Book Review: Still Loved…Still Missed by Mridula

Often in short stories people look for realism and themes of contemporariness. However, this collection written by Mridula – Still Loved…Still Missed – is a way different than normal short stories. One main reason is the use of allegories in it. The title story, Still Loved…Still Missed, is a story of a small boat narrated by itself. Here the author has personalized the boat, has given human motions and voice and desires.

Another good aspect in the book is balance between positive things and dark things, like birth and desires; death and separation. Even the dark stories, well before they exhibit something that we all dread, they have given out the meaning for which they were intended. For instance, in the story Bluebells in the Woods…, the girl gets into the touch of her passed-away grandma, but soon she is brought back to the reality by her parents. Two strokes measured brilliantly in the story.

‘The Passing’ is another good story that says aloud that this world is a jungle of desires and we are fireflies lusting after them all the time. What is reality and what is illusion – drawn up quite well in the story.

Short stories are looked for message they convey and the type of entertainment they provide. This book scored high on both the aspects. Throughout all stories, the theme of nature remains inherited, which makes any collection riveting and something like fantasy work. Well, overall, considering everything, the collection was worth investing time and money.

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