Stories Of Us: 41 Short Stories Of The Common Man By a Common Man by Bobby Sachdeva
Publisher: Pan Macmillan India
Pages: 254
Price: Rs. 299 INR(Paperback), Rs. 200 INR(Kindle Edition)
ISBN: 978–9389109023
Buy here: https://amzn.to/2TFfo8a
Does saving your family’s honor trump personal happiness? Will the god be appeased if you overfeed him and not help the needy? Will the law protect the stray dog that tears an eight-year-old into shreds? Is a deceased manual scavenger just another statistic who risks his life for a cleaner future?
In the voice of the common man, Bobby Sachdeva questions our everyday practices in an unorthodox manner in Stories of Us. From Rishi to Parth or Lata to Rajnath, the hard-hitting and honest narratives are sure to inspire the common person to rethink the values long etched in our belief system.
About the author:
Bobby Sachdeva is a storyteller by choice and a businessman by profession. He writes stories to highlight the problems with norms and standards in our changing society and the ways to resolve these. Some of these short stories are being made into short films now and filmmakers have shown interest in his writing. This is his first novel. Bobby lives in Amritsar with his family and owns a film production studio named Ajab Productions.
My take on the book:
Stories of US is a collection of 41 short stories about the common incidents faced by us in daily lives, and the irony of each of these situations. Most of these stories are only 2 pages long and few a little longer, but none of them too long, hence the book accommodates a total of 41 stories in 250 pages. Most of them capture the ground reality, while few appear fictionalized as the author throws in some imaginary characters in each situation.
The author touches on those situations which majority of us overlook and do not realize the pain and inconvenience caused to others. Author also highlights such scenarios which have unfortunately become a norm these days. The author poses a question at the end of each chapter which forces the reader to introspect about the just concluded story and the uncomfortable question the author hence puts forth. The cover is impressive and apt for the stories inside, also each chapter has a picture at the beginning which summarizes the story.
The theme for almost all stories is urban life including all classes of people, with stories even about the third gender, and animals. I personally liked those stories which are the shortest as the author conveys the intended message clearly and in straight forward way. Those which are longer, though have a wonderful message, are unrealistic as some stories have characters and story twists which are far from reality. The writing style also could have been better as some stories are great while some of them fail to make the required impact.
Pick this one if you like to read contemporary fiction and stories with a message.
My rating:
3/5.