Bombay Hangovers by Rochelle Potkar | Book review

Book review:

"Bombay Hangover" is a collection of short stories set in the beautiful yet very secretive city of Bombay. Just like the city itself, we get to see stories from all walks of life, across genders, ages & lifestyles. There are 16 short stories in this book. Each story is uniquely narrated and is set in diverse settings. But they all have an underlying human connection and heartfelt emotions. From all the stories I liked fabric, mist, euphoria and many more. 

In her story "Honour", she has meticulously narrated the life of a vagrant. This is the story of Purna, a girl who grew up cleaning mirrors of cars and begging. Her father was a drunker and used to viciously beat her mother. The inner turmoil of a girl who wants to live her life but is bounded by the responsibilities of her family, absconded father, and rapist brother drew her honour as an impressionable vagrant. But does that stop here, her honour is challenged every hour. But society only wishes to complete deadlines of all responsibilities barred without any mistake. The story creates a thought-provoking aroma to ponder how to live with trivial issues. 

 The author's writing is fluid and crisp and she has managed to pack a punch in each of her stories with characters so dynamic and plots so intense and unique, it feels like you are going through a whirlpool of emotions in a matter of minutes. Her language is crisp and leaves a long-lasting impact predicting certain faces of life that we generally ignore.

Overall, too, most of these stories make for excellent reading. They’re stories of ambition, of friendship, of finding one’s path in life, and so many more things that life is made up of. Worth reading, do grab it!

Purchase: https://amzn.to/3ZejNig