When devil married god

Book title – When devil married god (an anthology of stories)

Genre – women fiction, drama, real life

Publisher – Notion press        Pages – 186    Language – English

Author – Shelly Sharma

Price – ₹250 for paperback and ₹ 125/- for kindle edition

Available on – Amazon.in

Book link – https://www.amazon.in/When-Devil-Married-God-ANTHOLOGY/dp/1649839677/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=shelly+sharma&qid=1619077051&sr=8-1

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When devil married god was gifted to me by the author. To Shelly Sharma, I express my deepest gratitude.

However, the title did intrigue me. It is quite unusual, no?

So, what can you expect from a book with such a curious title?

You can expect stories about women, the various issues that plague them, the marginalization they face and also the abject apathy that they have to endure instead of any sensitivity being directed towards them.

The book is a compilation of nine stories that deal with aspects of a woman’s life – a daughter, a wife, a mother, a daughter-in-law, etc. All that these women want is some respect as they juggle work, family and at times a career. These are the stories of women who have muted voices because they have been subjugated and shackled to a life that was chosen for them. These stories reflect the extent to which society overlooks a woman’s plight leave alone her issues for those just get swept under the carpet like unwanted dust.

Since all the stories are based in India and are in fact related to issues that we have seen in our family, in our friend circle or in life; they are very relatable. As you flip through the pages of the book, you find yourself identifying with the issues and are forced, at times, to sit up and take note of an issue that you hitherto did not notice (for it was just accepted as a part of life).

These nine stories canoodle multiple genres in their pages. They are all distinct and are yet connected by the common thread of being based on womanhood. The book is at times satirical, at times emotional but mostly it seems to be a collective memoir of different voices belonging to women.

Shelly, if this is your first time attempt, I applaud you for taking up such topics and writing on them with sensitivity. I admit, the editing of the book could have been better and Notionpress should have ensured that the font was slightly bolder and not fading into grey tone.

To the reader – if you intend to pick this book up then take your time with the stories. I think I have it pegged correctly if I were to surmise that this book is meant to make you feel uncomfortable. The idea is to jar you out of your comfort zone and make you sit up and take note. These stories are a heavy read and scanning through them will make you miss out on the idea behind the book – to challenge societal prejudice, stereotyping, gender discrimination and marginalization. If you fail to imbibe what the author is trying to bring across then the whole idea behind the book is defeated. Fair warning – there is a story that deals with sexual violence.

This is a thought provoking book.