Title: Dream Castle
Edited By: Kavya Shah and Akash Rumade
Dream Castle is the anthology of 20 short stories. The title itself suggests that the book is about the dreams which one sees so as to sew it up in his/her life. The cover of the book looks so angelic and ravishing and it held my attention at first glance. In the cover, the sun, the clouds and the starts sojourns together showing a perfect vision of dreaming from the chair settled comfortably below the tree. The blurb gives the clue, what the book is all about.
As the blurb goes: Dreams are the memories of the soul. We all have a dream that makes us one in a million. No one before has ever been us, no one in centuries will ever be way we are. Reveries, the popping bubble in our minds that comes up day in and day out. It takes courage to stick by your dreams for you have to keep up equilibrium with your passion, loved ones and society. Beware of these who dream with open eyes, they are the one who will cheat on their fears and doubts just to marry their dreams.
Dream Castle will take you through a journey of passion, experiences, strength and assorted hues of life. Revive and Relish this stimulative, rousing compilation of short stories and be inspired to hold your ground.
The Guardian Angel by Ruchi Rai: The first story of the book and I must say it is a very compelling story. The story oozes out with the past memories of the protagonist. The authoress focuses on acquiring her unspoken thoughts. The writing fashion and the words chosen are so remarkable. A good story to read.
The Knack of Present by Kavya Shah: In the Story the authoress shows up the feeling of faith having in one’s eyes. While reading the story I found the theme of the story as a common theme but the way of delineating the story is eloquent. The story fills the reader’s mind with the message-“One should never lose hope”. A wondrous story having a vivid and satisfactory end.
Breeze of Love by Priyanka Raiyani Bose: The story is about having the feeling of love for someone and when the presence of that love is a question in your life. Everyone is adorned with love in his/her life someday. And when you are not sure to get your love then it fills emptiness in your life. The authoress chose the theme of the story having usual facts and events hence it couldn’t capture my attention. A common story line presented in a simple way.
Esperanza by Akash Rumade: Esperanza is a Spanish word refers to “hope”. The story simply depicts the facts related to life or situations. Author throws light on circumstances, situations and chances that may occur in one’s life and how he/she need to have vibes of it, to react to it and to handle it. A good way of explaining a lesson to hold sanguineness on every path of life.
The New Beginning by Rohit Sukhwani: The story is about facing disappointment in life regarding a certain urge. The story is very impressive and trapped me till the end. It taught me not to give up on any thought and your wishes so easily. The way of presenting the story is laudable.
Dream It, Destiny Will Follow by Isha Sharma: The authoress has conveyed a very true message through the story which might be a part of everyone’s life. The story and the way of presenting the story is regular. If some more drama and a pinch of freshness were there then story would be more engaging to read and would be proved up to the mark. Although the message conveyed through the story is to be proud of. The authoress conveys –“One should be adamant at his/her goals”.
Gateway To *Happiness* by Swatii Chandak: The authoress describes her feelings about her lost love. The feeling which she was holding but not showing to his love and after losing her love she was more in love with him. The story is hanky-dory and hence locked me up all the time. ‘Fine and Dandy’ storyline.
Reunion by Aabha Pandey: After reading such a wonderful love story I found this story to be again a story having love theme. The story is about separation of two souls which were in love with each other years back. Such kinda stories always hold my attention. The authoress very finely narrates the story and in an impressive manner. A touching story which is hard to forget.
Light in Nightmare by Vipul Dhingra: The author in the story emphasis on changing perceptions according to situations. Its human nature of building perceptions. The author conveys –“Not to engross ourselves or react to a situation according to past events”, the past may hold something bad or good but it’s not necessary that it will hold the same thing in future for the same event or possibilities. A nice story conveying a nice message, “the world not only holds bad and painful things but also beautiful things”.
I Wish Our Roads Cross Someday by Hemant Shardul: Reading love stories back to back will fill you up with emotions and this story will give you a feeling of forlorn. In the story the protagonist was in doldrums, sick at heart and despondent as he couldn’t complete his love. The flow of the story was good and hooked me up till the end. Although the story was common but it still touches my heart. A lavish story having a pinch of joy and sorrow at the same time.
The Bicycle Ride Moments by Aishwarya Kamath: The story encases the past childhood memories of the protagonist. The time when she used to dream about her goals and the time which she spends in her hometown roaming here and there in search of her dreams. The authoress chose a nice theme and successfully presented it on the edges of my mind. A nice read.
The Fabler by Akash Rumade: The author in this story describes the feeling of protagonist of showing himself flawless in front of all and his love, of showing what is truth, of showing what is really exists, of showing what is right and wrong. The story is very well unfolded by the author. A winsome story.
Dreams Or Craziness by Ankush Gupta: For accomplishing dreams you need to work hard day and night but when there is no one beside you i.e. your friends and family then it would be harder. The author outlines the same message by the story. It might bring the feeling of impel to reader’s mind. The story was more compelling as it completes its journey and I didn’t lose my concentration for a single second throughout the story. Such kinds of stories are really adorable and motivating.
Love By Chance by Manas Jomraj: What if you know you can’t accomplish something as it is quite impossible but still you are dreaming of it. The story is about a love at first sight which is completely unknown and is disappeared within few minutes. Having hopes for such kind of love is not held by everyone, only a few who have power can hold the feeling for such love which is impossible to meet. Thinking about such kind of love is like trying to plant a tree without soil, the story fills you up with the same feeling.
A Mysterious Dream by Kajal Lalwani: Having roses of success in one’s own garden is the outcome of his/her efforts. But what if someone is jealous of your success and starts to harm you either directly or indirectly. Facing such situations in life is common at work places, schools, colleges and sometimes in family also. In the story the authoress simply makes us understand about the same phenomenon through a story. The authoress uses a good theme and the way of presenting the story was creditable. The story was simply awesome.
Gusty “She” by Aditi Shrivastava: The story delineates the message- “The obstacles are stepping stones to success”. We all know that there are hindrances while achieving the goals of your life and without hurdles there would be no fun. The whole story let us understand that on achieving the goals you may be caught up with tough and uphill stages. Form the beginning till the end the authoress convergence was immobile. She seizes the thought of “not to let ourselves down in dumps even if we face a failure”. A good moral story.
Reminiscence by Kavya Shah: Everyone has to marry someone one day or the other. Marriage is like a phase of life which everyone paints. The authoress talks about the marriage and love in her story. The more focus is given on what one experiences in marriage, how the marriage plays in life and what one need to adapt in his/her marriage life. I would say it a lesson rather than a story which teaches about the ingredients of marriage. The authoress maintained the theme very well till the last and deeply explains her thinking. A nice read.
Black and Blue by Anirban Nanda: The way author chose to explain his thoughts is different. The story was very well written and has an impressive effect on me. The message which story conveys is to move on from the past fears. To let ourselves bury in the fears of past is of no worth. If something fearful is making us numb then we should let it go as early as possible. I like the story very much and a story which I found dissimilar from the others in the book.
Anecdote by Priyanka Raiyani Bose: Again a story showing the separation of two loving souls. But this story is really touchy. The story folded every memories of protagonist about his love from the present to past. I was completely trapped in the story. It was the candid narration and the soothing flow of the story which hooked me all the time. A very good story.
The Fairy Tale by Dishi Kripalani: Here again comes a story showing infatuation, sentiments, ardency and feelings one has trapped in her heart for her love. The story has images like a comic book which were really appreciative. The pictures depict the feeling and sensuality of ardour. The authoress describes the feeling of being together, the feeling of having love for ourselves in someone’s eyes and feeling of spending time with her beloved. I would not say it a story rather it is the collection of events and thoughts of a lover’s mind which are encased in pictures. The authoress simply goes on submerging what she feels by her words. So, it’s simply a bunch of flavors of love and not a story.
All the stories in book are presented very well and had defined its theme up to the mark. Some of the stories are very good to read and filled me up with zeal and enthusiasm. Every author who has contributed in this book owns a very good writing style.
I didn’t found any potholes in the book, all that I could say is that a book having a bunch of lessons. The stories selected in the book are charismatic and captivating which puts a magnetic effect on me.
A good book to spend time with. Recommended to every reader out there.
Ratings: 4.5/5
Reviewer : Megha Biloniya