Author: Yashaswini Balasubramanyam
Publisher: Notion Press
What is your perception of reality?
When reality becomes unimaginable, the unimaginable becomes real. Iterum is a collection of eight magical short
stories and seven little somethings. The tales come to life, when everyday
characters stuck in quagmires of life, make the acquaintance of eccentric
beings including a jury of spectacled Albino Pigeons, a man who claims to be a
dinosaur, a distressed little soul, a maid’s inquisitive son, a bossy turquoise
tortoise, a virtuoso in the window across the street, a ghost with a lisp, and
a chatty dying puppeteer.
Short stories are usually a very tricky proposition for me, especially when I am reading a debut book. Yasha’s writing is quite fresh and the manner in which the eight stories have been written is quite exceptional. Each of the story is unique and the concept that she has explored comes out very nicely. The storytelling keeps you engaged through and through. Another aspect which I liked about the stories was that they have a subtle message that shines out in the end, and that is something that was truly a surprise for me as I read the very first story, and then it became fun to guess what would happen next in the subsequent stories. The stories have interesting twists that keep you guessing till the very end. Talking about each of the stories in the review would reveal spoilers, hence not detailing them out, but keep an eye out on subtle cues that she leaves between the lines to make the journey fun. The microtales between the stories are an added bonus and show the power of good writing, how so much can be said in such few words.
Overall, this is a wonderful collection of stories that will make you
turn the pages till the end. The book scores a 4.81/5 for me.
Get a copy on Amazon India.
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