Book - Pilgrims Of Reflections by Adrija Chatterjee
Genre - Short stories

We all hold inside us number of untold stories. Stories that happened to us or we chanced upon them at the unlikeliest hours. Author Adrija Chatterjee brings together 7 such brilliant stories in her book Pilgrims Of Reflection.

In over 100 pages we traverse to different landscapes and emotions. While it make seem like a short read, it is not. It weighs heavy. It spins webs in your mind with its number with its characters and sequences. The simplicity of the language helps us sail through the rawness of the text. With an unconventional narrative style, the author presents uncanny characters and makes you go through whirlpool of emotions.

Believe me, these sentiments don’t cease to leave you anytime soon. When I talk about the narrative style, the author paints pictures… it’s like a storyboard. Sometimes you hold the paintbrush and your strokes are sharp and bold. You almost become an intruder or perhaps another character in the story silently observing everything at a distance.

The writing is abstracts from the lives of the characters well-stitched to create a tapestry of human emotions. Some stories are about the power of human endurance and some about the unforeseen tragedies. Some show us how crippled we can be and some speak of grief. But the storytelling is unusual and it stands out, in my opinion.

Chatterjee’s writing is character driven and she captures even the minutest shift in the lives of her characters. She swings back and forth in time harping on the themes of memory, identity and the passage of time. Alongside, she also explores the themes of class divide, empathy, community, fear, generational gap, grief, friendship and isolation.

The author skillfully portrays the stories that are topical, and it’s relevance is unmissable. Presentation of complexities of human relationships hits you like a thunderbolt. You as a reader get to zoom in and out of the complicated weft and warp of human psyche. And it is intriguing to see the variegated realities of every characters’ life and mindset. An element of intrigue and suspense hangs heavy on the narratives.

The only hiccup I felt was – the stories are rather long and sometimes scenes wind up in a way that can hinder a reader’s attention. But apart from that this book is a perfect blend of rich descriptions, striking discourses and profound themes.

Empathetic storytelling is what Pilgrims Of Reflections is. 

To buy the book, pls click  - Pilgrims Of Reflections by Adrija Chatterjee

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