Read like a writer …
Thats what the writing tip had said.
And thats what I set out to do with this book.
I had read the authors profile and he seemed to be a serial short story contest winner.
Having struggled with the prompts for the TOI write India contest, and having managed to come up with something only for 3 of the contests, I was all set to try and fathom how he must have worked his way through them, to achieve his many wins.
Thats how I reached out for It Happens by Bhaswar Mukherjee
The first story itself threw me off.
The twist was something that I couldnt have imagined.
The twist was a pattern in all the stories, coming up suddenly; it was both impossible and strangely believable, at the same time.
The stories are about people like us, their relationships and lives, which seem routine until the unexpected happens.
That is what makes it edgy, makes you sit up, sometimes even disturbed , until you reconcile with the development and say It happens.
That is also what makes this a book that you read only a few stories at a time.
My favourite one is definitely A welcome shade of grey . A lament too late also stayed with me
About the writing lessons, well, I was simply stumped by the authors imagination, which I can only aspire for!! Another thing which I noticed was the clear characters he defined in few words. Most of the stories had many characters, and their back stories also came through, which can be difficult in the short story format.
All in all, a book containing carefully crafted stories with a strong element of surprise and a unique perspective on relationships, all neatly wrapped up.