Wednesday, 7 April 2021

One Dozen English Stories-Abhijit Chakraborty

Book: One Dozen English Stories
Authors: Abhijit Chakraborty
Publisher: Notion Press

One Dozen English Short Stories by Abhijit Chakraborty is a collection of 12 short stories that revolve around the theme of social evils that talk about the lives and the different journeys, experiences and the consequences that the characters face. From assaults to necrophilia, the stories touch upon various topics that are eye opening as well as a bit of a lesson.

Each of the stories has a unique plot, drawn from the stories that we can see around us and from the day to day news that we can read. Abhijit picks up one topic and weaves a story around the aspect that he wants to cover, and creates the story that tugs at the readers’ hearts. The storytelling is quite good in some stories, and that actually helps the reader connect with the plot. Abhijit has also summarized each story before it begins so the reader is a bit prepared as to what is coming up next and that helps soften the blow. The thing that needs to be improved is the language and the grammar as there are a lot of language issues in the storytelling that reduce the experience that the stories bring to the table. Another thing that didn’t work for me was the suddenness in the plot in terms of the climax in some stories which put a sudden break in the plot.

If I had to pick, I would say that Roadside Saviours was my favorite among the 12 stories that form a part of the book because of the simplicity and the manner in which it unfolds.

Overall, a good attempt that can be improved by a second round of editing. The book scores a 2.94/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book here.

No comments:

Post a Comment