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The Line Reader
A youngster decides to play a prank on his friends, pretending to be able to read the lines on their palms. But, what he sees on his own palm shocks him. Do the lines truly foretell what is in store for one?
A young couple suffers the perennial perplexities of young love. Is this one the soul-mate? Are the feelings mutual? Can they speak their minds out in time?
A young man masters the technique to wipe out memories. What could the consequence be?
Woven around the myriad ironies that are a part and parcel of complex human relations, moving from the tranquil hills to the sweltering plains, touching upon the lives of Metropolitan cities and the remotest rural villages, this collection of short stories will take you through the lives of the various protagonists, who are typical to India in her magnificent diversity.
Written in a lucid style with a mix of humour and pathos, the stories are sure to touch your hearts as they unfold...
A young couple suffers the perennial perplexities of young love. Is this one the soul-mate? Are the feelings mutual? Can they speak their minds out in time?
A young man masters the technique to wipe out memories. What could the consequence be?
Woven around the myriad ironies that are a part and parcel of complex human relations, moving from the tranquil hills to the sweltering plains, touching upon the lives of Metropolitan cities and the remotest rural villages, this collection of short stories will take you through the lives of the various protagonists, who are typical to India in her magnificent diversity.
Written in a lucid style with a mix of humour and pathos, the stories are sure to touch your hearts as they unfold...
130 pages, Paperback
First published October 25, 2015
2 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 11, 2016
I got this book as a free giveaway on Goodreads. Very fresh, catchy and crisp. There is a melange of humour, wit, romance and drama in perfect proportion. Short stories have never been more fun. Congrats Agni Tripathi for coming up with 22 great stories and sharing them!
October 28, 2015
I absolutely loved the style of writing. This book is a welcome break from the routine college romances that are being written these days by upcoming authors. The variety offered in terms of types of genres included in the collection of short stories is huge, right from mystery to romance to suspense, loaded with lots of humor and sarcasm. There are some stories talking about the author's childhood days, some talking about his adolescence , others about his adulthood- thus making it a complete package. He will win your heart with the simplicity in language as well as his undying sense of humor in the commonest of situations.
There is a deep sense of longing and nostalgia in a lot of the stories- a longing for unrequited love, of friendships lost,of the awkwardness and pain of adolescence and much more.
Hoping this young budding author would delight us with a full fledged novel soon.
There is a deep sense of longing and nostalgia in a lot of the stories- a longing for unrequited love, of friendships lost,of the awkwardness and pain of adolescence and much more.
Hoping this young budding author would delight us with a full fledged novel soon.
November 2, 2015
The book is a collection of 22 short stories , ranging from different emotions, there is humour , sadness,mystery, suspense, romance, etc.All these stories seems to be reflected from authors own experience in personal life. I totally enjoyed reading it.Its a mixed packet/ bag of feelings and emotions.
1. Fasting to Liberation: is the story of a doctor when remember his days at Govindnagar.
There is only one hospital in the sub-division. how he deal with revolutionaries and citizens of Govindnagar who were fasting their way to liberation.
2. Killer: Story of crime and murder. The murder seems very similar to the recent serial killings. It is a bit strange that someone would use such an old-fashioned way to murder people. Attacking the victim from behind and then slits the throat with a sharp knife.
3. Parting Gift: Story of two room-mates ,friends Ayushman and Anamol, and mystery .Swiss-chocolates which Anamol buyed to gift for his gf.The packet might got stolen.
4. The Line Reader: Story about astrology and palmistry, Belief and faith cannot be trusted everytime as evidence.
5. Love Birds: Is a love story, sweet and simple.
6. Bongaon Local: Story of Ishaan Roy, medical student. The tiltle of the story is after local train .Bangaon is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India.
7. Photograph: Electronic Eraser It was a complicated equipment and involved the latest technology. It couldn’t really cure people of diseases. Nor could it help people to get into shape.
What it could do was to make people completely forget certain things from their past like certain people or places or let’s say ‘incidents’. The basic principle was simple. Find out the group of grey cells in the brain storing the particular information and destroy them.
8. Quarter No. 7B: The story is set place in Ankro, a rarely heard of village of West Bengal. The mystery about why quarter 7B was never allotted to any of the hospital staff.
9. At the bus-stop on the 28th day: The story is Written in coversation style . Its a love story and the author recollects the memories taken place in those 28 days.
A lonely bus stop had dawned into existence much to the ignorance of most bus conductors
10. God’s Own Child: The accident that took place because of open drains.The boy fell into it. Why did the fact that the boy was Muslim make the death so acceptable to everyone?
11. My Gentleman: A bus co-passenger who proves himself to be a gentleman through his action.
12. Found: Umbrella LOST few days back . Where could it be found and the most reliable place is the “Lost and found’' section.
13. Shall We Dance: The story about dance.
14. Innocent: Story of innocent child on his Happy birthday, when he feel special , that he was really liked.
15. Mr. Ghosh’s Bungalow: Sometimes life plays funny games with people. Not exactly amusing for the victim, but nonetheless it provides sufficient fodder for humour to society in general.There were a couple of things about Mr. Ghosh that fascinated most people in the locality. The obvious one was his daughter, who was in her late teens. The other was his three-bedroom bungalow.
16. Tale of the Maxriter: story of pen and how it saved later
Pens may come and pens may go;
We shall write and ink shall flow.
But I shall look in a special way,
At the Maxriter that once saved my day!
17. Operation Infecto Leaderous: A political story of the leadership and opposition.
18. The Other Couple: A couple who left their kid alone at home, and how the kid calls up the protagonist, accidentally, asking for his parents whereabouts.
19. All’s Well that Ends Well: As the title says everything is safe and fine at the end .Jerry was more of a warehouse kind of a rat but had recently been introduced to the world of trains by one of his uncles.
20. My Friend Jyoti: Story about friendship and when the protagonist remembers and recollects the memories of Jyoti
21. The Meeting: This a sad story. Story revolves around Ria and Sayak.. She had been delayed by a bus accident. Her cell phone had got stolen but she had a narrow escape.
22. Yesterday: Yet another love story,story revolves around Sankalp and Aparna .Aparna looked out of the tiny window. She felt guilty. How could she even think of doing this to him? He was happily married and doing everything he had wanted to do in his life. He could not be the answer to her miseries. It was selfish of her to show off her feelings towards him. It was obvious that he still had a weakness for her. But what was important was that he had moved on in life. And no matter how much she wanted to be with him, it was too late. Their time was over.
Overall i would say its A Must Read .The author has good command over language.As a debut book, author has done a good job , looking forward to read more from the author.I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
1. Fasting to Liberation: is the story of a doctor when remember his days at Govindnagar.
There is only one hospital in the sub-division. how he deal with revolutionaries and citizens of Govindnagar who were fasting their way to liberation.
2. Killer: Story of crime and murder. The murder seems very similar to the recent serial killings. It is a bit strange that someone would use such an old-fashioned way to murder people. Attacking the victim from behind and then slits the throat with a sharp knife.
3. Parting Gift: Story of two room-mates ,friends Ayushman and Anamol, and mystery .Swiss-chocolates which Anamol buyed to gift for his gf.The packet might got stolen.
4. The Line Reader: Story about astrology and palmistry, Belief and faith cannot be trusted everytime as evidence.
5. Love Birds: Is a love story, sweet and simple.
6. Bongaon Local: Story of Ishaan Roy, medical student. The tiltle of the story is after local train .Bangaon is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India.
7. Photograph: Electronic Eraser It was a complicated equipment and involved the latest technology. It couldn’t really cure people of diseases. Nor could it help people to get into shape.
What it could do was to make people completely forget certain things from their past like certain people or places or let’s say ‘incidents’. The basic principle was simple. Find out the group of grey cells in the brain storing the particular information and destroy them.
8. Quarter No. 7B: The story is set place in Ankro, a rarely heard of village of West Bengal. The mystery about why quarter 7B was never allotted to any of the hospital staff.
9. At the bus-stop on the 28th day: The story is Written in coversation style . Its a love story and the author recollects the memories taken place in those 28 days.
A lonely bus stop had dawned into existence much to the ignorance of most bus conductors
10. God’s Own Child: The accident that took place because of open drains.The boy fell into it. Why did the fact that the boy was Muslim make the death so acceptable to everyone?
11. My Gentleman: A bus co-passenger who proves himself to be a gentleman through his action.
12. Found: Umbrella LOST few days back . Where could it be found and the most reliable place is the “Lost and found’' section.
13. Shall We Dance: The story about dance.
14. Innocent: Story of innocent child on his Happy birthday, when he feel special , that he was really liked.
15. Mr. Ghosh’s Bungalow: Sometimes life plays funny games with people. Not exactly amusing for the victim, but nonetheless it provides sufficient fodder for humour to society in general.There were a couple of things about Mr. Ghosh that fascinated most people in the locality. The obvious one was his daughter, who was in her late teens. The other was his three-bedroom bungalow.
16. Tale of the Maxriter: story of pen and how it saved later
Pens may come and pens may go;
We shall write and ink shall flow.
But I shall look in a special way,
At the Maxriter that once saved my day!
17. Operation Infecto Leaderous: A political story of the leadership and opposition.
18. The Other Couple: A couple who left their kid alone at home, and how the kid calls up the protagonist, accidentally, asking for his parents whereabouts.
19. All’s Well that Ends Well: As the title says everything is safe and fine at the end .Jerry was more of a warehouse kind of a rat but had recently been introduced to the world of trains by one of his uncles.
20. My Friend Jyoti: Story about friendship and when the protagonist remembers and recollects the memories of Jyoti
21. The Meeting: This a sad story. Story revolves around Ria and Sayak.. She had been delayed by a bus accident. Her cell phone had got stolen but she had a narrow escape.
22. Yesterday: Yet another love story,story revolves around Sankalp and Aparna .Aparna looked out of the tiny window. She felt guilty. How could she even think of doing this to him? He was happily married and doing everything he had wanted to do in his life. He could not be the answer to her miseries. It was selfish of her to show off her feelings towards him. It was obvious that he still had a weakness for her. But what was important was that he had moved on in life. And no matter how much she wanted to be with him, it was too late. Their time was over.
Overall i would say its A Must Read .The author has good command over language.As a debut book, author has done a good job , looking forward to read more from the author.I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
January 7, 2016
Agni Tripathi’s The Line Reader is a bundle of surprises. A collection of more than 20 short stories, with one common thread running through most of them—a sudden anti-climactic end that forces us into a realization of the potential for surprise that people and life hide within them.
A few errors of proofing like lack of space between words(victimswould[p.2],citizenswho[p.2], a miss of tense[surround instead of the appropriate surrounded, p.40]), may be overlooked without much fuss.
While some stories drive us with a thriller-like pace into a vision of the crime rampant in remote areas(Bongaon Local; Quarter No.7B) or in various echelons of society(Killer), some like the innocent crime of stealing chocolate acquires poignancy(Parting Gift) as it breaks the trust between two friends.
Unfulfilled love, another recurring theme, drives some to brain operations to induce forgetfulness(Photograph), some to an eye- for an- eye kind of spine –chilling revenge(Shall We Dance?) and some to the silence of unspoken, unexpressed feelings before parting yet again(Yesterday).
A simplicity of language, an ability to take on the grim aspects of life quietly, are the tools with which the author guides the reader from one story to another.
A few errors of proofing like lack of space between words(victimswould[p.2],citizenswho[p.2], a miss of tense[surround instead of the appropriate surrounded, p.40]), may be overlooked without much fuss.
While some stories drive us with a thriller-like pace into a vision of the crime rampant in remote areas(Bongaon Local; Quarter No.7B) or in various echelons of society(Killer), some like the innocent crime of stealing chocolate acquires poignancy(Parting Gift) as it breaks the trust between two friends.
Unfulfilled love, another recurring theme, drives some to brain operations to induce forgetfulness(Photograph), some to an eye- for an- eye kind of spine –chilling revenge(Shall We Dance?) and some to the silence of unspoken, unexpressed feelings before parting yet again(Yesterday).
A simplicity of language, an ability to take on the grim aspects of life quietly, are the tools with which the author guides the reader from one story to another.
November 18, 2015
The Line Reader is an amazing read. The well crafted stories belong to various walks of life that will take you through a wonderful journey called life. Each one of these stories is simply wonderful that will sometimes make you laugh and sometimes feel sad. The stories cover various genres in a single book. The plot for every story is unique and the jaw dropping endings are simply wonderful.
The narration style is very good that makes the reading simply delightful. Overall a very good and highly captivating book covering various genres and moods of life.
Highly recommended
Read full review of The Line Reader
The narration style is very good that makes the reading simply delightful. Overall a very good and highly captivating book covering various genres and moods of life.
Highly recommended
Read full review of The Line Reader
June 21, 2018
The Line Reader is an anthology covering stories from various walks of life. The stories are penned brilliantly that include tales of the pain and pleasure experienced by people around us, tales of struggle and love around us, stories of emotion, suspense, aspirations and many more that will take you through a wonderful journey called life. Each and every story in the book is simply wonderful.
September 7, 2019
I know this book has lot more potential than what it carried. Most of the stories left with a trail than with a bang. The endings of each of the stories were left to be comprehended to wherever that incompleteness takes you.
I have problems with last two stories because they made me really sad, specially when we aren't upfront to people we love about our feelings and losing it all just for not doing anything about it, but it is again just a story for me but I am sure Agni would have some of such incidents to quote from life that he wanted to portray.
I hope if you write more books they are a little less of melancholy although they do carry a virtue of their own.
I have problems with last two stories because they made me really sad, specially when we aren't upfront to people we love about our feelings and losing it all just for not doing anything about it, but it is again just a story for me but I am sure Agni would have some of such incidents to quote from life that he wanted to portray.
I hope if you write more books they are a little less of melancholy although they do carry a virtue of their own.
May 14, 2017
*1.5* I won this book in a goodreads giveaway
So disappointing.The language was meagre...and the stories were meh....if the book were a bit longer.,I honestly would not have continued.Most stories confused me and there was no visible plot.I liked the beginnings of most stories but they didn't interest me after a while,and there was so much left unsaid.
So disappointing.The language was meagre...and the stories were meh....if the book were a bit longer.,I honestly would not have continued.Most stories confused me and there was no visible plot.I liked the beginnings of most stories but they didn't interest me after a while,and there was so much left unsaid.
August 26, 2019
A very nice collection of short stories. The book is the debut work of the author, but at no point of time it felt boring. I loved this book. Language is simple yet effective and the stories, wonderful.
December 13, 2015
MUST READ !!!
The simple yet elegant style of writing in every 22 short stories fills you with a plethora of emotions like friendship, love, tears, smile. Every youth can well connect to. All the stories had the perfect timing and it dint linger in connecting the bond with the characters. Some of the stories had unexpected turns that were hard to believe. My personal favourites are KILLER and YESTERDAY. These are the must read and was hard to put it down once started.
As a debutant, a great job. Thanks for an awesome read. Hopefully, we get to read some more heart warming and mind boggling stories in future in your next novel.This book actually breaks the stereotypes of normal college romance and we get to read some of eternal love stories with mystery and romance and humor.
A complete package and waiting for your next novel..:)
The simple yet elegant style of writing in every 22 short stories fills you with a plethora of emotions like friendship, love, tears, smile. Every youth can well connect to. All the stories had the perfect timing and it dint linger in connecting the bond with the characters. Some of the stories had unexpected turns that were hard to believe. My personal favourites are KILLER and YESTERDAY. These are the must read and was hard to put it down once started.
As a debutant, a great job. Thanks for an awesome read. Hopefully, we get to read some more heart warming and mind boggling stories in future in your next novel.This book actually breaks the stereotypes of normal college romance and we get to read some of eternal love stories with mystery and romance and humor.
A complete package and waiting for your next novel..:)
November 21, 2015
The Line Reader makes up for an interesting read right from the word go. The best thing about the book is; and it is an important measure for me to gauge a short story book, is how well the stories grip you and compel you to go from one to the next, without much of a heave or sigh from the strain of finishing one story. Short stories are, well, just that. They are meant to entertain immensely in the short time that they have with the reader’s limited attention span of one continuous read. The author Agni Tripathi very well knows these nuances of a good short story, the mix of varied story lines in one story after the other, kept me interested all throughout and finished reading it in no time!Its 'the' book to have on a long boring train ride or a quiet weekend evening at home nuzzling your coffee.
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January 15, 2016Read Full Review Here : http://madhyapradesh.johntext.de/revi...
‘The Line Reader’ is the collection of short stories. It comprises of 22 stories each having a different flavor. The stories dwells in the book are fascinating and it will definitely hold you from the very beginning. Some stories are sketched with a meaning and some are sketched across a possible event of someone’s life.
The writing style is easy and the narration done by the author is smooth. Different genres are presented in a single book. Author has weaved every story very nicely. I found only a few stories having a common theme and all other stories are simply awesome. Some of the stories are having tints of sadness and some may make you smile. Some stories may fill you up with emotions and some may surprise you.
‘The Line Reader’ is the collection of short stories. It comprises of 22 stories each having a different flavor. The stories dwells in the book are fascinating and it will definitely hold you from the very beginning. Some stories are sketched with a meaning and some are sketched across a possible event of someone’s life.
The writing style is easy and the narration done by the author is smooth. Different genres are presented in a single book. Author has weaved every story very nicely. I found only a few stories having a common theme and all other stories are simply awesome. Some of the stories are having tints of sadness and some may make you smile. Some stories may fill you up with emotions and some may surprise you.
December 15, 2015
The Line Reader is not just a bunch of short stories, but is actually a brilliant depiction of life in various parts of India. The tales are engaging, and the author's ability to bring out the characters in graphic detail is really commendable. He delves deep into the minds of the protagonists, consequently myriad human emotions are portrayed throughout the book. Each story covers a different genre, and unexpected twists abound. Awesome debut by Mr. Agni Tripathi. Eagerly looking forward to the next collection.
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December 8, 2015Nice read..
Not being an avid reader gave me second thoughts about weather to read this book or not, that too from a completely new author.. But to my disbelief it turned out to be an amazing read.
The book unlike other short stories not only gives a gamut of genres which makes you to explore more but also holds you till you finish it up.
A must read i would suggest and expecting more to come from the Author.. Wish you all the best Mr. Agni Tripathi.
December 30, 2015
A fantastic read, amazing read and a must read, very different from regular romantic types, the stories reflects author’s personal feelings…Being a mother, I could really relate to story no. 14…Waiting for your next shot Mr. Tripathi..
October 31, 2015
A perfect blend of emotions and genres (4/5)
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