SHORT STORIES
I Kissed A Frog - Rupa Gulab (2013)
This is an eccentric mix of 17 tongue-in-cheek short stories which revolve around the themes of love, friendship and modern-age fairy tales highlighting most of the woes of singledom. "Love" is a bewildering emotion in itself and the first section (Love and other four letter words) of the book addresses exactly that via four stories. Hell's Angel is based on the age-old adage that love is not essentially found in handsome boyfriends, instead in places we least expect it to be. In Love in F Major, the heroine falls for an older, married man and needless to say it's a downhill ride for her from there on. Welcome to the Sisterhood portrays the bittersweet relationship between the heroine and her boyfriend when he comes out of the closet and has a sex change operation. Heavy Weather is a sweet story of a chance encounter with a stranger, falling in love with him, getting estranged only to fall in love with him - again!! The second section (The Friendship Diaries) sketches the complex dynamics between friendship and love through five stories. The Ex Files deals with getting even with your ex, with your partner-in-crime being none other than your mum!! Best Friends and Boyfriends is a laugh-out read about a heroine whose boyfriend and best friend hook up leaving the heroine baffled albeit a little wiser. Au Revoir is a heart-touching story about losing your best friend to a fatal disease. Diet Wars speaks about the desperation of weight loss and the extreme steps that are associated with it. Wannabe Mum portrays a heroine who is obsessed with the idea of becoming a mother but then gets a dose of her own medicine when she is faced with an equally daunting task of baby-sitting. The third section of the book (Not-So-Grim Fairy Tales for Big, Bad Girls) consists of eight ultra-short stories with illustrations and hilarious morals at the end. As a child, we all believe in fairy tales, Mr Right, Prince Charming and Happily-Ever-After only to be hit by reality later in life. The author takes on the conventional fairy tales and replaces them with practical and not-so-happily-ever-after endings. Needless to say, the protagonists are nothing like the sweet, docile variety but are sassy with a tangier side to them. The book itself has a witty and quirky tone which is refreshing. Pick this up, if you are looking for a breezy weekend read or want to drive away those blues. (PD)
