Bijili – A Short Story by Sharath Komarraju | Book Review

Short stories interest people as they require less time to read. In the fast age time is the most precious commodity which is available in limited quantity. And no matter how much we are willing to pay, we cannot add even a fraction of a second to it.

Another reason people love reading short stories is to get fresh. Often we get a chunk of time when traveling or taking a short break during the busy day or just want to get relaxed by reading something interesting before going to bed. Short stories are the best choices in all such (and many more occasions).

In the recent past, when a promotion was running on, we bought Bijili, a short story by Sharath Komarraju for free! From our team, I got a chance to read it and let me share my personal views about the same.

Let us start with the cover page.

As you can see the cover page uses a simplistic approach. Possibly a self-made cover page using a basic templated. It uses black and white colors. These colors go fine with the story explored by all means.

As it is a short story, talking about the plot will lead to some spoilers which I consciously want to avoid.

The title represents one of the most important characters of the story. And it is quite possible that by mistake you read it as “Bijli” instead of “Bijili”.

Mahender Reddy is a shop owner in Palem. He is passing through a vulnerable stage in his life where he thinks that ending his life is the only option he is left with. Yes, he was about to commit suicide and when he was preparing to commit it Bijili enters into the room. And her actions suggest that she is trying to prevent Mahender from committing suicide.

Bijili is a cat!

Why she is trying to stop Mahender from taking such a disastrous step. What is the truth and what will happen next? Well, you need to read the book to get the answers

The story is short where you met characters like Abhiramayya, Rama Shastri, Mahender Reddy, and Bijili among others. The story is good in terms of linguistic attributes. The author builds scenes and suspense in an authoritative manner. Some wordplays will definitely catch your attention. And yes, the reality is often beyond what we possibly can imagine. The author is able to weave the reality in wordplay quite interestingly. Here is one such example from the book:

I wish I could say the right things – that life was good, that I was treated with love, that I have no regrets – but they would all be lies.
I wish I could say the wrong things – that life was bad, that I was treated with hatred, that I am filled with regret – but they would be lies too.
What is the truth? The truth is a joke.
…

Sometimes you don’t need too many words to convey an important message. Simplicity often serves as the best tool. Here is an example where you can see how the author has used simple words to convey what he wants to.

No amount of good washes away the bad…

Sometimes you need to shock your reader with something unexpected. While we had seen references of comparing suicide as a cowardly act, here the author comes with an argument from the opposite side.

They say killing yourself is a cowardly act, but only those who try it know how much courage it needs.

It also elaborates the struggle happening inside the mind of a person passing through some strange situation. And, the following punchline is quite interesting too.

No one alive can tell you what it feels like to die.

The book explores the middle class lifestyle quite effectively. We see that the middle class life is disappearing strangely from films, Television and even from Books and Magazines too. It feels good to witness it in this book.

Reading this book reminds me of Dan Brown books, where the suspence builds and builds. It however ends in a little disappointing manner. Also the chracterizations are a little confusing at places. You need to read the story very attentively in order to understand the folow correctly. It would not be easy for everyone to keep connected throughout.

Summary:

So, as far as my view is concerned, the story has linguistic attributes which are worth going for, but the plot could have been more gripping. Especially the characters, transformation, layer revelation and the end of the story are something the author could have made better. You can buy it when a promotion is running if you like dark fantasy with a little paranormal touch.

At least 6 out of 10.

Quick Purchase Links:

• Buy Book From Amazon India – Kindle EBook
• Buy Book From Amazon US – Kindle Ebook

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