I have always had mixed feelings about short stories. On one hand, I love the crisp, concise versions of stories and on the other it is the same concise versions that leave me wanting for more which I absolutely loathe.


Indu Sundaresan has done a fantastic job with the nine short stories that she has written in this book. Here literary style is very different from her other books that I have read so far. Every story is this book is poignant and completely heart breaking. So much so, I had to put the book down, let the book sink in, let my mind absorb and settle before I moved on to the next. No other book/story has had such a heart rending effect on me so far. These are hard hitting stories, stories that will make you cry, think and empathize. Yes, this book left me yearning for more as well, but it also rattled me a little because the stories have that effect on you. I absolutely loved Indu’s style of writing in this book. Her characters are superbly crafted and the plots in every story are so well laid out they seem real. The stories range from social issues of Sati, inter caste love/marriage and adoption to the relationship between an ungrateful, brutish, abominable son and his hardworking, humble, victimized parents. 



I had a great time reading about how she came up with the idea for these stories as well ,which she explains at the end of the book. Indu is a fantastic author and a very humble one at that. I was surprised to actually find a response from her when I wrote to her about how I loved reading the book. 

I would totally recommend this book.