Tag: flashbacks

Book Review of Key To My Soul

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Key To My Soul is a heart touching novel by Probal Mazumdar. This book talks about love, betrayal, social issues and even it has glimpse of flashback technique blended with epistolary style of writing.

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Cover and Title: The cover is simple yet elegant and it symbolises the thoughts of sepration and reunion. Further, Key To My Soul is again symbolic title as the literal meaning is something else. It is not exactly about a key but indirectly about a key of love.

Blurb: “When Siddharth, a lonely young man with a failed marriage gets a sudden phone-call from a mysterious person about his lost childhood lover, Hazel and learns that she is battling for life, he is shaken to the core. He also learns that she had left certain letters for him fifteen years back that never reached him. It disturbs him so much that he rushes to the hospital in his old hometown. There he discovers an eclipsed past buried in time that is riddled with dangerous surprises, trauma, twists of fate, sacrifices that exemplify true love and the real reasons for the tragic end of their childhood love story. But will Hazel ever open her eyes to see him..

Plot: The plot is intriguing and it grabs the attention of the readers. The story is about Hazel and Siddharth who beautifully carry the story forward. This is their story but fate has some other plans for them. They are meant for each other but gets separated by destiny and even by people. The best part is, it is not like those teen love fictions. The emotions are so strong that it binds your soul till the end.

Characterisation: The author seems to have mastered the skill of constructing complicated characters. I feel every character I came across had their own story, struggles and battles to handle. Hazel and Siddarth are the protagonists. With passage of time or say with every new page, I could find new colours in their characters. Their strong love is challenged and the way after so many struggles they handle their life.

Style: The style of writing is simple and the language is easy to comprehend. The flashbacks and epistolar styles add flavours to the book. The beautiful poem in the end makes your cry for these lovers. At times, we are in thoughts likewhat if she had reacted this way or what if they had told about it? So many questions hover over my mind. But I really loved this book. This book is a must read.

Grab your copies from Amazon

Book Review of Birds of Prey

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Birds of Prey by Archana Sarat is a psychological crime thriller. This book is a page turner and has surprises in store for you almost at every page. The way the author has highlighted the serious issues and certain taboos just hover over your minds for a few days.

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Blurb: You wake up, parched and famished, at the bottom of a deep well—dark and dingy with the foul smell of excreta and rotting scars and no seeming way to escape—what do you do?
This is the predicament that ex-ACP Anton Pinto faces when he reluctantly joins the investigation into the mysterious disappearances of men from affluent families of Mumbai. There is an inexplicable pattern behind the abductions and all suspicions point towards an old, physically-challenged, mysterious lady. Soon, Anton discovers that the seemingly unrelated men have one common link—the most popular and expensive international school in Mumbai.
Following clues that span from schools and old-age homes to illegal dingy hospitals, Anton is led through a labyrinth of incest, abuse, torture and suffering, spanning decades.
What secret does the school hide behind its gates? What was the undisclosed crime that is thirsty for justice? Will Anton be able to save the men? Will justice be served?

The title and the cover are beyond perfect. The cover of the book has some claws of a bird that are searching for their prey. The effect has its own ambiance. The title surely satisfies the purpose of the theme.

This book is a crime thriller but has some of the social issues it highlights. The child abuse is one such topic which people don’t dare to take up. This happens everywhere but nobody talks about it and the victims are so much tormatised that they don’t utter single and if by mistake they do, they are beaten up brutally. This book shows us a society where there are monsters who are ready to pounce at you and silently kill you either physically or mentally.

Whenever I read crime thrillers, I think of one question only. Why someone became a criminal? The reason is their surroundings and maybe they are more exposed this leacherous and betraying world. The minds of the people are corrupt and all these factors and injustice gives birth to a criminal who commits a crime. Basically, he takes up the law in his hands as the law abiding people also betray him. These situations makes him heartleas and merciless. This story has a valid reason like why the murders happen. The psychology plays a vital role as the authorplays withthe minds of not only her characters but also the readers. We all are astonished to read such a story.

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The characters are well developed and with which the author delineates it makes it more reasonable. The way with which an ex police officer works for his department is appreciable. We kind of feel like saluting him.

The style of writing is simple, lucid and clear. The story runs in flashbacks as well as in point of views. The descriptions are attractive and one can surely visualise the incidents that happen in the story. The author has carefully chosen the events and used them at a correct place. The editing part seemed ditched the flow of the story and could have been better. Further, the lack of proper crime related language makes it look bit fake. Otherwise, the gripping plot keeps us hooked till the end. I shed numerous tears while reading and finished it in just one hour. Kuddos to the author for bringing up such critical issues and giving us the reality check.

Grab your copies from : http://www.amazon.in/dp/9385854208/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480579637&sr=1-2&keywords=birds+of+prey

Book Review of Turning Back Time

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Turning Back Time by Shravya Gunipudi is a mind bloggling novel or rather say collection of short stories compiled up in a fictional way. The use of involvement of the author in disguise of a character named Alia is fantabulous. This book takes you to the old times where there is no technology, just the stereotypical notions.

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Cover- The cover of the book is mesmerising as it transports you to the old village times which you might have heard from your grandparents. It is surely a beautiful painting which is taken as a cover of the book. The colour scheme is radiant.

Title- The title is crisp, clear and fulfills the purpose of the book and the author, as it gives us an idea that we are going to be taken in flashbacks. The story dances around the title.

Sneak Peek- When people we love pass away, they only take their presence with them. They leave their memories with us. The story revolves around ‘Alia’, an emotionally distant woman, and how the lives of four elderly strangers impact her own very deeply, bringing about a change in the way she treats herself and those around her. As the clock begins to tick and they each start to die, leaving their stories behind for her to learn from, she finds that the depression and trauma caused by their loss have left with her the gift of a lifetime… Realisation. In the tale of life, death and the ride in between, where there are always mistakes and never second chances, there is only one question. Can you make it through without regrets?

Plot- Well, this book does not have a single plot but many plots. It do have a main plot which focus on Alia who works in an old age home. The others are sub plots or can be said separate plots which include life stories of the characters,highlighted in the book. They are on the verge of their death and the way they delineate their stories is the rest of the plot construction.

Theme- The whole book highlights ‘DEATH’ and the way it affects the people around it. For some death is the ultimate destination, for some its the way to get rid of all the sufferings, for some, it is a divine union with their loved one and for some, its a suffering. The author has phantasmagorically shown this concept using different stories in different ways.

Characterisation- Well, the author has beautifully given space to each and every character by giving them their own set of story to tell and made the link, Alia. Alia is a young girl who is bit unsure about marriage as she is attached to old age home and is not able to find out the reason behind her denial as she is attracted to her fiance but is reluctant to accept his love. Her story moves slowly in parts as she is seen busy listening to others’ stories henceforth, her story takes a halt in between.

Style- The author has used picaresque technique of story telling which is almost long lost these days. Not only this, the use of epistolar technique blended with flashbacks makes is more enthralling. The use of first person narrative with a tinge of third person narrative adds flavour to the novel. The next best segment is the use of impersonal as well personal descriptions. The plot construction is surpassable. In simple words, it can be said that,” this piece is a non fiction mixed with fiction”. The book needs a bit of proof reading but it doesn’t overshadow the unique concept of writing style used by the author. This is ‘Perfecto’ as its her debut novel.

Grab your copies from : https://www.pustakmandi.com/Turning-Back-Time-Shravya-Gunipudi

http://www.amazon.in/Turning-Back-Time-Shravya-Gunipudi/dp/9384382191/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478525298&sr=1-1&keywords=9789384382193

About the Author

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Shravya Gunipudi, a 23 year old CA and CS, has been writing ever since the tender age of nine. Now, more than a decade since her first journey with the pen, she has won numerous prizes for her Articles, Short Stories and Poetry. She was a part of 19 Anthologies with a total of 17 published stories and was recognised as ‘Best Writer of the Year, 2013’ by yourstoryclub.com. She is also the editor of the project ‘The Book of Dreams’, by Numerique Publications.

Shravya wishes to explore her passion both in Finance and Writing. It is her dream to merge her creative side with her analytical one. Writing, she believes, is the best form of expression that calms the mind and frees the soul. Her favourite quote is ‘Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about’.

Her Debut Novel, ‘Turning Back Time’, is now available in stores!