Book review – Potluck

Author: Various (compilation)

Publisher – BecomeShakespeare.com

Pages – 181

Price – Rs. 195

When becomeshakespeare.com sent me this book for review, I didn't hold any great expectation from the book. For, of late, I have come across so many short story compilations that left my memory as soon as I finished reading them.

But, this book surely proved me wrong…

So what sets Potluck apart from various short story compilations floating in the market?

     1.     Potluck is a result of some serious brainstorming by a set of writers while attending creative writing courses at Xavier’s Institute of communications, Mumbai.

    2.    The diverse backgrounds of the writers (working mums, single women, a catholic priest, an ISKCON monk, executives)…Potluck is a beautiful cocktail with each writer adding his/her own distinct flavour.
  

    3.    The melange of different styles of writing will ensure you are glued to the book till you haven’t read the last page.

    4.    Crisp, simple language, sans redundant details…goes without saying it can be owed to the workshop.

With each story, I felt as if I was meeting a new person, with a new perspective towards life and the situations it throws upon us. Each story left me with a message about life.

True to its name, the writers have ensured that the reader gets a variety of sweet, sour and spicy. So, while you have a software programmer talking about the essence of sportsmanship, a newly married psychologist tells a beautiful story of discovering love in an arranged marriage. There is also a techie turned ISCKON monk talking about the path to self discovery; a catholic priest telling the story of surviving life’s crests and troughs from the eyes of a high profile escort girl.

True to a Bollywood movie, there is drama, suspense, humour, emotions, romance and tragedy. As my fingers itch to write in detail about each story that I loved, the mind also warns me from giving away spoilers.

After a long long time, I enjoyed reading a short story collection this much. Without giving any more details, I suggest you grab the book, for each story is bound to leave its mark on your perspective towards life, as we know it.

This review is written forBecomeShakespeare.com