Volcanic Moments: Heart Popping Tales — by Mona Mohanty
Publisher: Authorspress
Pages: 144
Price: Rs. 295 INR(Paperback)
ISBN: 978–9387651937
Buy here: https://amzn.to/2LXVuT9
About the Author
Mona Mohanty is an officer of the Indian Revenue Service. Weaving stories has always been her passion. An alumni of Lady Shri Ram College and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, this collection of short stories follows on the heels of her first book Betwixt Twists and Turns.
My take on the book:
This book is a collection of 25 short stories with each story having a different background and unique characters. While there is nothing common among these stories, the only common point is the sudden jerking conclusion each of them has. While some stories get predictable, especially after the first few stories, since each of the initial stories have a shocking end, most of them are simply marvelous.
The length of the stories is not uniform, so while some of them are of 5–6 pages, few even are shorter at 2–3 pages. However, the brilliance lies in the varied backdrops picked for each of the stories and how the narration and story take a front seat than the author obsessing about characters. Even a story of 3 pages builds the characters very strongly and as per the story requirement. Some characters are so unique but have a beautiful graph that they are sure to haunt long after the book is over.
I had always been a fan of short stories since they are real challenging to the author to convey a story within a few pages. This book is for anyone who wants to read some mind blowing stories with unexpected twists and revelations. The book aptly matches its name, with each story exploding like a volcano. I only wish it had a better, more intriguing cover design as the cover is not as catchy as the stories within. Overall, the stories are very satisfying to read and the book is unputdownable as each story jerks the reader with their heart popping ending.
My rating:
5/5.