I did not discover Sumana Khan at my usual book browsing haunts. Not on Goodreads and neither on the book blogs I frequently visit. Rather surprisingly, I came across her on the Pre-orders and New Releases
page of an online shopping site. Considering I go there only in a state of ennui and with no expectations, I was lucky to have struck gold soon.
In retrospect, I am glad I was bored out of my mind on that fateful day and randomly searching for any book that seemed even remotely interesting. Otherwise, I may have only come across Khan's writing much later or maybe never. What a horrifying thought! Intrigued by the synopsis of her debut novel and in a mood to indulge my reincarnation fixation, I promptly bought ‘The Revenge of Kaivalya’ - her foray into karmic intersections of human lives. And when I was done reading the novel, I had a new addition to my 'authors-to-watch-out-for' list.
I love that Sumana Khan’s stories expertly weave myth, mystery, esoteric beliefs, and everyday events into a rich tapestry of lives interconnected in ways that defy earthly explanation. What I love most though is the strong pull of her otherworldly themes and the seemingly effortless fluidity of her writing, both of which she uses extremely well to ensnare the readers and keep them turning pages relentlessly till they reach the end; exhausted yet exhilarated at having read another great story.
In retrospect, I am glad I was bored out of my mind on that fateful day and randomly searching for any book that seemed even remotely interesting. Otherwise, I may have only come across Khan's writing much later or maybe never. What a horrifying thought! Intrigued by the synopsis of her debut novel and in a mood to indulge my reincarnation fixation, I promptly bought ‘The Revenge of Kaivalya’ - her foray into karmic intersections of human lives. And when I was done reading the novel, I had a new addition to my 'authors-to-watch-out-for' list.
I love that Sumana Khan’s stories expertly weave myth, mystery, esoteric beliefs, and everyday events into a rich tapestry of lives interconnected in ways that defy earthly explanation. What I love most though is the strong pull of her otherworldly themes and the seemingly effortless fluidity of her writing, both of which she uses extremely well to ensnare the readers and keep them turning pages relentlessly till they reach the end; exhausted yet exhilarated at having read another great story.
Khan’s debut novel is one of my favorite reincarnation-themed novels and also the reason why I picked up her new
collection of short stories 'Encounters’. I usually stay away from the short story genre but I was confident that making an exception this time would serve
me well. While all the five stories are engaging and display Khan's writing skills to an advantage, the first
and last story of the collection win hands-down as the best of the lot. They
exerted a haunting influence such that I was surprised to find myself thinking
about them long after I had moved onto other novels.
The first story ‘First Love’ is a splendid concoction of
fantasy, myth, folklore, and forensic science where a young girl’s obsession with a fantasy lover ends in an unexpected and unique togetherness.
The last story ‘Best Friends Forever’ is a very poignant portrayal of a little girl’s loneliness and longing to be with someone. Another impressive piece of writing is the second story ‘The Storyteller’ which centres on an aching plea of souls whose lives were cut tragically short and brings to fore the human need to be remembered by posterity.
In ‘First Love’, Khan not only succeeds in holding the reader’s interest with her fantasy-forensics mash-up but also through the very realistic portrayal of the socio-psychological ramifications of an inherently marriage-driven culture. Where the education, talent, and intelligence of a girl are often easily overlooked for the more desired accomplishment of raising a family: commonly perceived as the only worthy goal for any female. Similarly, it is not just the ghostly bonding in ‘Best Friends Forever’ that keeps us hooked to the story but also the dread and sadness that comes with realising an innocent life is about to be irreparably harmed by a selfish unhinged adult who is supposedly a protector. Such cases are plentiful in daily newspapers and this places the story a bit too close for comfort. There is also that tantalising sliver of forbidden love in this story that successfully arouses interest in the conclusion.
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| Image Source: Wikipedia |
The last story ‘Best Friends Forever’ is a very poignant portrayal of a little girl’s loneliness and longing to be with someone. Another impressive piece of writing is the second story ‘The Storyteller’ which centres on an aching plea of souls whose lives were cut tragically short and brings to fore the human need to be remembered by posterity.
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| Image Source:Wikipedia |
In ‘First Love’, Khan not only succeeds in holding the reader’s interest with her fantasy-forensics mash-up but also through the very realistic portrayal of the socio-psychological ramifications of an inherently marriage-driven culture. Where the education, talent, and intelligence of a girl are often easily overlooked for the more desired accomplishment of raising a family: commonly perceived as the only worthy goal for any female. Similarly, it is not just the ghostly bonding in ‘Best Friends Forever’ that keeps us hooked to the story but also the dread and sadness that comes with realising an innocent life is about to be irreparably harmed by a selfish unhinged adult who is supposedly a protector. Such cases are plentiful in daily newspapers and this places the story a bit too close for comfort. There is also that tantalising sliver of forbidden love in this story that successfully arouses interest in the conclusion.
Overall, with 3 sure hits out of 5 stories, ‘Encounters’ is definitely
recommended for evenings when you don’t want to invest time in a full-fledged novel
and would rather relax with some gracefully written and vibrantly imaginative
stories.
I must confess I had never heard of the author, Sumana Khan, before and I was intrigued enough to go and check out her book reviews on Amazon. "The Revenge of Kaivalya" sounds like exactly the sort of paranormal mystery with reincarnation theme that I would love to devour! I like your review of "Encounters" - how you have juxtaposed the review in the context of the Indian culture - cultural mores, traditions and even food. Though I'm not a big fan of short story anthologies, I think I'll make an exception for this one :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, she was a surprise find for me too! And even I don't prefer short stories but was glad to have made an exception in this case:) Try her work sometime
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