Parvathy’s Well & Other Stories – The India Collection

Parvathy’s well & other stories–the India collection is the combined collection of three of the author Poornima Manco’s works. Apart from Parvathy’s well; Damage and Holi Moly are the other two books.

All the three books have the same soothing cover design, with only the colour variation. Though the theme varies in all these books, one thing which remains constant is Manco’s writing style–beautiful and captivating.

The first book–Parvathy’s well & other stories has 6 short stories; varied POVs highlighting different issues. These stories are vignettes of everyday life; even portraying the harsh realities of life. The irony of each story is deeply stirring, and the endings leaves one with a lot to ponder.

Parvathy’s Well, Lajjo and Hijra are well narrated, and I liked these the most.

Damage & other stories, the second book in the series is slightly longer than the first. It has 16 stories; and all revolve around the theme ‘damage.’ A deep pain numbs the senses as one sails through these stories; stories of betrayal & deceit, stories of trust & hope, stories of denial & despair.

Secrets & Lies and Love Jihad are my favourites from this collection. The Consequence of Contradiction was quite dramatic, almost movie-like if I may say so. The Strings That Bind Us was another story I enjoyed, except the ending was abrupt.

Holi Moly & other stories, the third book differs completely from the first two. The stories are emotional, brimming with hope and positivity. The Best Laid Plans left me teary-eyed. I enjoyed this story the most in this book.

The stories are set in India, and the author has brought out the local flavours with an ease. However, there are way too many non-English words. Personally, I’m not fond of going back to the glossary to know the meaning. This is my only complaint with the book. Apart from that, this is a wonderful collection of stories to read.

Thank you BookSirens for the review copy.

Wordsopedia rating 3.5/5

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About the Author

Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Poornima graduated from Delhi University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in the United Kingdom with her husband and two daughters, and remains an avid reader. She also loves travelling all over the world, baking decadent cakes, dancing the night away, laughing at celebrity fashion faux pas, watching black and white movies, immersing herself in all kinds of art and music, and going on long rambling Nature walks with her family.

Get in touch with the author on her website.