines the true spirit of a date and V-day. It’s Not Fiction is a story that was quite fresh, and while it dealt with an interesting subject that defies logic, it somehow felt relatable, and I think that’s the best thing about this story. Overall, the stories imbibe the idea of love in a manner that a reader can relate and feel a part of the story in some part or the other. the climaxes of all the 3 stories are heart melting, and make for an excellent closure for the idea they wish to portray. There are some minute issues with the editing, but nothing that hampers the overall experience of reading the book.
Milan has crafted some amazing characters in
Mahira, Prithvi, Mihika, Shlok and the rest, and each of them is worthy of
telling their own story, and it is interesting to see that in a short story,
the individuality of each characters jumps out as the story flows. I loved the
fact that the characters have their space to come out and none of them feels
artificial. It is but natural to actually get excited and feel that this
character is eerily similar to someone we know and can relate to.
As is with Milan’s stories, the music that
flows through the pages is an absolute delight, and I would suggest you create
a playlist while you read which can enhance the experience of the story.
Overall, a definite recommendation if you are
a romantic, and it scores a 4.19/5 for me.
Grab a copy of the book here.
Also, you can check out the playlist I created from the songs and bands referred in the book here.
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