Blurb:

The Times of India ran a short story contest between July, 2015 and May, 2016. Eleven of India's best selling authors were requested to provide a prompt (one each month) based on which a short story was to be submitted. This short story collection comprises the authors' submission for each prompt. The short stories submitted cover a range of genres: historical fiction, drama, humour, relationships, current affairs. The author in some instances has tried to give an innovative twist to the prompts, trying to lead the short story away from the direction the prompts indicate.

Review:

Last year Times of India conducted a short story contest and Dissent is the outcome of this contest which was hosted over a period of 11 months. The ebook is a collection of all the eleven submissions by Deepak Kaul for the Write India Campaign of Times Of India.

All the 11 short stories are distinct from each other and belong to different genres which is understandable as the stories were supposed to be written based on the prompts given by some best selling authors of the nation. So to meet the prompt and its flavour, the stories had to be from various genres.

The first story of any short story collection lays the pitch for the readers and thus needs to be one of the best pick from the lot, but the book lacked in this department. The book opened with a lacklustre story Dissent which is about a girl, the story being set during pre independent India. However, in the later stories, the author has shown much improvement and growth in writing and storytelling style.

The story concepts picked by the author are quite good and unique but he lacked somewhere in the execution. They failed to intrigue the reader. This book might interest people who prefer having a light, quick read, but for mature and serious reading, the book is not recommended. The cover of the book is not appealing either. Some of the stories that I liked are LCA, Mirage and Karma Agni.
Basically this collection of stories sums up the everyday nuances of life that also leave the reader to interpret the ending in his or her own manner. The book can not be considered as a great piece of writing and someone looking for a light entertaining read may go for it.

My Take: The author Deepak Kaul has done a decent job as a beginner. The stories are light hearted and entertaining suitable to keep you engaged during a Metro ride. Readers looking for some serious reading may not find it a suitable fit.

I received a free copy of the ebook from Writers Melon in lieu of an honest review.

My Rating: 2.5/5

Other Details:

Author: Deepak Kaul
Format: eBook
Genre:  Short Stories