Memoirs is the second book by author Kanika Sharma and it was a very beautiful read for me. It is a collection of poems, prose, and short fiction stories that take you on a journey of life filled with a lot of emotions.
Reading about the real-life experiences of people has always fascinated me because, I feel, it teaches you so many things. There is no sugar coating or exaggeration, it is just life in its rawest form presented to you.
Book Length: 81 pages
Published on: 25th of July 2021
This is a very short read and I feel like a lot of us can relate to this book in many ways. It isn’t something that is going to blow your mind because, let’s face it, life seldom does that but it is a very heartwarming book that will make you think, ponder, and remember.
Even the fiction pieces have a quality of realism to them and the nonfiction ones are so relatable that never for once does it feel like reading about someone else’s life. The author has done a wonderful job in writing this book in such a way that makes it feel like it’s not the author’s thoughts or stories but the readers. It subtly draws you in and keeps you in something that I can only equate to a warm embrace.🙂
When I finished the book, this dialogue by Naina Talwar from Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani came to my mind-
Another thing I loved about this book is its unconventional approach. The author has not allowed herself to be limited by a certain style or genre. She has used whatever form is necessary to talk about the things she wants to talk about.
If there is a delightful fan letter on one hand then there’s a chilling short story on the other. Not to mention an extremely poignant piece of a note to one’s future daughter. This book has many things and, to the author’s absolute credit, never feels like too much packed into one. In fact, after finishing the book I sort of found myself wanting for more.
On being asked to pick up my favorite pieces from the book, I would pick:
- The Gifting Ritual- The story of Raghav and Sia. From being the college sweethearts to becoming a power couple in the thriving corporate world- they didn’t know love would change them in so many ways or was it something else? What happened that two people who were madly in love with one another, went so far away from each other that they can no longer be in the same
On reading this short story I felt like I know this couple- we all have people like this in our lives or maybe we are those couple and we have all been through such phases in life.
- The Vetal – A powerful and chilling supernatural story with a very strong social commentary. It’s difficult to talk much about this piece without going into spoiler territory so I’ll refrain from a longer description but this is one story you should definitely check out.
- A Letter To My future Daughter ─ As mentioned earlier, a very poignant piece. It is real, funny, sad, hopeful, and practical. This one is something that a lot of women would relate to and think of the words written in their own voice.
Get your copy of Memoirs from Amazon here