#BookReview :: It's All about Love Series by Sourabh Mukherjee

‘It’s All about Love’ Series is a collection of seven short stories. Each story was released on kindle – one every week over a period of seven weeks.

The Gift – When Aarav is faced with a reality that could change his life, he is unable to make a decision on the spot. Instead, he takes off to Mussourie, to his uncle’s place, to cut off from everything that is his present and to concentrate on his writing. Not everything goes as planned as he discovers his uncle’s diary which leads him to certain facts about his family that he wasn’t aware of. How his uncle’s journal changes the course of his life is what this story is about. This story is partly about self discovery and partly about finding what is really valuable in life.


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The Cookery Show and a Love Story – This short story covers two generations of ups and downs in a relationship. Jay has always felt that his grandparents were made for each other – two people who fought against the world for the right to live their lives on their own terms. But when he sees the couple fighting over petty things, he is forced to revaluate what he knows about love; especially now that he has Tina in his life. A beautiful story that outlines that no matter how times and people change, the essence of love remains the same.

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A Special Day – This is probably one of my favourite stories in the series. ‘A Special Day’ is about the bond between father and son. Mike is a typical modern guy with high aspirations for his career. But he chooses to miss out on a work opportunity which would have enabled him to take a huge step up his professional life in order to go home… There was an air of mystery through the story as we only find out what was so ‘special’ about the day towards the end of the story.

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Masks – The story of Masks revolve around Oindrila, an escort. While there is the character of Arijit, who employs Oindrila in order to make another character Kris, a potential client, ‘happy’, I felt that the story was solely written for and around Oindrila. A woman, an escort, a wife, a mother – of all these roles that she plays, which is a mask that she wears and which is the real her? Or maybe, they are all part of her… Or it may be that they are ALL masks that she wears! In a way, I feel that this was the darkest story in the collection.

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An Autumn Turmoil – I had almost skipped reading this story because of a personal quirk. I am not comfortable with extra-marital affairs at all. In my mind there is no justification in the world that can make it right. But the cover and the setting (being a Bong, Durga Pujo in Kolkata is not a thing I would want to miss; even in a fictional setting) felt too familiar and comforting. So, I picked it up. I won’t deny that it was bit difficult for me to keep an open mind, but in the end the narrative style helped. And well, we all know that love and relationships can be complicated. ‘An Autumn Turmoil’ captures the complexities of human wants and desires in a different way.

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The Hunt – The title of the story and the blurb intrigued me right from the beginning. How can a story about revenge be ‘all about love’? Well, you have to read it to find out. As for me, I felt it was one of the most versatile stories in the series as it depends upon the reader what they want to take away from the story. Not a dull moment and it keeps the readers engaged throughout.

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The Death Wish – Once again, the blurb and the title had me a bit confused. Abani Haldar feels that life has thrown only hurdles at him. He has struggled and has tried to stay strong and fight it out throughout. But now, the burden has started to feel too heavy and so he finds himself on a ledge that could probably take away all the pain and the hurt. But question is if he has enough of a reason to pull back and live. Will he jump? Or, won’t he? The final story in the book probably does justice to the series in a completely different way. A love that cannot be compared or bought or doubted… can it give a man a reason to live?

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Writing short stories that leave the readers satisfied is not easy; writing a collection of short stories where each story has that individual capacity is even more difficult. But the author has done a magnificent job with this collection where each story is different from the other and each can hold its own. Both the story telling capacity and style of the author must be applauded because the author has managed weave seven stories that help the readers to delve into the deepest layers of the human psyche. Each story offers multiple angles and something different each time.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this series.

Review Copies received from the Author