"Short stories are like a classroom lecture that goes at a stretch and ends at the near term with some moral at the end or just a takeaway, whereas novels are generally like a graduation course that goes on for a fairly longer period, where you discover some unknowns and face some of the known."
- From the prologue of Marigold
Marigold: The Golden Memories by Manali Debroy is a rich collection of short stories that one can read while sipping a cup of hot tea on the rainy days. I needed something calming and refreshing, and glad I read this one.
This book consists of 18 short stories with differently flavored themes, characters and life lessons. All the stories are crisp and very well written. Each story starts with a meaningful paragraph that conveys the importance of a particular thing in our lives, and then the story orbits around the same. What I liked the most is, none of the stories come with whitewashed situations. To the point narration and simple language help you engage with every story with the raw emotions attached to them.
Courage and love are intertwined. You have to find courage in you to pursue that which you love.
The characters from these stories are relatable and deliver the message that we all are equally vulnerable to different kinds of challenges in our lives. All the characters and circumstances seem real. There is no filter. We often need the stories that strike reality. I feel great when simple stories make a place in your heart and remind you of the essence of little things in your life.
The best form of happiness is to be independent.
The cover and title very well match with the stories inside the book. The stories are empathetic and colorful and also gives you homely vibes. Most of the stories serve the purpose of an emotional experience leave you pondering, but I found some stories to be very short and little sprinted. There were some points where I wanted to know more, but the story ended with a conclusion. I know that’s how it is supposed to be in short stories, but I wanted more from some of the stories, especially in those that came with puzzling situations. It is the only shortcoming, but I am so glad that none of the stories seemed incomplete. I can surely say that, these stories will stay in my heart for a long time.
Love, after all, is the rarest of treasures to be found, and most difficult part is to then keep the flame burning always
If you want to read something short and warm, I recommend this book to you. Also, this will be a suitable read for the people who are trying to get back to reading or maybe stuck in a reader’s block.