Review
Meet the strings by Chetan Jaiman
is a collection of nine captivating
stories. The racy style combined with novelty of subject makes the book unique.
Each story ,
different from the other, holds the reader to the very last word. Some
are surreal while others are an in depth study in human psychology .
Story 1:
We get a hint of author's engaging
tone right from this story. How an author , whose book has created a buzz is startled at the door knock late in night .
A young boy comes seeking some
answers , ones she would not tell easily to a stranger.
We are in store for a lot of
surprises about who gets answered - the curious young boy or the famed author.
Story 2:
This is a rather bizarre story
about how drastically an incident can affect someone.
A common thing that we are so
accustomed to watching that we would hardly notice , changes the life of a rich
lady, who was previously happy in her own world that revolved around her
family. This one simply tells us of the power of a single thought and how it
can start a chain that leads to no where
.
Story 3 :
The story starts from an abrupt idea
, a seemingly impossible situation. The curiosity is swelled step by step ,
never giving the reader time to think about something else. As far as the story
line goes it is completely unpredictable. How a young man is faced with a
strange emptiness - a void where there is no life at all .
Story 4:
This story is a continuation of
the previous one. The ending is surprisingly unique. All possible guesswork
fails and we are suddenly pulled into a black hole of subtle spiritual truth ,
the beginning of it all . The easy language makes any common reader one with
the protagonist, as if we are the onlookers to the happenings in the young
man's life .
Story 5:
Two love stories told in different
countries . One shows an orthodox societal pressure working against the lovers
while the second one , a complex love triangle with a motive of revenge shows
the fragility of relationships.
Story 6:
This story combines the
supernatural with the intense suffering
on realisation of wrong done. It is
sure to send a chill down your spine.
Story 7:
Tale of an old lonely woman's
encounter with a near death experience and how she interprets it. Very unusual
imagination , iced with the author's characteristic trait of bringing out the
exact feelings of a person in a particular situation and mind's inner working in a striking manner.
Story 8:
In this one we have our
protagonist suffering from a psychological disorder. How a simple girl brought up in a
conservative family falls in love with her own shadow.
Story 9:
This is sensitive story of a
meeting between a prostitute and a
college student for his anthropology project.
How this occasional meeting changes their lives forever. It is thought
provoking not only because it gives us a glimpse into the defamed exploitative profession but also
because the woman here becomes a mouthpiece for author's original philosophy.
