Book: Moonlit Matinee
Genre: Love (Anthology)
Compiled By: Pulkit
Gupta
Edited By: Harshita
Srivastava
Publisher: Moments
House
Anthologies,
anthologies, and more anthologies – that is what is the latest trend in the
Indian literature market. While some anthologies specify a genre and others’
keep a general theme, I don’t think one can deny the need or maybe I should say
the ‘advantage’ it provides to new authors, who want their stories to be told,
or their writing skills to be displayed.
Moonlit
matinee is also one such anthology which gave chance to various people with
superfluous linguistic skills to show their talents, but with one exception.
The exception may be the introduction of Sonnet and Ballad in an anthology
which in many ways highlights the book to be one of its kinds.
What’s in the
case? Welcome this ‘Season of love’ with
never before effort by thirteen resplendent writers to pen most fascinating
love scripts. Cheer the feeling of love with ‘Moonlit Matinee’ and love takes
over. It is an unparalleled concept and the blend of anecdotes, sonnets, lyric
and ballad. This curbs the tale of lust, hatred, sacrifice, and revenge in
relationships but finally its love which ultimately overshadows everything.
And the stories?
A
collection of fourteen scintillating stories powered by the genre of Love, and
intended to glorify the different means of love. Hence, before giving my final
verdict on the book, let’s have a take on each story confined in it.
Bon Voyage by
Harshita Srivastava- This
was the first story I read and well, knowing that it was written by someone
like Harshita whose novel I had loved, this story already had a high regard in
my mind. As for the story, I loved the theme as it very precisely goes with the
real life incidents. They say we never realize the value of moments till we own them, but only after are they
gone do we realize what value they hold. And this very fact has been
stupendously penned down by the author. It’s a story about love, hope, regret
and emotions that a person feels when he broods over something lost, long, long
ago.
Emptiness by
Pulkit Gupta- We all
have heard about rapes, but do we have any idea about what happens after a
rape? What trauma does a girl go through? Or maybe what happens to her
confidence level after such a dreadful incident? Or about the trust which
shatters in that one moment? No, right. Everyone talks about sympathy but no
one thinks about giving the lost respect to the girl and that’s what the theme
of the story is. This story underlines an emotional and a mesmerizing tale of
love which arises with two strangers, but ends with a touch of sadness, the
bitter reality and well the harsh road leading to togetherness.
Rasgulla by
Abhishek ‘Atul’- A story about male dominance in the
society, a story about peer pressure, a tale about the circumstances that a
girl faces when it comes to marriage, or most importantly love marriage, a
story about love and the unending sacrifices, a story about obstacles in the
path of love created by an ‘unimportant’ thing, yet given tonnes of importance
called caste is a beautiful plot so penned down by the author. Though the title
gave a bad remark to the story, as it could have been better keeping in view
the plot, the simple language used added a plus remark to it.
Wish you were
here by Ila Garg- A story about the two most important
things in the world – life and death. It
is an intriguing tale about how two people meet when destiny is all set to
separate them. It intends to display the depth of love that one person can
contain in oneself for another even though the love may prove shallow in the
light of life that is to follow. Overall, it’s a well-crafted story, with a surprising
end that leaves every reader with a smile.
The Rosemary
Letters by Ashish Sharma- A story written in the
form of ballad proves to be the highlight of the entire book. The unique style
of writing, the perfect blend of verses, the coaxing rhythm are some of the
characteristics, which I hope would do justice to this keenly adapted script
that a devotee holds for her Lord. The
poetic story unfolds itself with each word, as the perfect narration skills of
the author induce a sense of clarity and purity in the minds of the reader.
All I want is
you by Sonia Kundra Singh- The story is about an
Army man and his crush at first sight and revolves around the sense of love,
the touch of realization, a hint of veneration and the dash of responsibility
that overpowers the sensitivity of relationships. An impressive story, a
perfect title, amusing narration and a cheery romantic tale - that leaves you
wanting for more.
The Love Story
by Harpreet Makkar- This is a love story of two long
lost couples who separate due to certain society norms, and its rules and
regulations. This movie reminded of some flop Bollywood movie as I found there
were too many questions hidden in it, but the answers were too difficult to
guess. Although there were some beautiful lines in the story penned by the
author, but the story could have been better, much better.
The Gifts by
Ishita Bhown- This story reminded me of that daily
soap called Jodaa Akbar, where the girl askes for two wishes before marrying.
LOL. Okay, Jokes apart, this is an unusual love story that describes how
friendship seizes into love, how difficult can it for a girl to trust someone
before marrying, and much more. The presence of mind that the female
protagonist used for the gifts (as titled) is worth mentioning. One of the best
story ever read, with a beautiful style of narration, a wonderful plot and an
endless level of desires that keep the readers glued.
Bollywood
Affair’s by Ayaan Basu- They say every coin has two sides
– The heads and the tails, and so is stardom - if you want to live in a
glamorous, clean and full of light life, you have to cross its muddy and dark
path to reach the final destination. This story tries to depict the dark side
of the glamorous world of Bollywood with the help of a call girl, who wants to
be a big name someday, with the path of realization, ambitions, struggles and
the destination of love. Good job by the author, though the narration could
have been better.
Flavoured Smoke
by Pratham Devang- 'Another
interesting plot' - That's what my mouth uttered the moment I was done with
this intriguing tale of mis-happenings and misfortunes that come in Aviral's
life. They meet in a busy street and depart at the garage, again meet at a cafe
but this time depart away to never meet, but then meet again and this time to
be with each other. Yes, that's what the story is about; as the writer tries to
acknowledge what fate and destiny can lead their life into. They say couples
are made in heaven and no matter what happens, if you're destined to be
together, you'll be; out of all issues, all problems and all things that matter
or may be not matter. Good narration; good story and an even better title.
Lyrics of a
Lavish Rain by Rachna Seth- A beautiful sonnet
that will leave no stone unturned to make you fall in love with it. It keeps
your eyes glued, as you keep reading trying to get into the feel and submerge
yourself in the deep flow of emotions that follows thereafter. ‘Stupendous,
perfect, and a brilliant piece of art’ – I hope I am able to do justice to this
exquisite composition by the author in my words.
Cupid’s Arrow,
Bull’s Eye by Siddhartha Yadav- This story is not
exactly about love, but about the sacrifices in love, and has the quotient of
revenge. It tries to bring in light the mishaps of being a one sided lover
where not only does the love is at stake, but also the self-esteem is targeted.
Not to forget that the story had a good plot, but it ended bluntly. The author
could have spiced up the end and made it just a bit less predictable, maybe.
Ehsaas – The
feeling by Pulkit Gupta- ‘A story with a
purpose’ would what I think can best describe this story. This has been one of
the most beautiful story that I have read in the recent times and maybe the
huge flow of emotions that filled my heart was worth it taking in consideration
the wonderful storyline. Working as an
eye opener, and a catalyst in the present modern world, I would give a
thumbs-up to the author for expressing this hidden form of love on the basis of
a story, and well the title deserves another salute as it never fails to give
the required level of comfort.
An Ode to
Relationship by Nandini Garg- A spectacular
narration describing the different forms of the most commonly used four-letter
word called Love. It makes you fall in love with itself, as the perfect
narration goes on with a steady flow of words that sways you away yet keeps you
grounded to the emotions so well portrayed.
The pros’ and
the cons’- First things first, a book is always
judged by the cover. Hence all I can say is the compiler has definitely worked
hard on the cover as it attempts to add a sense of grace to the book. Any
person, ranging from a reviewer like me to a common reader may have a tendency
to pick up the book with such an attractive cover as this. Another plus point
may be the tagline of the book, “and love takes over” which adds to the title
of the book.
Making an addition in the anthology market, the book
tends to score high as compared to many others’ in the same market owing to
some of the stories which did wonders with their narration and the style of
writing. Again, the ballad and the sonnet included tries to add another plus
effect to the book. The editor herself has worked hard as I couldn’t find many
errors in the book, which makes the book in itself to try to stand out amongst
others’, which are very poorly edited. Being an avid reader and an editor
myself, I was not left disappointed by the effort put in by the girl.
Now the cons; some stories lacked the original feel of a
love write-up, some were not narrated well while the plot of some failed to
create the magic so required to be put in. May be hard work on the part of such
authors is required. Another fact may be that that some stories tried to rush
to its end. Writing a short story isn’t easy, being a writer myself I can say
this, as you have to try and make note of what you should include and what not,
to keep the reader surprised at all levels and keep on anticipating more, and
more.
Verdict-
In a nutshell, this book has a good blend of emotions stirred up with the
perfect spices of love, hatred, revenge, sacrifices and more and I would give
this book at 3.5 stars out of 5 for the effort put in. And anyone who wants to read the book can well purchase it from here.
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