Title: My lawfully wedded husband and other stories (2012)
Author: Madhulika Liddle
Published by: Westland Ltd
Pages: 215
This is the first book, I am reading from this author, though I haven't read her earlier books: The Englishman’s Cameo (2009), The Eighth Guest & Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries (2011).
Thanks to blogadda for sending me a copy of this book. I was impressed seeing the cover of the book.
Most people mistake the title of the book to be, "My lawfully wedded husband", when I first searched for the book on google, it merely displayed the same results but the actual title is "My lawfully wedded husband and other stories." As the name suggests, the book is a collection of 12 short shorties.
Each of the 12 stories have an an interesting concept and the author has narrated imagining herself in their shoes. The endings of few stories can be predicted well and for few it is a twist. My personal choice of short stories are: A tale of summer vacation, St George and the dragon, and My lawfully wedded husband (title of the book itself). The story keeps you guessing till the end.
The other stories with predictable ending: A brief lesson in trust, Number 63, Hourie, Silent fear and The Crusader which could have been written with a better twist in the tale.
Sum Total: A little girl who has always been taught to stay mum and patient no matter how rude others are. As she grows into a young woman how she tries to get rid of those who trouble her in a gentle way.
A Tale of Summer Vacation: A little girl who spends summer at her granny's making friends with two sisters which develops in a wonderful plot.
A Brief Lesson in Trust: Never trust anyone nor show your weakness, you never know who is going to make a fool out of you.
Feet of Clay: A little girl who loves eating snacks everyday from vendor who is best at story telling and discovers one day he is gone without understanding the reason at her age.
My Lawfully Wedded Husband: The husband who always remained silent before his wife and the wife is always happy about this.
Number 63: An old lady in the neighbourhood is suddenly in trouble and how does she handle the situation.
On the Night Train: It is always good to have a companion on your compartment especially when you are all alone on the train traveling a long distance.
Hourie: A story of how a call girl changing from Hourie to Helen, to become famous.
Silent Fear: When you scare someone speaking of the ghost, the same person can even turn out to be a ghost.
St George and the Dragon: Who is the dragon and who is George?
The Crusader: A story of a young couple who had to pay a price for the mistake they did!
The Howling Waves of Tranquebar: The story revolves on the history of Tranquebar that you are lost imaging what happened .. ?
Most of the stories cover a wide range of people: the rich, poor and middle class.. and are mainly based on women from a young adolescent, a working professional, a call girl, a homemaker...
Overall, the author has used a wide range of vocabulary. Some narrations have a crispy ending and a moral too. It is a juicy book and one cannot take the book off having read it.
I would rate 3.5 on scale 5.
About the author: Madhulika Liddle is best known for her books featuring the 17th century Mughal detective Muzaffar Jang, although she is also a prolific writer of short fiction, travel writing, and writing related to classic cinema. Madhulika has written a range of short stories in different genres, including black humour, humour, crime and detection, and social awareness. Several of these have won awards (including the prestigious Commonwealth Broadcasting Association’s (CBA) Short Story Competition, for A Morning Swim, in 2003) or have been selected for anthologies. She also blogs on cinema at http://dustedoff.wordpress.com/ (Source: wiki)
This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!
Author: Madhulika Liddle
Published by: Westland Ltd
Pages: 215
This is the first book, I am reading from this author, though I haven't read her earlier books: The Englishman’s Cameo (2009), The Eighth Guest & Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries (2011).
Thanks to blogadda for sending me a copy of this book. I was impressed seeing the cover of the book.
Most people mistake the title of the book to be, "My lawfully wedded husband", when I first searched for the book on google, it merely displayed the same results but the actual title is "My lawfully wedded husband and other stories." As the name suggests, the book is a collection of 12 short shorties.
Each of the 12 stories have an an interesting concept and the author has narrated imagining herself in their shoes. The endings of few stories can be predicted well and for few it is a twist. My personal choice of short stories are: A tale of summer vacation, St George and the dragon, and My lawfully wedded husband (title of the book itself). The story keeps you guessing till the end.
The other stories with predictable ending: A brief lesson in trust, Number 63, Hourie, Silent fear and The Crusader which could have been written with a better twist in the tale.
A Tale of Summer Vacation: A little girl who spends summer at her granny's making friends with two sisters which develops in a wonderful plot.
A Brief Lesson in Trust: Never trust anyone nor show your weakness, you never know who is going to make a fool out of you.
Feet of Clay: A little girl who loves eating snacks everyday from vendor who is best at story telling and discovers one day he is gone without understanding the reason at her age.
My Lawfully Wedded Husband: The husband who always remained silent before his wife and the wife is always happy about this.
Number 63: An old lady in the neighbourhood is suddenly in trouble and how does she handle the situation.
On the Night Train: It is always good to have a companion on your compartment especially when you are all alone on the train traveling a long distance.
Hourie: A story of how a call girl changing from Hourie to Helen, to become famous.
Silent Fear: When you scare someone speaking of the ghost, the same person can even turn out to be a ghost.
St George and the Dragon: Who is the dragon and who is George?
The Crusader: A story of a young couple who had to pay a price for the mistake they did!
The Howling Waves of Tranquebar: The story revolves on the history of Tranquebar that you are lost imaging what happened .. ?
Most of the stories cover a wide range of people: the rich, poor and middle class.. and are mainly based on women from a young adolescent, a working professional, a call girl, a homemaker...
Overall, the author has used a wide range of vocabulary. Some narrations have a crispy ending and a moral too. It is a juicy book and one cannot take the book off having read it.
I would rate 3.5 on scale 5.
About the author: Madhulika Liddle is best known for her books featuring the 17th century Mughal detective Muzaffar Jang, although she is also a prolific writer of short fiction, travel writing, and writing related to classic cinema. Madhulika has written a range of short stories in different genres, including black humour, humour, crime and detection, and social awareness. Several of these have won awards (including the prestigious Commonwealth Broadcasting Association’s (CBA) Short Story Competition, for A Morning Swim, in 2003) or have been selected for anthologies. She also blogs on cinema at http://dustedoff.wordpress.com/ (Source: wiki)
This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!
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