Book Review
The art of fiction is not a particular kind of skill you can acquire by practice. Something called “God gift” filled with mysterious chemistry of creativity embedded in your frontal cortex, giving you a third eye to observe the hidden meaning of life and the world which is not observable with eyes occupying the space below your forehead.
You cannot assemble a story in bits and pieces. Telling a tale means an act of stretching yourself in such a way that you are able to keep within the grips of the gravity of reality as well as capable of traveling beyond space and time.
Recently, I got a copy of a short story collection written by Shakil Ahmed-Chewing Gum, eventually a strange title in the given literary tradition. I thought, why did Shakil have to choose Chewing Gum as the title for his first story collection? I came to realize through his short stories that he is a keen observer of post-modern phenomena prevailing in urban societies. What is it? If we take the term, “absurdity” from Albert Camus, we can understand the strangeness of relationship and utilitarian mindset of the new generation. (Book Review)
