The Unwanted Boy And Other Stories – Charmila M Sankar – Book Review

The Unwanted Boy And Other Stories – Charmila M Sankar – Book Review

Title: The Unwanted Boy And Other Stories

Number of Pages: 52

Author: Charmila M Sankar

Genre: Fiction / Short Stories

Publisher: Self-Published On The Notion Press Platform

Price: Rs 125

Link For Purchase: The Unwanted Boy And Other Stories

My Take:

Pros:

This book has a string of eleven short stories. The stories are tightly packed. Sweet and sour, powerful and breezy are some of the words that occur to me when I think of this book by Charmila M Sankar. The author seems to have kept in mind the saying that brevity is the soul of wit while writing these short stories. Most of the stories are just 3 to 4 pages long and the author has managed to pack a punch in each and every story despite this.

The Unwanted Boy manages to reach out to the depths of the reader’s feelings by its moving plotline. The story revolves around how a young boy with cerebral palsy finds quietude in his father’s remorse. The ending is quite ironic. Can’t Run Away deals with how a young girl’s dilemma in love is dealt with by her mature and sympathetic parents. All parents can learn something from this tale. Mirror Images deals with the ache a girl living in a foster home feels for her real mother. Happy anniversary handles the remorse a husband feels because of his extra marital affair.

Some of the other stories I really enjoyed are The Pretty Tattoos which includes an element of mystery in a woman’s life, The Library is a very inspiring story of a man’s undaunted fight against powerful forces. Nowadays attention spans are really coming down. In this fast paced and busy world a book of short stories of this kind serves the purpose of a quick and tasty snack for readers. The author has been a journalist and has edited the book herself. I could detect just one or two errors in the print. Maya And Her Baby ends on a very happy note. It acted as a speed breaker. Eternal Damnation could do with a little more clarity.

Cons:

I think the purpose of this book was to provide quick and breezy entertainment. The book is just 52 pages long. It would probably serve as an ideal read on a two hour journey by flight. But some of the themes are really good and would probably be more enjoyable if they were written elaborately. This is not a drawback but is something I felt would do more justice to the themes of some of the stories. But I suppose the author meant this book to be short and sweet. And that purpose is something that is amply fulfilled.

Conclusion:

A big yay! This book is a really quick and breezy read and would serve as a delicious literary snack on a lazy Sunday afternoon or a short journey by flight. Do pick it up.

Rating:

I am going with 4.5/5 for Charmila M Sankar’s The Unwanted Boy And Other Stories. It is a really good book with absorbing stories.

Rating Scale:

             1  Poor

             2  Fair

             3  Good

             4  Excellent

             5  Outstanding

This book review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program.

4 thoughts on “The Unwanted Boy And Other Stories – Charmila M Sankar – Book Review”

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