Reviews

The book is set in Ooty or Ootacamund as the hill station was known at that time and explores the life of four friends who band together and choose to call themselves the Zenana. This is one part that I am sure most of us will identify with – friendships and coating ourselves in a faux sense of security by giving the relationship a name. Haven’t we all done that, at one time or the other, in our school lives? But, does that faux sense extend to envelop us in security, in reality? Well, that is what the book explores via tragedy and helplessness over that one tragic incident.

In the words of Franklin D Roosevelt - Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. These women understood that. They knew that in order to create their space in the world, they would have to embrace courage and meet their fear headlong.

The stories are like a large bouquet, tastefully decorated with myriad hues and encompassing in their bosom the fragrance of emotions that leave us with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

The word ‘Goya’ is an Urdu word that refers to a suspension of disbelief particularly through stories. And, is that not exactly what short stories are meant to be – an immersive experience of reading which transports a reader to the make believe world created by the author? Are not stories meant to be escapes and glimpses into a world that offers entertainment? In my opinion stories are meant to be addictive therapy but of the good, doctor prescribed kind.

The book is a compilation of fifteen brilliant short stories. The stories encompass multiple genres.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word - 'shattered'? Do you think of glass shattering? Or, perhaps the word brings to mind the shattering of lives? Well, if its the latter than you are not far out in your assessment of the theme of this book. But, that is where the similarity ends. This is not a book about sadness, despair or emotional angst. No! This is a book about silver linings and vanquishing your demons after picking up the shattered pieces of your life.

If I were to ask, ‘what is it that women, the feminine gender have in common with each other’; many of you would say it is their ability to procreate. And, I agree. God did bestow women with the ability to bring new life into the world. Now, some of you would also say that the commonality between all women is that they know suffering. I would agree with you on that too. Yes, we women do know suffering. But, more that the suffering, it is our fortitude; our strength that like a common denominator unites us and gives us an identity. Wouldn’t you agree?

Who or what is a demon? Is it a manifestation of our carnal desires? Or, is it a projection, astral or otherwise, of a part of us that we keep hidden even from our cognizant selves? Is it something that lurks inside all of us, maybe in our subconscious reaches, just waiting to lunge out? Are demons born or are they created by us i.e., humans/the society? Or, contrary to the above, is a demon an actual physical being? Is it an entity separate from us, offering irrefutable proof that evil exists?

very often we come across fantastic stories. They have a beautiful introduction that sucks the reader in right away. They also contain a fantastic build up of conflict and are backed by powerful characters. Those characters remain in the readers’ memory - Their quirks, their idiosyncrasies and their endearing habits. However, when it comes to conflict resolution and the denouement, many times, even such fantastic stories fail.

A fallen leaf is an anthology of fifteen short stories that revolve around the above theme. These are stories of normal human beings living their mundane, boring lives. The characters are real life people whom you can relate to for they are the ones that we meet in our everyday lives and yet tend to ignore.