I came across the review of “Unspoken – A Bouquet Of Short Stories” by a friend and that made me read the book. Though I prefer a novel to short stories, I read some every now and then if I find the blurb or a review interesting. I must say this book did not disappoint.
Unspoken is a collection of 7 short stories that explore different human relationships. As the author’s note says these stories look center around a choice made by the protagonist and how life and relationships change based on that choice.
The stories are short, each about 4-5 long…so each makes for an easy 30 min read that you can just unwind with on your break from work or chores.
Though the stories are of different subjects, they all do have a common underlying theme – that of human relationships, a choice made, and a loss of some kind. Some also have a positive outcome, in the end, leaving you feeling good at the end of the story. These stories are emotional and are sure to find something in common with the readers.
Deliverance is the first story in the collection and deals with a very unique subject. A pregnant woman eagerly awaits to share the news with her husband. But a freak accident changes their lives forever. How one moment changes everything, the difficult choice that one must make, and how they heal makes up for a very good read.
Next up is Unfinished Business where 2 ex-lovers bump into each other suddenly when one joins the same office that the other works in. The old spark is rekindled and one rainy night finally the reason for the sudden break up is revealed. The story raises some questions about your choice that can hurt the other and if it is right for one to decide the path of a relationship where 2 people are involved. The story ends on a positive note of hope for new lease of life on the relationship.
The next one is Stella. This honestly was the story that I liked least from the collection. I felt that the story had a lot of gaps and did not build-up to the depth of feelings revealed at the end. The story starts off with friendship and a love angle is suddenly revealed with some unbelievable twists.
Three To Tango is the next story and again touches upon the theme of love and friendship. I am very sure many readers will identify with the story of unreturned love between friends. Though this does not have the desired ending, it leaves one with hope of new possibilities.
The next one is The Date and again many will be able to relate to this. A choice made results in the loss of a relationship and what it means when out of the blue that person reaches out after many years makes for a poignant story.
The sixth story is A Twist Of Fate and is actually the only one of the collection which really has a twist to the ending – one I did not like. But the story is very well told, especially laying out the frustrations and how fear can make us do foolish things because we did not have the courage to stand firm.
The last one is The Doll and the story about parents and their child and a strained relationship. How the relationship changes for the better when they find that they were wrong about the choice of their child is beautifully woven.
Overall, the book makes for good reading. While there are minor gaps in the storytelling, largely it is well written and addresses themes that the readers can identify with. If you are someone who loves short stories and don’t want to spend many hours reading to finish a story, this one is for you.
Title : Unspoken – A Bouquet Of Short Stories
Author : Sadhna Wadhwa
Category L : Short Stories, Fiction
Language : : English
No. Of Pages : 32
Available On : Amazon.in Kindle Edition
Rating By The Scarlett Dragonfly : 3.5 / 5
