Saurav Dutt’s By the Shadows and the Sunlight is an intense read after a long time. Overall, a good read and wonderful language usage, I say.
I took it as a full novel but some rechecks at the blurb, I got that it’s a collection of stories, hey this time not the short, but lengthy ones. This fiction book does remind of anything like Kamla Das. Her stories built around feminism and women hood generated a great cusp of interest for gossipers like me.
By the Shadows and the Sunlight is a medley of four stories that can be declared as independent novellas also. More than the stories, I will talk about characters because their quirks, ethics (or the lack of it), and attitudes create the subplots and steer the stories in unexpected directions. Women take the centre stage in these stories. In fact, this is entirely a character-driven collection of stories. Saurav roped their subtle inquisitiveness, fear and feminism, and audacity with their circumstances and destiny and treatment by the hands of patriarchal society. The author presented his characters in such a graceful tactic that they will bound you to reflect and ponder.
The narrative in all stories is thought provoking and at times challenging the philosophical views of the strata of the society. I would love to see these stories translated on screen on Netflix or Prime. If the short story genre works for you, definitely pick it up.
Get your copy from Kindle.
ibooksta 