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Urban Shots Bright Lights (2000)

by Paritosh Uttam(Favorite Author)

2.96 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Grey Oaks

review 1: 29 stories by 21 authors, held together by the premise of urban India. Each story is only about 4-5 pages long, so the chances of boredom are fairly slim. But most of the stories do revisit well trodden paths, and do not really offer a refreshing take. The twists are fairly predictable except in a couple of cases. It really could've done with better editing - not just in terms of basic grammar and punctuation but also with the ordering and flow of stories. My favourites were 'The Bengal Tigress' by Malathi Jaikumar, (for the tender nuances) Saurbh Katiyal's 'The Wall' (mostly because of a setting I could relate to) Paisley Printed Memories by Sneh Thakur (for the superbly poignant portrayal of a terrible human affliction) and 'Heaven and Hell' by Shachi Kaul for its empath... morey and Rashmi Sahi's 'The Raincoat' for a well written, meaningful tale. Some stories attempted humour, others were more sober, some were poignant, and many were interesting, and all were indeed interesting to some degree. But what I hoped for and did not find were slices of life that would narrate the human condition that connects all of us. Dissing Chetan Bhagat's brand of 'Rs.95 + hint of love in the title' does not count! :)
review 2: Urban Shots is a good break from the run-of-the-mill fiction we get to read nowadays. Sensitive, bold and urbane, the book mirrors the day-to-day life of a city dweller. Love, hatred, betrayal and trust in short stories may sound cliche, and it is no less than a challenge to engage readers, circling around familiar emotions. However, the writers have pulled-off the formula with aplomb. Vivid yet subtle, sensitive and balanced, the stories have a soul to them. less

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