Salis AfaqueFrosted Glass Book Review
FROSTED GLASS BOOK REVIEW
Sabarna Roy is a highly acclaimed author. He is also the winner of SALISMANIA.com Best Book of the Year Award 2019. Having read all 6 books by the author, I can now officially declare that you can trust his writings. Each word he writes comes from a real background and a pure heart. His book Frosted Glass which comprises one story cycle consisting of 14 stories and one poem cycle consisting of 21 poems is my latest read.
Frosted Glass is a book with bold characters and a brutal plot but has the power of making you feel good. It gives you hope, reminds you that love can be found even in the aftermath of devastation. But on the other hand, it can destroy your fantasies in a matter of minutes leaving you hopeless.
The book plays with your emotions. It will make you laugh, smile, feel the love, before making you sad, fierce, and dead. That is what makes this book special. If you ask me to define this book in one line, I will say, It is the expressions of life. Anger, fear, hatred, anxiety, stress, pain, are the expressions of life. So are the feelings of pleasure, happiness, and joy.
As I read the stories and poems of this book, I was reminded of my own life. How I faced the unexpected challenges my life threw at me. How it made me, who I am today, and what should I do next to avoid having any regrets in life. It is a life review from a man of amazing and harsh experiences.
There’s romance, a bit of mystery, and a lot of darkness, betrayal, and unpredictability of life. If you believe in fiction written with a hint of non-fiction, then this is the book for you. It is a door into the world of author Sabarna Roy. A book that you can pick up again and again to reread.
Overall, Frosted Glass is a MUST READ! I would love to see all of the stories converted into a web series. Pick up a copy of Sabarna's Frosted Glass, here.
RATING: 4.5/5
FORMAT: Kindle Edition
PRINT LENGTH: 348 pages
PUBLISHER: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd
LANGUAGE: English
GENRE: Literature & Fiction
ABOUT THE BOOK
Frosted Glass comprises one story cycle consisting of 14 stories and one poem cycle consisting of 21 poems. The Stories, set in Calcutta, bring to the fore the darkness lurking in the human psyche and bare the baser instincts. The stories, compactly written and marked by insightly dialogues that raise contemporary issues like man-woman relationships and its strains, moral and ethics, environmental degradation, class inequality, rapid and mass-scale unmindful urbanization, are devoid of sentimentalization. The result is they remained focused and move around the central character who is named Rahul in all the stories. We encounter the events that shape, mar, guide Rahul's life and also the lives of those around him, making us question the very essence of existence. Rahul symbolizes modern man; he is not just one character, but all of us rolled into one. The story cycle stands out for two reasons - its brilliant narrative and the dispassionate style with which betrayal in personal relationships and resultant loneliness has been handled. The poems weave a maze of dreams, images, reflections, and stories. They are written in a reflective and many a time in a narrative tenor within a poetic idiom. The poems are inseparable in a hidden way and are magically sequenced like various kinds of flowers in a garland or chapters of differing shades in a novel. Calcutta features in some of the poems like the looming backdrop of Gotham City in a Batman movie.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sabarna Roy was born in Calcutta on December 15, 1967. He is presently working as a Senior Vice President of Business Development at Electrosteel Castings Limited.
He took to creative writing in the year 2007. Thereafter, between 2010 and 2019 he has published five literary books: Pentacles, Frosted Glass, Abyss, Winter Poems, and Random Subterranean Mosaic: 2012 – 2018 Time Frozen in Myriad Thoughts. The five books were published by Leadstart Publishing. His books cover all genres: prose, poetry, and plays.
Sabarna Roy has also published a technical book: Articles on Ductile Iron Pipelines and Framework Agreement Contracting Methodology, with his co-authors Rajat Chowdhury and Basanta Bera. This book has been published by Scholar's Press and is a collection of nine articles published in peer-reviewed national and international journals.
INTERVIEW
Q. When did you first realize you wanted to write your book Pentacles?
June 2007. When it occurred to me if I did not write, I would die.
Q. Your book Frosted Glass is set in Calcutta. Tell us why Calcutta (Kolkata) is so important to you?
Calcutta [Kolkata] in more ways than one has formed my persona and my sensibilities although in my growing up years between 1974 and 1982 I have been away from Calcutta.
Q. What was your experience of writing a full-length play Abyss? Will you write a full-length play again in the future?
Abyss gave me the unique experience of writing realistic conversations to build up the crescendo of suspense in the play. Yes, I plan to write a full-length play in 2022. Although, Conversations between Dr. X and Mr. Y in Random Subterranean Mosaic is no less than a play.
Q. What inspired you to write Winter Poems?
I love writing poems in the mild winters of Kolkata, generally. A way of time passing. A way of collecting my thoughts.
Q. What does your family think of your book Random Subterranean Mosaic 2012 – 2018?
My wife is in love with the book. She likes the format - the diary format; the anecdotal format of the book. Also because it is an easy read. The most complex things have been expressed very lucidly.
Q. Tell us something about your upcoming book.
The book that is getting published in June 2020 is titled: Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020/Letters, Ideas, Conversations & Poems. It consists of a Novella titled: Duality and a Poem Cycle titled: Winter Poems 2020.
Q. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I am a natural writer. When my thoughts are flowing through my mind harmoniously and melodiously I continue writing as long as it takes. Otherwise, I do not write.
Q. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I like reading, watching movies, international TV Series, and listening to music. The last book that I read was Stephen King's Outsider; the last movie that I watched was Sergio; the last TV Series that I watched was Better Call Saul [Season 5]; among music, I have been listening to Coldplay, Poets of the Fall & Tchaikovsky.
Q. Out of all the books that you have written. Which is your favorite one?
I forget about my books after I have written them. So, there is no clear-cut favorite.
Q. What’s the best way to market your books?
I have no thorough understanding of marketing my books. That is the reason I look forward to professionals.
Q. Future of SALISMANIA.com through your eyes.
I think it has a great future because of your energy, sincerity, and dedication to the work and your keenness to support good literary works.
ABYSS BOOK REVIEW
Abyss by Sabarna Roy is a haunting reminder that we can never truly know the inner workings of another human being, no matter how well we think we know them. The year 2020 kicked off with an uninvited guest - coronavirus which hospitalized more than 17 million individuals around the World and killed more than 667 thousand worldwide. But, one incident that shocked India was the untimely death of actor Shushant Singh Rajput. On 14 June 2020, Rajput, aged 34, was found dead, hanging from the ceiling fan in his home in Bandra, Mumbai. No suicide note was found. He had reportedly been suffering from depression, and according to Mumbai Police, medical papers, and anti-depressant pills were found in his house. Was it a suicide or a murder? The question is still unanswered.
But, you will be surprised to know that something similar happened in this book Abyss which was originally published in 2011. It is a Crime Thriller that will keep you guessing, was it a suicide or a murder? The storytelling is so powerful that it will keep you hooked until the very end. Each character has a motive to kill the protagonist but was she killed? If she was, they who killed her? and why?
It is a full-length quick-paced play that will play with your brain and emotions. Multiple twists and turns will shape the unpredictable plot of this book and will leave you in shock. You will be fascinated by the characters of this book. They are strong, powerful, and deadly, painting a sobering picture of corruption, greed, and lust.
This play is so finely crafted, that it will give you chills even if you are a Murder Mystery fan. If you love reading crime thrillers, then this book is essential for you. Overall, Abyss by Sabarna Roy is a captivating, enticing, quintessential, gripping, riveting, and enthralling read. It is one of the best crime books and is very relatable to the actor Shushant Singh Rajput suicide.
Grab your copy of Abyss here!
RATING: 4.5/5
FORMAT: Kindle Edition
PRINT LENGTH: 118 pages
PUBLISHER: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd
LANGUAGE: English
ABOUT THE BOOK
Abyss is a full-length play in two acts with an interval in between. It is essentially a racy crime thriller full of gritty suspense. Act one builds up slowly to result in a crescendo of conflicts between personalities and ideas finally to end with an unnatural death before the interval. Is it a suicide or a murder? Act two evolves through a series of incisive interrogations to unravel the truth, which is deeply disturbing and affecting. As the play unfolds into a very well crafted situational thriller, underneath is the debate about using land for agriculture or industry, the ethics of a working author, and the nexus of a modern state all wonderfully enmeshed into its storyline and the personal lives of its subtly etched out characters. The highpoints of the play are its central conflict between a mother and her daughter and its female sleuth? Renuka.
PENTACLES BOOK REVIEW
Some believe number 13 is unlucky. It is considered Devil's number.
The protagonist in the long story titled "New Life" in this book was 13 years old when his mother left him. Something similar happened to me in 2008 when I was 13 years old.
One beautiful morning at 6 am, my father woke me up for school. He said, your mother is not well. I went to the hall and was shocked to see my mother sitting on the sofa crying in pain.
I ran to the ground floor of our house which was rented to another family and requested the aunty living there to come up and check on my mother.
Aunty came and asked my mother to lie down on the bed. As soon as my mother hit the pillow, she stopped moving. She was gone. I looked at the clock, it was 6:10 am.
That's how my life changed. The life I am living right now is my "New Life".
We all have moments in our life that completely changes us as a person. It can be a positive moment or a negative one. But we change for good.
Award-winning author Sabarna Roy’s book Pentacles is emotionally resonant and gripping. It has a long story that will show you the dark realities of life and is followed up with a series of thrilling poems.
You read it once and it will be stuck in your brain forever. It’s an exceptional story that shows the unpredictability of life, and how we can start fresh, forget the past, move on, and let fate decide your future.
I found this book relatable, inspiring, and motivating. It shows you, how the world sees you, how you see the world, and how your world is changed based on your experiences.
This book teaches you how to overcome challenges and explore the power of YOU. There were moments in the book, which looked dark. But we should always remember, after every night, comes a day.
As a reader, I fell in love with the characters. Each character in this book adds something to the plot. Strong personalities and strong emotions make it a must-read.
This book offers something for every reader.
There is a decent collection of poems in this book to keep poetry lovers on their toes with top-notch poetry. There are poems on the tower where the protagonist lives, there are poems on chasing, and there are poems written between the years 2001 and 2002.
Each poem in this book is unpredictable, shocking, and will blow your mind. If you read after midnight, it might also keep you awake.
Most of the poems make you believe that your life is not a single-player game, it's a team game. To win and grow in life, you need healthy connections. When left alone, it can be scary.
Overall, Pentacles is something that every book lover should read. It will leave you questioning, what happens next? So, go ahead and buy this wonderful book from Amazon now!
BOOK RATING: 4.5/5
PUBLISHER: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd
GENRE: Short Stories, Poetry
ABOUT THE BOOK
Pentacles comprise one long story and four short poems by Sabarna Roy. The work delightfully bridges the gap between the mundane and arcane writings of today and provides an interesting, yet intellectually stimulating, treat for the discerning reader. New Life is a long story written from the perspective of a successful adult whose mother had deserted the family for another man. The teenage angst and the scars it has left behind on the psyche of the protagonist are subtly reflected in the character. The different elements and characters of the story are beautifully interwoven to produce an intense and compelling story of an adult haunted by the trauma of being deserted by his mother. The work is interspersed with thought-provoking views on issues like love and socio-economic conditions in India. The traditional rhyme and meter dominated poems are on love, loss, and longing. Unshackled by the bonds of rhyme and meter, Sabarna s free verses evoke the stark reality of urban life, hitting you straight in the guts. The use of everyday urban imagery adds to the appeal of the compositions. The concrete prison of urban life and the unfulfilled desire to escape to a simple life is aptly brought out in The Tower. The other poems of the collection are more biographical with the protagonist being a member of the fairer sex. The free verses sketch out their life story with its attendant pathos, poignancy, and logic. The best part of all the compositions is that the reader will identify with the poet and will, in one form or other, have similar stories to narrate.
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