Monday, December 26, 2016

Book Review: ‘Knitted Tales’ by Rubina Ramesh


Genre: Literary
Blurb
What forces an innocent girl to become a sex symbol? Her desires? Or cruel fate?

Is a lifetime enough—for avenging a betrayal? How do you hide secrets that never stopped haunting you?

Can vengeance and secrets of your past devastate your present? How can long-buried crimes of yours suddenly raise their head? Can sinning be saving?

Is your spouse your soulmate? What if they never understood your feelings? Can you still live with them?

Lastly, does life give only two options? Live or die? What if there is a third?

In her debut anthology, Rubina Ramesh tries to find answers to these questions that are often from the heart and yet makes the mind ponder over the solution. Or is it the other way round? Either way, Knitted Tales is a bouquet of emotions that is bound to touch both your head and your heart.


My Review:
The collection of 12 short stories does justice to its name ‘Knitted Tales’. The author has indeed knitted myriad emotions, issues into the stories which give us a peek into everyday life filled with love, hate, greed, optimism, lust, and other realities of life. I couldn't decide which ones I liked the most or the least. So here is a sneak peek into the stories:

‘A Secret in Their Closet’ is a tale of a mother who has such a weak and selfish character that she is ready to kill her own child to save herself. It is unthinkable but yes these kind of people do exist.

‘Betrayal’ focuses on yet another human emotion; ‘hate’. Ms Ramesh imagination has been brilliant in terms of execution of this story and how the emotion consumes one and everyone around.

‘Chiclets’ is about a little girl who is trying to adjust to her new school in a new country. The story shows how sometimes kids can solve a problem, we adults can’t find a solution to.

‘Forgive Me, For I have Sinned’ delves into unrequited love, or rather wrong kind of love. The story brought tears to my eyes thinking about the complexity of that one emotion we always long for in our lives. Author has expertly handled the emotions of all three protagonists.

‘Lolita’ handles a very prevalent social issue and shows the vulnerability of women deeply and completely. No matter what they endure they carry themselves with head held high.

‘No Regrets’ made me smile. It is such a sweet tale of a lonely NRI wife and how she makes her husband consider and appreciate her point of view with the help of social media.

‘SuvernaRekha’ is another poignant tale which touched my heart. At times people are so chained by society’s rules that they are even ready to give-up most dear to heart.

‘The Little Godmother’ is all about perspective in life. The issue is handled beautifully and simplistically by the author. Everything coin has two sides, indeed.

‘The Missing Staircase’ gives us message to slow down and appreciate people who care about us. A simple message told in such a beautiful manner. Hats off.

‘Daddy, Hear Me Out’ deals with a serious malady in our society. Pushing kids towards studies and marks regardless of their aptitude or interests. What I liked was that the protagonist takes much harder route to prove her point. A lesson for everyone.

‘Cliff Notes’ is one of my favorites. Written magnificently from an inanimate object’s point of view, it shows us the society’s image so eloquently that it is uncanny.

Once I had started I couldn’t put down the collection. The language is simple yet expressive highlighting each and every emotion, issue and message completely. The stories of eight to eighty year old, of NRI to Kharia tribals, the collection has touched almost every aspect of human anomaly.

I highly recommend the book for everyone.







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 About the author
Rubina Ramesh is an avid reader, writer, blogger, book reviewer and marketer. She is the founder of The Book Club, an online book publicity group. Her first literary work was published in her school magazine. It gave her immense pride to see her own name at the bottom of the article. She was about 8 years old at that time.  She then went to complete her MBA and after her marriage to her childhood friend, her travel saga started. From The Netherlands to the British Isles she lived her life like an adventure. After a short stint in Malaysia, she finally settled down in the desert state of USA, Arizona.  Living with her DH and two human kids and one doggie kid, Rubina has finally started living the life she had always dreamed about – that of a writer. 



Her other published works include:
'Home is where Love is’ a short story in the anthology Writings from the Heart. Ed. by Beth Ann Masarik. 
‘You Stole My Heart’ and ‘Let me Go’. Short stories as a part of the anthology Long and Short of It by Indireads.
'Wake Me Up' as a part of the anthology Marijuana Diaries by Fablery Publishers.


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