Book Review- Shades of Sin:Behind the mask

Book:  Shades of Sin: Behind the mask

Authors:  Vivek Banerjee, Upneet Grover, Saksham Agarwal, Aanandita Chawla, Vrinda Baliga & Sreelatha Chakravarty

ISBN:  978-93-81791-19-6

Genre:  Fiction/Short Stories

Price:  195 ( I received it directly from Publisher)

Pages:  188

Publisher:  APK Publishers

Introduction: 
At times, what’s perceived by the world isn’t the truth and when intrigued with reality it reveals the hidden personality which in most scenarios expose the dark side of humans, most appropriately be called –‘Shades of Sin’
As we ruminate into human behavior it would divulge us towards various negative facets which if unmasked exhibit a dingy tale of a person’s existence or absence. ‘Shades of Sin’ is a compendium of short stories which would bring forth the dark side of life. Stories which would surely necessitate, what lies beyond the shades?

Cover page & Title:

Look says it all; Glimpse of the cover page is enough for the readers to be curious. Readers would be compelled to have a peek into it, as the cover page is as mysterious as the title which reads-“Shades of Sin: Behind the Mask”
Barren dead tree and the man in shades serves a prologue for the content which is as explicable as it can be, thus enforcing the reader to move ahead with the book at the first sight.

About the Authors:

Dr. Vivek Banerjee is a pediatrician by choice and a writer by chance. He has been published by Westland in Chicken Soup for the Indian Doctor’s Soul and Grapevine India in Shades of Love. His Debut novel, The long road, which was well received by the readers, was published by Cedar, an imprint of Pustak Mahal in December 2010.

Upneet Grover is your run of the mill engineer cum MBA, with a penchant for writing. Stuck in a 9 to 9 consulting Job, He somehow manages to eke out a couple of hours every day to read and write. His debut Novel, The Dream, has recently hit the market.

Saksham Agarwal is a professional consultant and an amateur writer. His writing has been shaped by his seven years of campus life, his devotion to reading and his humanistic worldview. He writes short stories and is working on a novel.
Aanandita Chawla is a journalist and aspiring filmmaker. In her spare time she reads, writes and plans to find a wonderful way to convert everything she writes directly into moving pictures.

Vrinda Baliga lives in Hyderabad and enjoys writing short fiction. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies like City of Gods, Two is company, Urban Shots, and Crossroads, as well as in various print and online literary print and online literary journals. She is a prizewinner in the Unison- Reliance Timeout short story competition 2011 and katha Fiction contests 2010 and 2012.

Sreelatha Chakravarthy is a poet-writer-doctor and has been published with Frog books, an imprint of Leadstart Publishers, Mumbai. Her debut novel is titled An eternal Romantic. Sreelatha lives in Kochi, Kerala, presently, with her husband and two kids. Creative writing is her new found passion and she has only just begun.

Compositional Report:
Shades of sin is a typical anthology of short stories bent on revealing the dark side of human which has been classified as Light Grey, Dark Grey and Black. In all there are 25 stories and all the 25 stories have been classified amongst the three heads I mentioned above.

Etymologically shades can be of any color but the implication of the stories and it’s connection with the hidden side of human has been specifically embarked with dark shades like Grey and Black and certainly not coincidentally the stories bifurcated in various heads have been degrading on moral ethics as we move ahead with stories under light grey to Black.

Almost all human immoral conducts have been covered. Each and every story stands tall amongst the others in focusing the evil which has emerged from the world around. One of the classical features of this anthology is, it maintains the decorum of interest all the way through with stories bent on peculiar vices. ‘Shades of sin’ is an interconnection of various perverse features with the theme that’s concentric to shades behind the mask.

Best part according to me is the bifurcation of the stories on various levels. It’s next to impossible to choose a best story or the worst story as each and every story is unique and focuses on  different aspect of human vices like Hatred, Anger, Jealousy, Lust, greed, Pride & Ego among the other frailties.

There wasn’t any weak links as such, though it was a collection from various writers from different background and dissimilar writing styles but each and every story seemed to cover all its bases as far as the main theme is concerned. It’s a book that’s compelling and the stories though fictional can be assumed to be true and can be connected to the real world. Stories were like stimulating vibes, that’s the charm a reader would get and would spur them to finish in one go. Over all, a good read to know and learn about the various shades a person possess along with its consequences.



Rating:

I would rate ‘Shades of Sin: Behind the mask’ 4 out of 5

 

Life Adjudication of the book:

This book is best read to divulge deep into the character a person possess in a life that never recedes.