Café Latte by Amit Shankar

• Book: Cafe Latte.
• Author: Amit Shankar.
• Publication House: Vitasta Publishing. 
• Category: Short Stories.
• Rating: 3.75/5.

Story-in-Short:

We are brought up listening to and reading stories, which make us form a cliched framework of expectations and concepts about life. Cafe Latte, takes you on a tantalizing foray into the unusual with some refreshing and some startling stories. A young man, Bikash, is delivered a message through paranormal forces while waiting on the railway platform; A doctor snaps a young man back to life by promising to help him commit suicide. A poor boy, Lokesh, dreams of people at a cinema night show perishing in a fire. Will his desperate attempts to save some lives succeed? 'The Other Side' is the story of a nymphomaniac fighting her desperate craving for sex. 'Smart TV' showcases a smart sales performer, Raj, buying his wife and daughter an expensive TV to cover his affair. 'Code of Honor' is a poignant tale of an army jawaan and his last letter to his son who shuns the army.

The stories cover a broad spectrum of people and events and have us turning the pages eagerly for the twist in the end.

So shed the mundane, become a fearless traveller and savor a fresh approach towards the enigma called Life.

In my view:

Reading short stories is really enjoyable. Several stories, on different topics, with different characters; compiled in a single book are amazing to read. Well, writing short stories is not everybody’s cup of tea. An author needs to be precise while penning them down. The stories should have perfectness and shouldn’t sound abrupt to readers. I have come across another collection of short stories - Café Latte.  

As I pulled the book out from my shelf, my glance fell on its cover which is both proficient and appealing. Temple of the King, the first story in the book, did not really fascinate me as the narration was casual. The theme and the plot of the story too were quite aberrant. But the second story rehabilitated my thoughts. Narration was really interesting and I loved the concept. It begins on a simple note with two people waiting to receive their family members. As story develops, I built up a good rapport with it and kept on turning pages to find what happened ahead. 

Code of Honor, the next one, is indeed a well-written story. A Soldier’s feelings, emotions and hidden affection towards his family, especially towards his son, fascinated me. I loved the way things have been conveyed and found it an awesome write-up. The Black Widow is another story that I would like to mention. This story, that felt like a love story, astounded me in the end. Similarly incredible are stories like A Rose for her, A Highway called Life, The Chosen One, The Other Side, The Dream Chaser, The Guardian Angel, Every Mouse ain’t a Mickey Mouse, True Lies and Writers Block.  

The stories begin mildly and intensity of the required condiments increases appropriately. Every story is unique in itself. None of the stories feel exaggerated. Author has precisely worked on the stories, which can be felt when one reads them. The above mentioned stories are interesting and absorbing. They are logical and coherent and are surely going to give a delightful time to readers. 

The drawback of this collection consists of those stories which are not so mesmerizing. Temple of The King, Let Me Help You Die and Smart TV require contemplation. It is not so that the stories aren’t good. They explicitly fail to deliver something new. Let Me Help you die becomes slightly predictable and Smart TV takes a monotonous turn. 

But apart from these three stories, all others are interesting. I am sure readers will get to read something new through this collection.  

Hence, recommending Café Latte to my readers, I would rate the book with 3.75/5. Congratulations to author Amit Shankar and I am looking forward to read more from him. 

NOTE: A review copy of the book was provided by the author. 

• Cafe Latte is available in leading book stores. 
• You can avail it online via:  Infibeam, Amazon, Homeshop18, Landmark.