This is the first time I’m reviewing a book of short stories. It’s so different from reviewing a novel or even a novella. You don’t get the time to develop a relationship with the characters. In a book of short stories like this, the characters are like people you pass by on the street, people who are part of your life for just a short while. Yet Rubina Ramesh has written the stories so well that you actually feel you know the people in each story.
My mom has a knitted rug, made up of small squares. Each square depicts a different pattern. This is exactly what the book Knitted Tales is like with eleven stories, each different. Though I initially thought that they were horror stories, I realised that they were of a mixed genre. Some were scary, some were sweet and some made me ponder long after I had finished reading the book. One even made me go “Whaaat?”
A few of the stories have a blend of the supernatural and real life horror. It is not the ghosts that are terrifying, but the horror in real life which is worse because you can attribute the ghosts to the author’s imagination, but the incidents she writes about can very well happen in real life.
All the stories deal with social problems and issues and the fear, the anger, the frustration and helplessness comes through in the dialogues of the characters.
What I could really relate to is the way she has taken horrifying situations, where you know there is no good end, and twisted the story to make you want to say, “Yes! Take that you ****”. And even though you know it’s just fiction, it gives you that moment of satisfaction that justice has been served, unconventional as it may be. But that is what stories are meant to do, right?
Blurb
What forces an innocent girl to become a sex symbol? Her desires? Or cruel fate?
Is a lifetime enough—for avenging a betrayal? How do you hide secrets that never stopped haunting you?
Can vengeance and secrets of your past devastate your present? How can long-buried crimes of yours suddenly raise their head? Can sinning be saving?
Is your spouse your soulmate? What if they never understood your feelings? Can you still live with them?
Lastly, does life give only two options? Live or die? What if there is a third?
In her debut anthology, Rubina Ramesh tries to find answers to these questions that are often from the heart and yet makes the mind ponder over the solution. Or is it the other way round? Either way, Knitted Tales is a bouquet of emotions that is bound to touch both your head and your heart.
Rubina Ramesh is an avid reader, writer, blogger, book reviewer and marketer. She is the founder of The Book Club, an online book publicity group. Her first literary work was published in her school magazine. It gave her immense pride to see her own name at the bottom of the article. She was about 8 years old at that time. She then went to complete her MBA and after her marriage to her childhood friend, her travel saga started. From The Netherlands to the British Isles she lived her life like an adventure. After a short stint in Malaysia, she finally settled down in the desert state of USA, Arizona. Living with her DH and two human kids and one doggie kid, Rubina has finally started living the life she had always dreamed about – that of a writer.
Her other published works include:
‘Home is where Love is’ a short story in the anthology Writings from the Heart. Ed. by Beth Ann Masarik.
‘You Stole My Heart’ and ‘Let me Go’. Short stories as a part of the anthology Long and Short of It by Indireads.
‘Wake Me Up’ as a part of the anthology Marijuana Diaries by Fablery Publishers.
This is the first time I’m reviewing a book of short stories. It’s so different from reviewing a novel or even a novella. You don’t get the time to develop a relationship with the characters. In a book of short stories like this, the characters are like people you pass by on the street, people who are part of your life for just a short while. Yet Rubina Ramesh has written the stories so well that you actually feel you know the people in each story.
Oh Sunita, This is such a sweet and wonderful review. You have really connected to my stories. THANK YOU!