The People Tree-Beetashok Chatterjee

Book: The People Tree
Author: Beetashok Chatterjee
Publisher: Readomania

Do you like reading stories about people?

The People Tree by Beetashok Chatterjee has fourteen stories, a veritable potpourri of tales, each different from the other in style and substance. From the Khalistan insurgency in Punjab to a glimpse of the Mumbai underworld. From a doomed love affair in Hyderabad to a mature gay relationship. From a lifelong friendship formed in unusual circumstances to the pangs of a schoolboy crush to robbing an art museum there is something in this collection for everybody. And more. Love, loss, survival, lust, deception, greed Beetashok Chatterjee has covered them all. And more.

The stories in the collection are among the best I have come across. With a common theme of people and life running across the 14 stories, each of them is quite unique and presents a fresh canvas with each chapter. The storytelling is quite engaging and Beetashok’s narration is simple yet keeps the reader hooked to move to the next page. The language is simple and easy to understand. The one thing that stood out for me was the fact that the stories are drawn from our normal day-to-day life on observations and incidents that we would all have experiences. From coincidences to chance encounters, the stories build upon the very basic human emotions and the author then elevates it to another level with the storytelling. The climax for some of the stories was quite poignant and makes me wonder if they are based on real events.

The characters that feature in the stories are quite relatable and drawn from normal life. They are not extraordinary people, rather ordinary people with extraordinary stories. From a New York Cop to a professional hitman, the characters spread across the spectrum and present stories with a multitude of colors.

If I had to choose, The Little Oxford Dictionary, Ground Zero & The Vintage Car Rally were the stories that stood out for me for they were the ones that made me have a varied range of emotions about the characters.

The book scores a 4.75/5 for me.

Thank you Readomania for providing a media copy in exchange for a honest review.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India here.