Author– Santhosh Komaraju
Book– Walks Through Life
Previous Works– Debut Novel
Blurb-
Find that majestic mango, your problem will be solved—a mystic ordered an individual who asked for help. My ax is my guru—declared a woodcutter. Instead of preparing a plan to kill it, why can’t we offer help? —a villager questioned in the middle of the assembly. I could not be relieved even after undertaking efforts to end my life—a scholar declared in public. Can you be my mother?—a boy requested of a pretentious lady. I wish I had more life to undo my past—a mischief-maker contemplated in his letter. I would never relinquish them, even if I had to sacrifice my life—a young prince swore putting his life on the shore. I was chained by limitations, yet I prevailed—a butcher made a victorious cry. You climbed up the ladder. I did not. Who reached the top?—a brother questioned his sibling who cried for help. Walks Through Life is a collection of stories in which each story reverberates the same principle of truth in its own unique ways. These are stories serving as plain reminders of the supreme learning that was handed over to us a long time ago.
Review-
Walks Through Life by Santhosh Komaraju is an anthology of short stories that reflect upon the human life on a bigger scale.
The book starts with a dishonest young man’s quest for the king in him, and ends with the journey of two brothers where one chose the path of good and the other sunk himself doing the opposite.
The stories are the sort which give you something to learn. They aren’t the moral stories with just some sermon in the end. The author Santhosh Komaraju has chosen a rather creative approach of giving the lesson.
He engulfs the reader in his wordplay and as the stories take their course of action, you get your message. The positive words are not imposed on you, they are given as a simple suggestion, by some character and the protagonist acts upon it, to reveal that it truly is the good thing to do.
I assume that the stories were written over a course of time, as you can see the difference in quality. The first two stories weren’t that intriguing and when I started the book, I wasn’t sure if this book would overwhelm me in any regard. As the number of stories increased, I was surprised by the change in the thought. The stories were not just better written, they had better plot. A small advice for the readers who have started with the book, refrain from making a remark about the entire book, right from the start. You give the book some time and eventually it grows on you. The author spins beautiful tales. Tales that are unusual, and yet unusually satisfying. The author Santhosh Komaraju, doesn’t indicate any social reforms but he does speak about some issues, quite cleverly, leaving it upon the reader’s capacity to notice them.
On terms of the sophistication of writing, the book is worth having. Its not just for your average read, even the experienced ones will enjoy it. The prose doesn’t limit you, but it does leave you wanting more. I would like to point out that I enjoyed reading the book. And when I say the previous statement, I am not talking about the content, or the plot, I’m simply talking of the prose. Its soothing and could provide a refuge if you had a long day. The simple yet sophisticated stature of the book makes it an excellent recommendation for your friends who fascinate the idea of reading but never complete a book. They could have a good start, especially because the book is a short story book.
Ratings- 4 stars out of 5
The book follows a good pattern of satisfaction towards the end, and I expect if the same could be applied on the few two stories, would be great. They weren’t bad, they had a good message, but they didn’t have anything else to entice the reader apart from the moral itself.
I hadn’t decided to give the book 4 stars but as I have mentioned earlier, it grows on you. You can’t help but adore the later stories and any rating apart from this, just because the first few stories weren’t that intriguing, won’t exactly be justice.
Reviewed by- Banaja Prakashini
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