Razor-Sharp - Book Review

Razor-Sharp: 13 Short Stories
By Abhinav Kumar
Review By Ila Garg

Razor-Sharp is a collection of 13 short stories by Abhinav Kumar. The author himself has published it as a kindle version. The cover has a very simple feel to it. With the yellow backdrop and just the title and author’s name on it, not much can be inferred about the stories from the cover. But I like how the colour is bright and the cover is minimalist.

Abhinav Kumar is a 24-year-old corporate lawyer from New Delhi, India. He has been writing (and collecting rejections) for two years now, and regrets not having begun earlier. His life acquired a new meaning the day he completed (and later, published) his first short story, and now ideas come charging at him at random at all times of the day. He believes that if he can put down even 10% of them in writing, he'll count himself lucky. He loves to read - general fiction, historical fiction and political non-fiction.

The blurb reads as, “In my debut collection of short stories, I explore relationships and friendships, bits of the past and the present, and changing times. Each story explores a world, a relationship or an incident unto itself: while they are disjointed, my sole purpose is to touch the reader's mind and enhance his or her pleasure. Too many short stories, I believe, aim to befuddle and confuse, and in the process, lose sight of what is most important. Having been in this position several times in the past, in this collection, I present little bits of myself in the hope that you, the reader, feel happy or sad, laugh or despair - but never feel cheated. Happy reading!”

The 13 stories are centred on the theme of love, friendship, relationships, etc. I felt the themes chosen for each story are mirrors unto life. The author has tried to keep it as real as possible to keep the reader’s interest. Love and friendship are two topics, which have been done to death, and yet Abhinav Kumar chose these topics for his debut collection. What impressed me is the fact that despite choosing an overexploit topic, he has managed to unleash his creativity through these stories. Each story is well written.

The thirteen short stories compiled in the book are:

1. Razor-Sharp
2. Prejudice
3. A Special Occasion
4. Memory
5. A Breath of Fresh Air
6. Kabargah
7. Zenana
8. Half Century
9. Lust
10. One Play Day
11. 13 (1) (vii)
12. Bon Appetit
13. Gone

All 13 stories bring out a different aspect even after being based on one single subject of love and friendship.

The author has successfully portrayed deep and hidden realities. The language is simple and easy to comprehend. Readers will find the events quite interesting. I found the book to be quite engaging as a whole.

The author has this amazing ability to say more with lesser words. In fact, this happens to be the USP here that he hasn’t dragged an event by using paragraphs and paragraphs of descriptions. The pace is well maintained in all the stories and therefore, no story goes boring. While in ‘Razor-Sharp’, he describes how meeting with a complete stranger can be a life changer at times, in ‘Memory’ he takes up the issue of bullying. This also reflects the versatility of the author.

Further, this 145-page book is good enough to expose the hidden secrets that we all have while dealing with different sorts of relationships like friendship or love. It’s a light read and overall a compelling book.

Ratings: 4/5

Buying Link: Amazon

This (Unbiased) book review is a part of "The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program". To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com. Thanks Nimi Vashi for giving me the opportunity to read such a nice book!