Thanks to Raghuram for the following review

A spectacular short story collection by Jayanthi Sankar. Every story has a very strong theme with a predominant character and the writer exceptionally webs the plot around the character. Every story unfolding systematically, tempts the reader to guess the next sequence of events, but either surprises or shocks him in the end.

The author’s writing style with short paragraphs, line formation with precise wordings will give immense joy to readers. None of the lines slips out of the storyline and the reader cannot even skip one of them even at the top reading speed.

Since the author has been living in Singapore for 3 decades, she has gathered numerous themes, events, incidents that span time and lands… India, Singapore, Malaya, Burma, etc and carved them as stories with a unique blend of Indian and Foreign nativity.

The reader’s mind easily gets closer to the prime characters and at the end of a story it becomes a vacuum, needs to take at least a short break before resuming on another story.

The shocking connection of “Are leeches found here…” opening line with climax paragraphs of the story “Did Churchill Know”… the usage of deaf and mute boys like Mani as “Punkah-Wallah” by English people to ensure their privacy. The “Mobile dictionary” Ramasamy’s travel to Malaya and the parallel events at home which is revealed slowly with a paragraph of a secret letter at each part of the story are all a few examples… that would give an adrenaline rush to readers.

This much variety is rare in any collection of short stories. The has exactly 150 pages, weighs less than a kindle… but gives an incredible view by rewinding the time on our kin’s yester generation. A must-read book.