Pilgrims of Reflection-Adrija Chatterjee

Book: Pilgrims of Reflection
Author: Adrija Chatterjee
Publisher: Half Baked Beans

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Do you think short stories can capture human emotions?

These SEVEN short stories spanning across sixteen protagonists collectively navigate through individual evolution of ordinary lives when pulled into out of the box circumstances. While Meera and Naveen try to find their real selves across their peculiar past, in another Jeewan is shaken up when a mysterious woman turns up in his shabby life and book stall. One of the stories revisit the year 2020 to grasp how the pandemic shaped and transformed relationships and our take on class division in society, we otherwise would never think about. Through each of the stories the characters merge towards versions of their existence they never knew could exist.

The stories in the book capture various human emotions nicely. Each of the story deals with a different emotion and the author has plotted the stories in detail. Spanning across class and locations, the stories explore the idea of relationships, time and how things change when times change. I liked how the stories take the characters through a journey which helps them discover their own lives and how they impact the lives of others. What didn’t work for me in the stories was first and foremost the font size and printing, because the paperback version of the book has a typeset that makes it quite hard to read. Secondly, the storytelling is a bit confused and the premise of the stories becomes difficult to follow and understand. The stories require a round of fresh editing to clear out the fluff and improve the readability of the stories. The emotional appeal of the stories is engaging and the writing is promising.

Overall, this is a good collection that can be improved. The book scores a 3.25/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India.