The choice of doing a review of Urban Shots as my first ever book review was not an easy one. The very thought of reviewing the work of thirteen well established authors gave me jitters but given how much I liked this book I thought it would be a crime not to review it.
'URBAN SHOTS - 28 urban tales by 13 writers' is an anthology of short stories edited by Paritosh Uttam, the best selling author of Dreams in Prussian Blue. It is set in an urban backdrop exploring the different realms of urban life. The book is divided into five parts called Relationships, Love, Friendship, Angst and Longing.
The stories are set in the six metros and each of the stories makes a different image of the city life in the reader's mind, introduces him to yet another complexity of the urban life.
I tried to pick up my favorites from among these 29 stories and 'It's a small world' by Ahmed Faiyaz was the winner without any doubt. It was not that I didn't like the others but this one was a story that truly engrossed me. The others which I specially liked were 'Hope comes in small packages' by Kainaz Motivala (Of Wake Up Sid' fame) which is a sweet story about a woman trying to come at terms with her miscarriage, 'Heartbreakers', 'Between Friends' and 'Effacing memories' by Paritosh Uttam, all three of which explore the complex relations. Paritosh is a master at the art of leaving things to the reader's imagination yet conveying the feelings as they should be. 'Apple pies and a grey sweater' by Prateek Gupta is a feel good love story with which many of us would recognize.
Apart from these 'Love... In a fast lane' by Ahmed Faiyaz, 'Love-All' by Kunal Dhabalia and 'Stick Figures' by Vrinda Baliga are also mentionable. Each of the 29 stories introduce you to a new face of the urban life, a face you would have come across somewhere, a face you might recognize as that of someone you know, that of one of your friends or may be your own.
In all, 'Urban Shots' is a must read if you consider yourself a city person. Do I need to say more?
Nice review. Will surely read the book.
ReplyDelete"For us short story fanatics, this collection was a welcome change from the numerous novels of almost-the-same-plot that we go through on a daily basis. Our hats off to the Grey Oak Publishers for coming out with this idea."
ReplyDeleteMy review of 'Urban Shots' on 'Between The Lines'
http://unpublisho.wordpress.com/2011/05/14/book-review-urban-shots-a-short-story-collection/
- Bastab Chakraborty