Neelesh Misra
2013
Westland
pp. 250
I picked up this book purely out of fascination for the author or rather his voice. I used to love listening to him narrating stories. It was quite natural for me to have high expectations from his writing. The book introduces him as a writer for some popular Bollywood films, thus raising my expectations further. The book was a steep fall.
The collection of short stories covers various dimensions of every day life. Lost love, finding meaning in a fast paced life, relationships, and the like. A common thread in the stories is a quest for finding one’s identity. This may be my interpretation rather than what the author intended.
The language used is simple but the stories are far from engaging. The narrative isn’t powerful enough to hold the simple plots. Where there were possibilities of complexities in the stories, they were not adequately tapped in the less than powerful presentation.
Already in the middle of a reading block, I found it difficult to complete this book. I have decided not to read the second volume. Having said all of this, I continue to be a fan of Misra. Through his Instagram updates, I came across his interviews. I have deep appreciation for his ‘slow’ project. I find it deeply meaningful and relate to the vision behind it. Maybe if I had read the book at some other time, I might have liked it better.