Stuck Like Lint

Author: Shefali Tripathi Mehta
Publisher: Niyogi Books
(Pp 156, ISBN 978-9385285813, Rs 266)

When Trisha disappears suddenly, complaining of a writer’s block, Debika, her editor for years, is left distressed—theirs was not just a writer-editor association but a bond of friendship and trust. Soon afterwards, the surprising news of her award-winning collection hits the headlines. As Debika starts reading the stories (along with the reader), she feels she is also unravelling the truth behind Trisha’s disappearance.

A very different novel, the reader gets to read not just the story of Debika and Trisha, but also a collection of stories, for which Trisha wins an award. One cannot wait to reach the end of the novel to know what happened with Trisha and how did the collection of stories come up suddenly.

On the other hand, each story is a woman-centric story, who live complex lives within common-place existences. Each woman in the story is trying to escape from the realities and challenges of love, marriage and motherhood. How they follow their heart’s desire is something which brings the story alive. Very well written, the book touches human emotions and make us think about life and its unwary ways.

–Varsha Verma