Twin Tales from Kutcch : Book Review


Book Review 

            

Title:Twin Tales from Kutcch

Author: Saeed Ibrahim

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

The books that are prescribed for work, sometimes turn out to be delicious reads and great recipes for nostalgia.  

 

Set in the Colonial India, Twin Tales from Kutcch is a poignant tale of two women, incidentally with the same name Aisha. An untimely death of their respective parents leaves them orphaned at a tender age. The parallel stories chronicle the lives of these two women, separated by a huge age gap, their ability to survive and deal with tragedy. The story sees them through the journey of their lives until they intertwine in an unexpected manner. 

 

Twin Tales from Kutcch offers the readers a great opportunity to visit Gujarat and Mumbai during the colonial era. It is evident that the author has done considerable amount of research. The detailing with regards to his descriptions of the several places, culture, transitions, practices, various cuisine, is impeccable. 

 

The language is lucid and the story flows beautifully, immersing the readers and transporting them to another era altogether. It’s wonderful to learn about the inception of some landmarks in Bombay such as the Gateway of India, Victoria Terminus and makes references to Elephanta caves, the iconic Kayani Bakery. He manages to intersperse these elements with a tragic tale, focusing on themes of family, loss and redemption. Informative, moving and intrinsic, the strong ethnic flavor of this book lingers for a while.



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