Traces & Memoirs

Traces & Memoirs, Stories of you & me is a collection of 26 short stories by Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu. The stories are relatable as the characters, themes, and emotions are drawn from everyday life.

The first thing that struck me when I started reading the book was the creative titles. The titles are named in alphabetical order, from A to Z. There is an interesting wordplay in the titles, and Sahu connects them seamlessly with the stories.

The one-liners at the end of every story summarize the emotions. I loved the cover picture. It is soothing and draws the reader instantly.

Sahu has dealt with varied themes in this anthology. This works both for and against the book. A few of the themes are love, child molestation, xenophobia, depression, divisive politics, inter-religious relationship, and daily struggles faced by a housewife.

While the varied themes lend diversity to the collection, at the same time, the lack of a unified theme sends the collection haywire.

Let me share an example based on my reading experience.

I read a story revolving around a Hindu-Muslim relationship. It dealt with rage, divisive politics, and a riot. The next one was about a woman struggling in a difficult marriage and trying to carve an identity for herself. I was in a different frame of mind, and the next story narrated in a lighter vein about a gulab jamun threw me off-track.

The book has a lot of potential, but unfortunately; it suffers from the same drawback as many self-published books – poor editing. I am not making an unfound statement about self-published books here and I certainly do not value them less, but editing remains a bane for most self-published books I have read.

A distant narration tone, unjustified climax, and tense errors marred the overall reading experience. A simpler vocabulary would have been more apt.

Inflamed Intentions and Quite Different are a few of my favourites from this collection.

Traces & Memoirs is a mixed bag of stories. While a few stories are predictable, many of them are filled with surprise.

Wordsopedia Rating 2.45/5

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About the Author

Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu is an Author & blogger. She has authored her first book which is a collection of short stories titled Five Petals available on Amazon as an e-book. She published her second book titled Heartfelt Symphonies, a collection of lyrical verses which is available on Amazon, Flipkart & Ukiyoto Publishing Websites.

Traces & Memoirs: Stories of You & Me is her third book, which is an assemblage of twenty-six stories depicting human emotions of varied hues and arranged in alphabetical order like pearls in a garland.

Get in touch with the author on her website.