Book Review by LITEROMA PUBLISHING SERVICES :: ‘ZENOVA 20’ by Reetwika Banerjee (3rd Review)

** Thanks to author for sharing a review copy of the book. **

** Thanks to our reviewer Vishal Ahlawat for reviewing the book on behalf of Literoma. **

ABOUT THE BOOK:-

Zenova 20 – Finest Assortment of Short Stories’ is a pool of whims and fancies perceived through author’s inner eye, depicted in the form of humble short stories in similar strokes of her debut book ‘Fantastic 40’. It contains 20 crispy short stories, written in simple English- mostly encompassing the nine human emotions (nava ras) enthralled through our five senses. Though a work of fiction, the readers would be easily able to relate themselves with many of the characters depicted in the stories. Target readers will mostly aim young adults, however, it will also attract anyone who enjoys perspective based plots, supernatural orientations, social enlightenments, periodic milieus, nature’s bounties, touch of thrills and sweet love stories.

THE TITLE:-

Friendship means a lot to us. Friends bring balance to our life. That is why there is a need to feel surrounded and supported. Zenova typically refers to someone who likes having friends from all walks of life because they love diversity of mind. This context had been used beautifully as the title since the plot dwells in the 9 basic emotions commonly known as “Rasa Sadhana”.

The title also portrays the idea of Love from very different perspective. It tries to highlight the fact that When you graduate from “Being In Love” to “Loving Someone” you understand – Love is not about owning, Love is about wanting the best for them, it’s about seeing or helping them achieve great heights, with or without you. Love is not what you say, it’s what you do.

REVIEW OF THE BOOK:-

The book has more to say apart from portraying just 20 short tales. For instance the story “I love you Too” describes a journey of love and fear very metaphorically as it is said that there are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.

Similarly the story “Love In The Wind” proves us that No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater…The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that’s the key. It’s like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot.

The story “‘Hoping Against Hope” made me believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.

Oh Not Again’, ‘Fatty Mona’, ‘ChillI Chicken’, ‘Second Cup of Tea’ are a few more to mention.

I would like to make a special mention of the story ‘Maa Are You Listening’ which is being recently filmed to a short movie named ‘Hello Mamma’ by Euphoria Films (Mumbai). The story is author's tiny effort to raise voice against increasing depression of modern working women, especially in the private sector. The protagonist is an embodiment of various struggles our today's female workforce face in daily life while earning their livelihood - be it staying at a distant place away from home, dirty workplace politics, racial discrimination, gender bias, social crimes, unrealistic comparisons, family drifts, early orphanage, complicated love-life, relational betrayals and so on... Amidst all these, she still heads on to fight out the challenges and keep walking the path of life with a smile. If we cannot help them directly, at least let us pledge to provide our open ears to listen to their stories. You never know, even a supportive silence can also create miracles at times. I wish, short film team's and author's efforts to raise awareness and fight against the worrying cause of depression in working women will be liked by all. "Let us live well, let them live well." is the slogan the author is trying to call our through her story and short film.


LITEROMA RATINGS:-

1.     Originality of the plot and sub plots- 9/10

2.     Net emotions in the story- 10/10

3.     Usage of words and phrases-7/10

4.     The title, cover and the illustration-10/10

5.     The net impact on the readers- 9/10


Overall, the author has done a fabulous job. Literoma gives this book 4.5*/5* and recommends as a must read for any short story lover.