Book Review of "Nesting of Thoughts"

by Sunita Naik
(Bangalore)

From the shortest story, that is ‘Knowing Jajima’ to an exquisite story that is elaborately charactered ‘Misty Moments’, the reading takes you through a series of assorted emotions that have precisely carved in its required place and thus depicted in the characters. Besides the story and the title itself, I actually grew fondness towards a few characters - Moni of Misty Moments, Kaku of Conjugal Bliss, Monisha and her tryst with the Mumbai Monsoons, that had the rained aroma of the wet mud breathe again into the lives of Rajdeep and his wife, or that unaccountable promise of Kasturi’s little son to his Jajima and a few more not mentioned here - they all were my co-travelers in the journey of reading through the ‘Nesting of Thoughts’

Since it is a collection of short stories, the duplication of names of the character, appearing in different stories, may overlap the hang-over of the character that was first read in the early stories Example : Siddharth, Moni - Moni is repeated in three stories. So the characters may over-lap in the recess of the reader's mind that could affect the independent flavor of the respective stories.

My most favorite was the 'Misty Moments' , though I felt the reference to the death ceremony were more frequently brought to the reader's notice, but then I also felt it was required since it was central to the story's plot.

It has nothing to do with the quality of the writing, but the least favorite was the 'Conversation', I felt it needed a little more conviction to the climax of the story - the twist was not as satisfyingly savoring as the twist that was effectively brought out in 'Hi..", although the contents of the story are wide apart ..

The earthiness and nativity in the stories, the deception and the intensity of gratitude and loyalty, the weaving of the contemporary and regional lifestyles as a backdrop of the storyline, the fledgling and the evolving relationships have all been hatched and the characters brought out in the story with such vividness which makes the reader sail through the imagery effortlessly.