Book Review
One Girl Many Lives
Authors : Sona Grover, Ajit Yadav, Anshu
Bhojangawala, Jithin S, Priya Bajpai
Format : PDF
Publisher : Jimpify
Pages : 259
Blurb :
"One Girl Many
Lives" brings together five writers to create five collaborative stories
separated by time and space yet anchored together by life, loss and a yearning
to belong. Set in varied places but inspired by one single image, the stories
explore the aftermath of momentous events that have shaped history and our
times. A little girl loses her home and family in the Partition riots; another
girl has to find a new home with her family in the aftermath of Black July. A
young woman searches for love and companionship in New York at the turn of the
millennium; a princess on the run traces back her family’s Royal roots in
Paris; and an astronaut is at the centre of a quest by her parents to honour
her memory. Endearing, thrilling, gladdening and heart breaking, these stories
capture how we view our identities in times of both peace and conflict.
Why did I read the book ?
One thing which really
intrigued me when I read the blurb was that five authors wrote all the five
stories and I wanted to see how were they able to make a connection to the
story because each writer has his own writing style. Also, the cover of the
book fascinated me. I had a lot of questions in my mind, like what the
running girl depicted, did it depict that she was running from someone or the
society or was she happy and was running like a free bird?
Review :
I want to compliment all the
authors who have so beautifully written all the stories. The flow of the
stories is so wonderful that you do not realize that the story
is not written any single author. Each story, whether it is from the pre partition
time to 2035, has shown a distinct emotion of women. I have heard a lot of
partition stories from my grand parents and could feel the pain which little
Jassi went through. The second story, which is about LTTE riots reminded me of
the Operation Blue Star which took place in Punjab.The next story about the Y2K gave me
a hope that one should not fret about small things and see what have in the
present. I am glad that Amy realised that and found her true love, David. In
the fourth story I felt really bad for Celine who was looking for her ancestral
roots but the man who she thought was the love of her life betrayed her and
wanted to kill her. The last story showed that how mother, who wanted the best
for her child has the guilt of a lifetime that because of her negligence her
daughter died. Each story made my smile, cry and gave me jitters.
All the five stories are very
easy to read and the language is crisp and simple. The title of the book is absolutely
appropriate as each story had a girl who went through a lot in her life, nothing
deters her from moving on. She falls down but gathers courage and moves on .
All in all an excellent book.
About the authors :
Sona Grover : Sona is an
author and a blogger. You can find her reflections on her blog at sonaonline.wordpress.com
Priya Bajpayee : Priya
Bajpai is a short story author and a poet. She blogs at www.priyareflects.com
Jithin S : Jithin S is a man
with many traits . He is a traveller, photographer and a blogger. He blogs at www.trablogger.com He can also be reached
at info@jimpify.com
Anshu Bhojnagarwala : Anshu
is a parenting blogger and blogs at firsttimemommy.net ,which is one of the top
20 first time mom blogs.
Ajit Yadav : Ajit loves sports.
He blogs at musingsite.wordpress.com.
Rating : 5/5
Wow this is a pretty deep and emotional story. I'm also curious about how the writers have connected the stories to each other.
ReplyDeleteSeems worth a read, your review made me curious. All 5 authors have surely contributed great piece of writings.
ReplyDeleteI have bought this book and have been meaning to read it for the longest time. Your lovely and descriptive review has spurred me to start reading it soon, Simrit. Thanks to your review I know that 5 different authors have written stories that seem like one.
ReplyDeleteMayuri
Manisha - Serious I am curious to know how the 5 writers collaborated and the story-line looks good too, will check it out.
ReplyDeleteI am always on the lookout for books with a unique premise. Will surely check this book out
ReplyDeleteDefinitely seems like an interesting read. Your reviewing stlye is great.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a must read book by such wonderful authors. I didn't know about this book. Will check it out.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting read Simrit. I would like to add this to my TBR.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like the kind of stories which make you think and count your blessings.I know how beautifully Sona writes .So this is a must read.
DeleteThis looks interesting book which brings perspective of 5 authors together. From where we can get this book ?
ReplyDeleteAn interesting book.. Will definitely give it a read when I find time. 5 short stories with a girl in them who struggles with life. Love the idea behind it
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this story. It is a deeply emotional story that touched the core of my heart.
ReplyDelete