Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories is a book with subtle messages and surprising twists.
Crisp tales of strength!!
The book speaks of women, their stories, struggles, and the hard-fought battles that often leave them unhappy and doubting their abilities. Breaking Free is an unusual book in its format since it has a novella and stories of varying lengths. This does not stop the book from being an interesting read, a page-turner at times and pondering over the words that convey deep thoughts.
The stories are interesting, with diverse characters, even the short stories give us a peep into the life of the person. The smaller stories end on a twist and the intentions are revealed, and I found them so real. Often similar to a person narrating their struggle.
The main story of the book Breaking Free featuring the incorrigible twins; Happy or Trilokpati and Lucky or Sudarsan with Lovely or Jigyasa had me laughing at times but I loved the subtle way the serious issues were handled. Their pet names and their real names are so different, but they capture the essence of a typical Indian family where the pet names are just outrageous.
The fact that men still need to be made aware that a wife is not for sitting at home and doing housework. The fact that modern, educated men and their families still look for brides who are well educated but don’t want them to work.
What I loved the most was the funny, peppy conversations of banter between the characters, they were fast. Silly at times exasperating but quite true.
The Murderer, Just Desserts, One Fine Evening, Checkmate, The Guilty Conscience, My Prickly Pear, Holidays, The Proposal, and The Scent of Love are some stories that struck a chord with me and they had a powerful ending. All stories have a message, and they convey the central theme of the book of women empowerment. Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories has a collection of simple stories which will remind you of your life, incidents will resonate with something similar that you have gone through.
Strong voices of new-age women with conniving women who kill and cheat create a heady mix in Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories.
A Messy Tangle showed the helplessness of a child caring for a mother, the natural progression of life and the heartache it brings. The story moved me to tears.
I was shocked by the ending of The Guilty Conscience. It is a masterful, twisted tale.
One Fine Evening is a reality that I don’t wish on anyone. It is a life that many live, and Mohua has expressed it eloquently.
The story I enjoyed the best apart from the novella was about Bala and Dayaram in The Scent of Love. It is a tale of love that is torturous and sublime. The man with his unrequited love, the woman who has no say and still love finds a way.
My favourite sentence was, “You may not matter to you, but you matter to me.”
You will have to read the book to find out who said it but you will be delighted to find out.
Get your copy from Amazon.in here and Amazon.com here.
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This post contains Amazon affiliate links that support the blog at no extra cost to you.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
In case you click on any of the links and make a purchase, I get a commission at no extra cost to you to help offset the cost to keep this website going.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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In all the stories I found the message she conveys with her effortless writing. At times funny, at times somber and piercing with crisp sentences, and rejoinders for peppy stories. Even in the ones that aren’t light-hearted the freshness comes through.
Overall, I enjoyed the book with its mixed set of stories. A good read for anytime and more so when short on time as many are short stories.
You can win a copy of the book, hop over to Instagram to know more!
BLURB
Breaking Free: A Novella & Other Stories is a collection of forty micro-fiction and short stories, portraying different aspects of life crafted from everyday happenings. Breaking Free dives into the depths of a patriarchal society that turns a blind eye to sexism that is all pervasive. A disillusioned and embittered protagonist meets a determined suitor. Can he accept her reality? Can she break free and come into her own?
Vacations are on everyone’s bucket list but they often don’t turn out quite as one expects. This theme is explored in a few shorts – Holidays! The Perfect Getaway, The Last Fling and The Vacation. Other shorts – The Murderer, Yesterday Once More, Of Men and Monsters, Brothers in Arms – explore the theme of love and betrayal, be it lovers, parents or siblings. My Prickly Pear is the story of a mother’s tussle between her children and her dreams. Now that they are grown up, can she fly the nest? The Scent of Love is an office romance between an unlikely pair, the quintessential office babu, Dayaram, and the soon-to-be married Bela. Unversed in matters of the heart, he watches in helpless despair as her marriage is fixed. Will Bela be able to shake him out of his stupor or will he let her go?
These stories, on characters that are drawn from life, will make you gasp, warm your heart or just make you laugh out loud.
Here is your chance to win a paperback copy of this book, Breaking Free A Novella & Other Stories. Head over to my Instagram account for the details!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
In case you click on any of the links and make a purchase, I get a commission at no extra cost to you to help offset the cost to keep this website going.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Note: This review is commissioned by the author, views are my own.
