A Pinch of Hope in a Bowl of Life

 : A Pinch of Hope in a Bowl of Life

 : Veena Sethuraman

 : 264

 : #fiction

 : ./5

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 How about a collection of stories about common people we come across someday in our lives and be inspired by their struggles to break the shackles and succeed?

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 This book has five stories and each story is about different individuals, their life’s struggles, and how they reach what they wanted and truly deserved. Joseph was confused about his identity and had to first encounter himself, deal with his anger, before he could accept someone else’s love. Rani’s journey is about learning to stand up for herself in an unsupportive environment, all the while viewing the world through the lens of her humor along with her strong faith in her Ranga. 

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 Suraiya is a pampered child; she had to allow the churning in her to realize that self-care isn’t selfish while gathering the courage to walk away from her failing marriage. Gayathri has a chance encounter with a Gynecologic Oncologist during her work trip that reaffirms her belief in soulmates. Charanjeet realizes that love is about getting over helplessness after falling and falling in love twice and then works to strengthen his marriage! Do each of these characters fulfill what they set to achieve?

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 The author has used stories from different walks of life to spin similar simple tales with ample wisdom. These are stories of people we come across at some point in our lives, it’s their hope to carry on that inspires us. As they conquer their battles, we realize that love is the source of hope in life! I loved the poems included at the start of each story that aptly describes the titular characters.

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 I loved all the stories but Rani’s is my favorite. I also loved how Suraiya evolved as a character and felt sorry for Charanjeet. This book is absolutely recommended for everyone!