Mini-Reviews: Short Story Collections.

Hello! 

I've read quite a few short-story collections in this past month. 

Personally I am a big fan of short stories. They are a perfect read for a busy days and busy lives. Stories to dip in and out of. Read all in one go or read one and re-visit the rest of the stories later. Perfect for busy days. And I find short-stories are great to read along with other books as well. 

Since there isn't always much to say about each short story collection, I figured I'd group of a few books together in this post. 

Book: Excess, The Tehelka Book of Stories 

Edited by: Jai Arjun Singh and Nisha Susan 

Review: I had picked this book up on a random whim while browsing books on Amazon and thought I'd give this anthology a chance. 

Sadly this was an overall disappointment.

The collection boasts of quite a few up and coming writers, some I've read and others I read for the first time here. I liked that I could try and sample the writing of people I hadn't read before. 

I liked only 3-4 stories in this book out of 12 odd stories...so letdown certainly. 

Rating: 2.5/5 

Book: A Lovesong for India- Tales from East and West

Author: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Review: This is my second time reading something from the author. I read Heat and Dust last year and I didn't really love it. I loved the writing but the story and characters wasn't at all something I enjoyed.
This book was nice and I enjoyed the many stores in it. I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection. Some of the stories are set in India, others abroad but all of them have an Indian element or character in them.
I really enjoyed the writing and story telling in these stories.

Rating: 3.5/5

Book: Another Man's Wife

Author: Manjul Bajaj

Review: I loved, loved, loved this book!
The writing was really good and all the stories were different from each other.
A collection of stories set all over India, from Shimla, to Goa, Lucknow, Gujarat and big cities and little villages. I loved this diverse settings of the stories. I enjoyed all of these stories, I loved them and loved the time I spent reading this book.
The title story in particular is stunning. It talks about the dispossessed tribal people in Gujarat, those affected by the Narmada Dam project. It was poignant and heart-breaking and thought provoking.
I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Rating: 4.5/5