Anthologies are kinds of books which gives readers something different to experience with each and every story. It's not an easy category to experiment with. Thinking of different themes and let your imagination go wild in order to produce stories of grave interest for the readers is a risky task. Author Rohit Sharma & Mahi Singla in their book "12 Hours" have tried their hand on writing 12 short stories to give the readers all together a hair raising experience. So does this anthology hit the mark? Let's find out.
First look at the title and a reader will start getting the feel of an anthology. The cover image has the author pictures on it which is beautiful to see. But probably something suitable to the title as a cover image would have done justice to the book. The blurb gives a little insight about what to expect from the book as it's a collection of 12 stories. The blurb is not an important factor in an anthology but the blurb of this book has been written exceptionally well.
Story No. 1:
A story where love is non existent between two newly married people that too an arranged marriage and up to what length a man can go in order to get back is love from the clutches of her mysterious past. It's a story about forced decisions, non existent feelings & blind fury which makes a man commit the biggest blunder of his life.
Story No. 2:
What happens when there is love at first sight and you feel shy to express your feelings and unsure about the response from the opposite side. It's a beautiful story where love culminates through unspoken words and even when it's confessed the end result is something which can't be more blissful and divine. It's a simple yet compelling love story of two people who are drawn towards each other by destiny.
Story No. 3:
Have you ever heard or read about guardian angels? If not, then this is one story where an angel in a human form goes out of the way to gift the precious moments of life to a young lost & circumstances driven girl. It's a story which portrays care, love, help & selfless attitude and helplessness too of two human beings. It's a moral boosting story.
Story No. 4:
It's a modern day story where a teen is lost in her own dream world and forgets her duties towards her father. It's about the tender father-daughter relationship . A father who has overcame numerous obstacles in his life to give her daughter the best possible upbringing. It boils down to the ultimate realization. The love, care & support of a single father and a high headed daughter.
Story No. 5:
When love, lust and animal instincts take over a young mind it results in to a series of disasters. This story is about such young people who in order to fulfill their desires tear apart a soul and then a sudden twist changes everything in a matter of minutes. It's heart touching, it's gut wrenching & it's a death which one dies a thousand times in their lives over and over again.
Story No. 6:
It's a story of imperfect relationships which gather enough momentum with time to become perfect in the end. It's a story of two such friends and their sudden marriage to each other. This is story is predictable and is not that heavy on impact in the mind of the readers.
Story No. 7:
When in a blind fury you choose a wrong path what happens after that are the consequences of your action. It's a story of one such man who turned evil and then got misguided by few of his own in the name of money and when the harsh reality dawned upon him it was too late. It's a story of late realization and the pain and problems you leave for your loved ones to face in the world. It's a simple story with some teachings life lessons to be thought and pondered upon.
Story No. 8:
A story about if you do wrong to somebody it haunts you a lot in the future. It's the central theme of the story as a small incident will lead to a series of confusions and then a great realization that think twice before you speak. An unknown kind of a fear is there in the story. Though it's not a horror story. It's one of the weak stories in the book.
Story No. 9:
If this is love all about then probably it'll go down as one of the most heart touching love stories of all times. It'll surprise and baffle the readers completely. Expect the unexpected in this one. It's about love, pain & blind fury which ultimately lead to a shocking truth.
Story No. 10:
When people tend to go over the top in their life and try to feel casual about feelings of the others there comes a time in their lives when a single moment or a single person changes the complexion of the future entirely. This is what this story is all about. It's intense, driven with madness and passion & some memories from the past which can go on to haunt your mind forever. It's a lesson never to play with the emotions of the others.
Story No. 11:
When your heart and soul are not in the place where it should be and of all the things you do are just a mere formality and an eye wash it becomes painful to digest the complete fact for the others. This story is based on this theme and it has a surprise in store for the readers which makes it an unique narration among all the other stories.
Story No. 12:
Last but not the least this story is out of the blues about a struggling writer who is yet to establish herself in the writing industry. It's a tit for tat story and a lesson for people that never underestimate the power of a common man. What goes around, comes back around will be apt for the story.
12 stories with a lot of reality and difference in them.The emotions, the love, betrayal, sorrow, joy, despair, struggle, unexpected truth etc. are the essence of the book and have the power to overpower the mind of the readers completely. Special mention for story no. 1, 2, 9 & 12 as these are the stories which can provide an altogether a different kind of an experience while reading and soaking up the entire plot in your minds. The drawings give an apt representation of the characters with a small introduction acting as a cherry on the top in all the stories.
Story No. 6 & 8 are the weak links of the book. The only small mistake that is there in the book is in the last story where brother has been printed as bother.
This is an anthology which won't disappoint the readers in terms of experiencing the thrill, the passion and the inner desires of a man and a woman. Some things might sound or look like as a "common" feel to it but that's where the beauty of the book lies. The beautiful everyday life of a commoner has been used to perfection in the book. It's high on emotions and enough to jolt the senses of a reader in a beautiful manner. It's worth spending each and every minute with the book and it's characters.
RATINGS:
4 OUT OF 5
Every hour of our life scripts a new story. And, every story is coloured with a different feeling love, pain, joy, sorrow, trust, deceit, excitement, repentance, respect, humiliation, loneliness and anger.
We all have been a part of these intense emotions, which our heart experiences. We grow among them, feeling them, living them every minute, every hour and our life is incomplete without them.
12 Hours is a collection of twelve engrossing and beautifully written stories, which express different emotions and pour out the essence of different relationships. Some stories will make you laugh, while some will shed your tears. Some stories will spread a lesson, while some will electrify your spine. Some stories will make you fall in love, while some will motivate you to succeed. Each story will try to touch one or the other emotion that is nested inside us.
In a nutshell, every hour of 12 Hours will take you on a completely different journey by putting you amid the intriguing lives of the various characters, the characters that look very much real like all of us, the characters that belong to one or the other hour of our life.
First look at the title and a reader will start getting the feel of an anthology. The cover image has the author pictures on it which is beautiful to see. But probably something suitable to the title as a cover image would have done justice to the book. The blurb gives a little insight about what to expect from the book as it's a collection of 12 stories. The blurb is not an important factor in an anthology but the blurb of this book has been written exceptionally well.
Story No. 1:
A story where love is non existent between two newly married people that too an arranged marriage and up to what length a man can go in order to get back is love from the clutches of her mysterious past. It's a story about forced decisions, non existent feelings & blind fury which makes a man commit the biggest blunder of his life.
Story No. 2:
What happens when there is love at first sight and you feel shy to express your feelings and unsure about the response from the opposite side. It's a beautiful story where love culminates through unspoken words and even when it's confessed the end result is something which can't be more blissful and divine. It's a simple yet compelling love story of two people who are drawn towards each other by destiny.
Story No. 3:
Have you ever heard or read about guardian angels? If not, then this is one story where an angel in a human form goes out of the way to gift the precious moments of life to a young lost & circumstances driven girl. It's a story which portrays care, love, help & selfless attitude and helplessness too of two human beings. It's a moral boosting story.
Story No. 4:
It's a modern day story where a teen is lost in her own dream world and forgets her duties towards her father. It's about the tender father-daughter relationship . A father who has overcame numerous obstacles in his life to give her daughter the best possible upbringing. It boils down to the ultimate realization. The love, care & support of a single father and a high headed daughter.
Story No. 5:
When love, lust and animal instincts take over a young mind it results in to a series of disasters. This story is about such young people who in order to fulfill their desires tear apart a soul and then a sudden twist changes everything in a matter of minutes. It's heart touching, it's gut wrenching & it's a death which one dies a thousand times in their lives over and over again.
Story No. 6:
It's a story of imperfect relationships which gather enough momentum with time to become perfect in the end. It's a story of two such friends and their sudden marriage to each other. This is story is predictable and is not that heavy on impact in the mind of the readers.
Story No. 7:
When in a blind fury you choose a wrong path what happens after that are the consequences of your action. It's a story of one such man who turned evil and then got misguided by few of his own in the name of money and when the harsh reality dawned upon him it was too late. It's a story of late realization and the pain and problems you leave for your loved ones to face in the world. It's a simple story with some teachings life lessons to be thought and pondered upon.
Story No. 8:
A story about if you do wrong to somebody it haunts you a lot in the future. It's the central theme of the story as a small incident will lead to a series of confusions and then a great realization that think twice before you speak. An unknown kind of a fear is there in the story. Though it's not a horror story. It's one of the weak stories in the book.
Story No. 9:
If this is love all about then probably it'll go down as one of the most heart touching love stories of all times. It'll surprise and baffle the readers completely. Expect the unexpected in this one. It's about love, pain & blind fury which ultimately lead to a shocking truth.
Story No. 10:
When people tend to go over the top in their life and try to feel casual about feelings of the others there comes a time in their lives when a single moment or a single person changes the complexion of the future entirely. This is what this story is all about. It's intense, driven with madness and passion & some memories from the past which can go on to haunt your mind forever. It's a lesson never to play with the emotions of the others.
Story No. 11:
When your heart and soul are not in the place where it should be and of all the things you do are just a mere formality and an eye wash it becomes painful to digest the complete fact for the others. This story is based on this theme and it has a surprise in store for the readers which makes it an unique narration among all the other stories.
Story No. 12:
Last but not the least this story is out of the blues about a struggling writer who is yet to establish herself in the writing industry. It's a tit for tat story and a lesson for people that never underestimate the power of a common man. What goes around, comes back around will be apt for the story.
12 stories with a lot of reality and difference in them.The emotions, the love, betrayal, sorrow, joy, despair, struggle, unexpected truth etc. are the essence of the book and have the power to overpower the mind of the readers completely. Special mention for story no. 1, 2, 9 & 12 as these are the stories which can provide an altogether a different kind of an experience while reading and soaking up the entire plot in your minds. The drawings give an apt representation of the characters with a small introduction acting as a cherry on the top in all the stories.
Story No. 6 & 8 are the weak links of the book. The only small mistake that is there in the book is in the last story where brother has been printed as bother.
This is an anthology which won't disappoint the readers in terms of experiencing the thrill, the passion and the inner desires of a man and a woman. Some things might sound or look like as a "common" feel to it but that's where the beauty of the book lies. The beautiful everyday life of a commoner has been used to perfection in the book. It's high on emotions and enough to jolt the senses of a reader in a beautiful manner. It's worth spending each and every minute with the book and it's characters.
RATINGS:
4 OUT OF 5
Thanks bro :) Loved your review. Will get that minor error corrected, thanks for pointing it out.
ReplyDeleteYour welcome Rohit. :) :).. and thanks a lot for the appreciation. :)
ReplyDelete