Avijit Sarkar's World

Review of Avijit Sarkar’s “A Turn of Events”

By Dr. Santosh Bakaya 

(Author of internationally acclaimed ‘Ballad of Bapu’ and ‘Where Are the Lilacs?’)

 

This collection of 14 short stories has been written with a raconteur’s lip-smacking pleasure and an artist’s sensitivity. The stories are succinct, surrealistic, satirical, and even scary and spooky (The Hand and Mistletoe Creek). The goosebumps that these stories gave me during the day, continued to be there even during the night.

 

Armed with a keen sense of observation, like the proverbial fly on the wall, nothing escapes Sarkar’s vision. The delightful book is remarkable for its authentic dialogues, authentic characters, and authentic scenes. He has done a commendable job of weaving stories, culled from everyday mundane happenings and in his dexterous hands, the ordinary becomes extraordinary; and by the time one finishes reading the book, one’s face is wreathed in an unending smile, and the wonderful after-taste refuses to go. One can, in fact, visualize the scenes and almost stretch one’s hand to shake the hands of the myriad of intriguing characters in the stories; they are so palpably real.

 

With effortless elan, Sarkar has managed to juxtapose the ordinary vignettes of everyday life with philosophical ruminations about people’s behaviour – weird, abnormal, normal, abnormally normal and also absurd. There is a simple majesty in his style, which remains with the reader, long after the story is over.

 

I could almost glimpse a naughty twinkle in the writer’s eyes as he talks of the charlatan in The Holy Man, a smirk lurking behind his smiles as he writes about the shenanigans of The Street Hawker, the comeuppance waiting in the wings for The Healthy Man, and the outcome of The Prediction. The story that went straight to my heart was the intensely poignant All In the Family, and I almost found myself strangulated as Jennifer and Gurdas are caught in the twist in this tale and indeed, the tail.

 

I am sure, O. Henry would have been delighted at the many twists there are in the tales presented in this enchanting book. There is nothing contrived or superficial about these surprise endings, which jolt you, and make you gasp by the sheer power of the surprising denouement. O. Henry loved sketching the people who frequented his pharmacy, where he worked as a young man, and Sarkar also enchants with his artistry and drawing skills in this wonderfully illustrated collection. The cover of the book is also done beautifully by the author himself.

 

It is indeed a must read for all the lovers of short fiction, embellished aptly with clever word play and heart-warming witticisms.