It's All About Love Series by Sourabh Mukherjee Review
Sourabh Mukherjee, who is better known for his Agni Mitra detective series is back with a new offering. This time seven short stories on the theme of romance and family bonding. For seven weeks, a short story was released on Amazon Kindle. The series is called It's All About Love. While I have read his other short series book Romance Shorts which was more about dark romance. This new series is more about love and heartwarming relationship.
This series happened at the right time. I was not in the mood to take three course sumptuous meal but was craving for some tea time snack which was light yet fulfilling. And all the short stories in this series cater to my need of reading something short but worthwhile and powerful. I am so glad I read all the stories in the series It's All About Love.
Through his seven short stories, the author has tried to cover various facets of love in relationship and family. Love which made people do strange things. Love which made a man responsible; Love which made an elderly man to write recipes for his wife; Love which made a man choose family over career; Love which made a woman go stray; Love made a man murderer; Unconditional love which made a man value his life. In each story there will be a different emotion of love.
The Gift
The Gift is the first short story in the series. The torrent of emotions and a touch of mystery in the story sucked me in. I read and reread the story. It was so heart touching.
This is the huge problem with short stories. A good short story sticks with you. You want to savor it like a main course. You want to read a little more of the story. And when that is not possible you have to reread it again because somehow you can't get over with it.
I had a similar experience with the short story The Gift. It is about Aarav who was reluctant to accept the responsibility of a child and was nursing a break-up with his live-in girlfriend Ishita. At this point he visits his ancestral home in Mussorie. He was surprised to see a small child Kishan in his house sheltered by the caretaker of the house. Aarav instantly feels pulled by the child. Do they have a connection is the crux of the story.
It is a beautiful tale of realization of love and of remorse for not doing enough to retain the love and a chance to not to repeat the same mistake. Though it starts like a regular love story and soon melancholy is added to the story line. But the climax of the story will jolt you and will take you by surprise as the author choose to add a mysterious element to it.
I loved the writing style of the author. It was effortless and flawless. The atmosphere and ambience were well used and overall, contributed to the mood of the story. I will highly recommend it to all the short story lovers and otherwise.
The Cookery Show and A Love Story
The Cookery Show and A Love Story is a second story. It is stirring and moving love story of an elderly couple. A couple who were always bickering over a TV Show made their grandson, Jay wonder when they fall out of love. But one incident proves him wrong and taught him the real essence of love.
It is same old evergreen love story. When an uneventful occurrence ignites the slump feeling once again, but presented in a new and different style in accordance to modern time of technology and materialism. The story leaves behind the desired effects. My heart swelled and my eyes welled up with tears after reading the story.
True love never dies. A thin layer of everyday life monotonous dust could come over the love, but when a gust of wind blew away that dust, it surges back with lots of emotion.
It is a must read.
A Special Day
Now my expectation was sky high for the third story A Special Day which is about Mike who prioritize family over career. It is not so emotional touching as the first two stories, yet it brilliantly portrays the helplessness of two men : one who remembers everything and another who doesn't remember anything.
David doesn't remember a thing of the past. He met with an accident and suffers from amnesia due to the head injury. His son Mike, on the other hand, analyzes this verdict of life. Who is better off? His father, whom past memories has deserted or Mike to whom past memories has clung. The family bonding has been beautifully portrayed in the story.
The story has been well written, but somehow the core of the story didn't come out that well as in the case of the first two stories.
Mask
The fourth short story in the series is titled as Mask. As the name suggests the story seems to be a dark love story. So is the case, but the love is missing from the story as the protagonist Oindrilla was in search for it. The story of Mask reveals the darker side of the family system where two individuals live together under the same roof but never bond as a family.
Mask is based on the assumption that every person is two or multiple faced. Ariijit, the director of sales advocates for ethics, but can plunge down for profits. Similar are the other characters in the story.
It is an engrossing read with a surprising twist at the end. The twist made me wonder about Oindrilla. Was she walking on the right path in search of true love or the author sketched a faulty character. You have to read and decide.
An Autumn Turmoil
An Autumn Turmoil is the longest and the best short story in the collection and happens to be my favorite as well. I have a couple of reasons for it. The story is set during the time of Durga Pujo. The author has beautifully and vividly captured the pre-Durga Pujo frenzy and the five days of Durga Pujo celebration, which has been effortlessly interwoven with the main story. It took me down the memory lanes of my childhood days spent in Kolkata.
Through this story the author has wonderfully depicts those weak moments of infatuation that we all go through, once or more in our life. For many it comes before marriage and for some after the marriage. But it does knock the door.
Here in the story Shubho and Atreyee are hopelessly attracted to each other. The emotional turmoil which both the characters goes through has been stupendously delineated. But what I loved the best about the story was the way Abhishek, the husband of Atreyee explains infatuation. The explanation touched my heart and will remain with me forever. This is the other reason why it is my favorite story in the collection.
You should read this story.
The Hunt
The sixth short story in the line is The Hunt. It is about a Police officer who was on the lookout of a man named Dibakar Roy. I don't know how more to talk about the story without giving it away. But it is a devastating read.
I loved the way the story turned out, loved the way the story shuffled from past to present and vice versa. The suspense was adequately maintained throughout the story and it leaves behind a bleak feeling in heart towards the end.
One more superb read in the series It's All About Love.
The Death Wish
The last one to come is The Death Wish. Quite a strange title for a series based on the love theme. It is a life story of a man named Abani. He had seen bad days, good days and worst days in his life. He was a family man who loved his mother. Abani fondly remembers his mother who worked day in and day out to make both ends meets, to educate and to feed him. But he didn't receive the same from his son and almost came on the verge of ending his life.
The story is soul searching. It shows the unconditional love of the mothers who are always ready to sacrifice themselves for their children. It also shows how family values are deteriorating and well being of parents is not the concern of the children. It shows the thought process of a suicidal man. I was almost misty eyed the way he stops himself from ending his life by thinking about his mother.
It was a good read.
The Verdict
Overall, these short stories series on kindle is worth a read, especially The Gift, The Cookery Show and A Love Story, An Autumn Turmoil and The Hunt. They are the Kindle bestselling short reads.
Bewitching story line, lush narrative, vivid description and stunning endings will enthrall the readers. It is a complete package.
In each story you will find a different emotion of love. Love in family, love between the couple, disappointment in love, lost love, infatuation, love in the form of care, unconditional love and many.
The stories are an absolute delight to read giving you enough food for thought and a window to look inwards.
You should read this series by Sourabh Mukherjee.