Book Review
Tales from Bengal by Sourish Roy
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| Tales from Bengal by Sourish Roy |
Author: Sourish Roy
ISBN: 978-8193963982
Genre: Short Stories
Length: 103 Pages
Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/2ngloH5
About the author:
Sourish Roy, an M.A. in English with distinction in
Linguistics from Burdwan University and B.Ed. with specialization in Teaching
Methodology from North Bengal University, has been serving as an Assistant
Teacher in High Secondary school since 2005. With degrees in Classical Art from
Nikhil Bharat Sangeet Parishad, he has also been a frequent practitioner in
painting. Having earned professional training in Lead Guitar under the tutelage
of Sri. Kaushik Bhattacharya besides being a vocalist himself, he also takes
time out to musical ceremonies.
He is also a certificate holder of National Science Society.
Alongside enjoying serenity in his multi-faceted life he has had experiences of
trekking under the supervision of Himalayan Nature & Adventure Foundation,
Siliguri.
From the very beginning, he has been a fond reader of good
literary books. He took to writing at an early stage of his life with writing
for the wall magazines and annual magazines in school and college. Now, as a
writer, he has earned the renown of being dedicated to the daily life problems
of the underprivileged class. His stories have been previously published in
local English and Bangla magazines and pamphlets. His critical essays have also
been provided space in some academic books.
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| Sourish Roy (right) receiving award for Best Short Story Collection Prize |
Twitter Handle: @sourishjal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sourishjal and @sourishjal.TalesFromBengal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sourishjal and @sourishjal.TalesFromBengal
REVIEW
Narration
Tales from Bengal is a compilation of nine short stories
depicting the serious transformation in the lives of villagers of Bengal in the last few decades of the twentieth century. Some of these short stories are narrated
in first person point of view and some in third person point of view. This is
the work of fine literature and Sourish Roy has put life in this book. Author
narrates these significant stories using profound language and creative writing
style. Each and every line says something, holds a meaning. One of the major
trait of this book is, the voice which keeps you curious throughout the entire
book.
Location and Setting
All stories are set in different lands of Indian state West
Bengal. As I mentioned above, these stories take place in the most
transformative decades of the twentieth century. Everything was changing in the
sense of science, technology, entertainment and politically also. Sourish Roy has
portrayed this picture in context of Bengal. All stories have major influence
of Bengal and its culture and anything you could imagine. Author has tried to
include as many topics as possible and made this book nothing less than a
carnival of a sort.
Theme
While these stories are all distinct, they really seemed to
me somewhat related but actually, they are not. The first story ‘Absolution’ is
about accepting one’s limitations. ‘Anomaly’ is about the flaws come with
evolution. ‘Iron irony’ depicts the story of a blacksmith going through the sudden development
of marketing strategies. ‘Ratan’s Maa’ shows how, healthcare was made available
to a commoner, which once they were deprived of. ‘The abstainer’ sketches the
picture of a young, an incompetent descent to the family heritage. ‘The
Handyman' tells a story, where a man was robbed of everything because of
government’s empty pocket. ‘The Magician’s Plight’ is a story of a magician (a
migrant from another country), who discovers the light after a huge loss. ‘The
Mail-bearer’ is indeed a story of a mail-bearer and story which serves the message
of ‘Perseverance never goes unpaid.’ And the last ‘The Quack’ is the story of a
doctor who was denied the dream he had given his all away for, not once
but twice.
My Views
If I have to retitle these stories with an adjective, it
would be shattering, devastating and what not. While urbanization brought
massive transformation, it wasn’t good for everyone. As the author says, these
villagers are still waiting for elevation in their wretched living, which would
probably take more time and until then would undergo numerous changes as
depicted in the book. I really loved each story and devoured them again and
again to re-ingest those feelings of pain and acceptance. It also made me
reminisce the stories my grandma used to tell and this book had similar
vibes, Sourish Roy made each story unforgettable by his literary skills.
Happy Reading!
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