Book Review – Bhumi: An Anthology of Short Stories By Tina Sequeira

Book Review – Bhumi: An Anthology of Short Stories

Title: Bhumi: An Anthology of Short Stories

Author: Tina Sequeira

Genre: Fiction, Anthology

No. of Pages: 130

Link for Purchase: Bhumi: An Anthology of Short Stories

Synopsis: ‘Bhumi,’ a single author analogy is an eclectic collection of 21 short stories in diverse genres. It features real women who breathe and come alive unlike their cookie-cutter counterparts on the celluloid. 

The female protagonists range from the good, bad and ugly. Some of them are brave, independent and strong. You applaud when they overcome their struggle with dignity and grace. You laugh and cry with them because you know and understand them. And, you’ll also wish you’d never cross paths with some of them. 

My Take:

Pros: This book is a collection of 21 stories that gives the reader an insight into the lives of women facing various situations in life. What I loved the most about the book is the extremely meaningful and expressive phraseology used by the author throughout the book. All the 21 stories are written very imaginatively. There are stories of women finding themselves in extremely difficult situations and fighting with grit and determination to emerge stronger. Several light-hearted stories are also included. There is even one story involving a pedantic spinster which makes us sit up and take notice.

I liked the very first story ‘Amma’ and another one titled ‘Bhumi’ the best. ‘Amma’ brings out the ultimate praise an offspring can shower on a parent. And ‘Bhumi’, the story after which the book is named brings out an analogy which is very relevant to all of us in today’s world. The author has a way with words which make the reader feel the emotions which the author is trying to convey. As I read the stories, I found myself being taken on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. The author made me feel anger, despair, happiness, sorrow, triumph and a plethora of other emotions.

Cons: The only negative I found in this book was that I had to read it slowly, savouring each chapter and I found it difficult to read the book continuously. I needed to take a break after every two or three chapters because of the emotional overload. This book is not meant for binge reading. But this could be considered as much a positive as a negative because it demonstrates the author’s skill in making the reader feel the emotions she is describing. Another thing I felt was that a bit more care should have been taken while editing it.

Conclusion: I would definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in reading stories that bring out emotions in good measure.

Rating: I am going with a 5/5 for Tina Sequeira’s Bhumi. Go for it! It is really a great book!

Rating Chart:

            1 – Poor

            2 – Fair

            3 – Good

            4 – Excellent

            5 – Outstanding

2 thoughts on “Book Review – Bhumi: An Anthology of Short Stories By Tina Sequeira”

  1. Enjoyed reading your review. Very well written. The book has been on my TBR for a while now. Human stories always appeal to me. Your review has prompted me to go pick it up.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.