The book is true to its title, it is a reflection of those half-lived life stories, that will resonate with you at every point.
Barnali Roy’s third book of short stories has come out and as usual, it's receiving some rave reviews, I also got the privilege to read the book and share my honest feedback on it. The stories are well written with a proper beginning, a climax and an ending that will linger for long inside the mind. The stories are like real-life paintings of some real characters on the canvas of stories. Storytelling is an art and Barnali seems to have mastered it now as her stories have a certain fluidity that flows effortlessly on the pages and you will enjoy reading them.
She doesn’t stress about the stories being difficult but rather about them being ordinary, and this simplicity of her stories is what makes her books enjoyable to read. There are nine stories in the book that all seem real and resonating, from a marriage failing between a young couple to a revelation where they find the fault of what was causing them to be apart, to a gay son trying to convince his father about his life choices, will he get the acceptance from his father he has long desired for, to how an orphan girl finds her way in the heart of a single woman who had just lost her partner, all the stories are interesting reads and you will find yourself lost into them willing to know more about these real life-like characters. Such is the prowess of the author's narration.
Another interesting thing about her book is that all her stories are set with a modern backdrop and her lingo and diction will sound quite affable to the Young Adult category of readers. In short, most of the readers of today’s time will be able to relate to her stories. Moreover, it appears she seems to enjoy her craft a lot as she has three collections of short stories by now, but the way she narrates the tales and plays with the words, a novel writing would surely come easy to her. Perhaps! We could expect some longer work from her next time.
I will end my review with this quote –
“Short stories consume you faster. They’re connected to brevity. With the short story, you are up against mortality. I know how tough they are as a form, but they’re also a total joy.” – Ali Smith
Yes! Joy is the word and emotion that you will find in Barnali’s Book ‘Aftertaste-of a Half-lived Life’. Find that joy and pick your copy today, I recommend this book to all.
Barnali Roy is an accomplished author with two books of short stories to her credit. Her first published book, Pebbles in the Sand, was well appreciated by readers. She published her second book, Fragrance of Dried Flowers, last December. It's a collection of slice of life short stories about urban young people grappling with problems that are common in today's world. A girl is taunted constantly by her mother. An examination result shatters a young student. Grappling with the trauma of childhood abuse, a girl is hardened and embittered till she helps another of her kind. A prolific writer and blogger, Barnali Roy loves reading, reviewing books and films, travel and food. She maintains two blogs: Https://barnaliviews.blogspot.com Https://yummyfoodinkolkata.blogspot.com
Review by Monalisa Joshi -Founder, Director & Chief Editor of Chrysanthemum Chronicles: A Contemporary Publishing House.
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