Happy Birthday by Meghna Pant - A Review

On The Jacket –

Happy Birthday! is a celebration of the complex, mysterious inner lives of our fellow human beings, by the award-winning novelist Meghna Pant. A dedicated friend undertakes one last labour of love for a childless woman. Nadia— married into money—finds herself facing uncomfortable truths about her comfortably numb marriage. A Mumbai slum-girl dreams of speaking words valuable enough to be translated into English. An American tourist seeking nirvana sets off a sudden chain of events when his bag is stolen, and destiny plays her hand. A retired civil servant of modest means struggles to support his snooty foreign-returned daughter. Meghna Pant’s knife-sharp stories are compelling, emotionally intelligent and provide a rare glimpse into the strange workings of the human heart. They evade neat categorization, and are the perfect read for all curious spirits.

Now, Review Time –

Happy Birthday is a collection of short stories. Plus point of this book is that every story is different. Each story is more overwhelming than the last. Each story is written in more perfect way than the last one. 

The Gola Master – I loved the way author has portrayed the story. It created magic. It’s an impressive story

 Hoopsters – This story is about a girl who is pessimistic about everything in life and believes that all poor people are either thieves or killers. This story catches your attention from the very starting. Narration skills are good.

Happy Birthday – This story is about a woman called Nadia who is the perfect Indian wife and despite her lifeless marriage and her husband’s infidelity, remains loyal to her hurting bondage. This one is my favorite. The character sketch of the main protagonist comes live when you read the book.

“Friends – As the titles suggests, this story is all about selfless friendship. Well written.
Lemon and Chilli – The characterization and plot is perfect but author could not create the magic. Overall good attempt.

Clips and Cane – This story is about relationships, heartbreak and betrayal. This was an interesting read and you can easily relate yourself with it. Impressive story. 

Shaitans – This story deals with destiny and karma. The author has done justice with plot and characters. Ending was perfect yet unpredictable.

Happy Birthday is an unique book. In past few months, I have seen the trend many authors are coming with short – story books. But every book doesn’t strike chord with readers. But surely this is the book which connects wells and well written. Hard work of author can be seen clearly throughout the book. This book is like an addiction. Each story wants to be read. 

Cover design is just awesome. This book will leave you thinking once you are done reading it. I would like to rate this 3.5/5. Happy Birthday stands recommended by Read In Park!