What do you think?
Rate this book
Eleven Ways to Love: Essays
New
253 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 15, 2018
28 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 28, 2018
The book is really rated low. But this one is really an amazing book. The way 11 people have described their thoughts and experience about love is amazing. We sometimes put a particular tag to some meaning . But sometimes it's more than what we think and it varies man to man. I want to request everyone to read this book .
January 8, 2022
It is a wonderful collection of essays! Each and every essay is brilliantly and masterfully crafted! Every single page is filled with a wide spectrum of emotions, all of them being raw and presented with utmost sincerity. Every single essay is thought-provoking! It is hard to not fall in love with this anthology!
Some of the key highlights of this awesome collection are:-
🌸Its foreword is written by none other than Gulzar sahab💖
🌸It has the most diverse set of essays that widen the frame of reference: transgender romance, body-image issues, race-relations, disability, polyamory, class differences, queer love, long-distance relationships, caste, loneliness, the single life, the bad boy syndrome and so much more.
🌸Each and every essay is either like a love letter or a diary entry and is beautifully and masterfully crafted!💖
🌸Also, I'm in love with this cover😍
This book of essays shows us, with empathy, humor, and wisdom, that there is no such thing as love that dare not speak its name.
Starting 2022 with such a diverse read feels great!☺️
Some of the key highlights of this awesome collection are:-
🌸Its foreword is written by none other than Gulzar sahab💖
🌸It has the most diverse set of essays that widen the frame of reference: transgender romance, body-image issues, race-relations, disability, polyamory, class differences, queer love, long-distance relationships, caste, loneliness, the single life, the bad boy syndrome and so much more.
🌸Each and every essay is either like a love letter or a diary entry and is beautifully and masterfully crafted!💖
🌸Also, I'm in love with this cover😍
This book of essays shows us, with empathy, humor, and wisdom, that there is no such thing as love that dare not speak its name.
Starting 2022 with such a diverse read feels great!☺️
June 10, 2018
Eleven Ways to Love is a collection of essays on different aspects of love. The authors of these essays belong to varied backgrounds so it gives us a perspective on how they navigated through their love life. We get a peek at how is it like to date as a trans person, a blind person or a homosexual person. The essays are intensely personal, raw and honest. It is one of my five-star reads of the year.
May 18, 2022
Exactly what I was looking to read. Exciting and empathetic, written and edited so well. Eleven ways to love isn't your typical love story and I highly recommend that you read it to find that out for yourself 🌷
Book Blurb:
People have been telling their love stories for thousands of years. It is the greatest common human experience. And yet, love stories coach us to believe that love is selective, somehow, that it can be boxed in and easily defined. This is a collection of eleven remarkable essays that widen the frame of reference: transgender romance; body image issues; race relations; disability; polyamory; class differences; queer love; long distance; caste; loneliness; the single life; the bad boy syndrome . . . and so much more.
Pieced together with a dash of poetry and a whole lot of love, featuring a multiplicity of voices and a cast of unlikely heroes and heroines, this is a book of essays that show us, with empathy, humor and wisdom, that there is no such thing as the love that dare not speak its name.
Book Blurb:
People have been telling their love stories for thousands of years. It is the greatest common human experience. And yet, love stories coach us to believe that love is selective, somehow, that it can be boxed in and easily defined. This is a collection of eleven remarkable essays that widen the frame of reference: transgender romance; body image issues; race relations; disability; polyamory; class differences; queer love; long distance; caste; loneliness; the single life; the bad boy syndrome . . . and so much more.
Pieced together with a dash of poetry and a whole lot of love, featuring a multiplicity of voices and a cast of unlikely heroes and heroines, this is a book of essays that show us, with empathy, humor and wisdom, that there is no such thing as the love that dare not speak its name.
March 15, 2018
Happy that I bought this book. All the essays were brilliantly written. If only I could meet each of these writers, then it would be dream come true.
June 27, 2018
There’s some real gems among these eleven stories of love from India. Worth reading.
October 8, 2021
Love, I believe, is one of the most talked-about or written themes ever. It differs from person to person in terms of perspective and persuasion, like this collection of eleven essays weaving love in multiple identities and selections.
From same-sex, intercaste love, 'shaadi wala pyaar' (love after marriage), dating apps phenomenon to not-so-photogenic pair of lovers, the book has it all in these true accounts from some familiar people.
After each essay, or I would preferably call them testimonials, Sharanya Manivannan's poem summarises it, like a hymn after each scene in theatre plays. For who doesn't understand the essence of an essay can devour it through her poem.
In the essay, 'Size Matters' by Sangeeta, where she is conscious about her body not being loved by herself, love challenges her until she accepts the truth.
Diving more in the book, the fragility of committing to love takes over. In the essay 'When New York was cold and I was lonely' by Maroosha Muzaffar, she found "stable" love at the brink of leaving New York, like we sometimes find a perfect taste in the last bite of our pizza and then crave for more.
The one essay that stuck in my head after finishing the book is 'The one but Not the only' by someone whose name starts from the letter "D". The writer doesn't wish to reveal his identity because his family is still unaware of his polygamous marriage. My heart goes to the writer, for him and his wife have to stay in a closet.
Although the anthology reads like fiction, it's not an easy read especially, if you have been in love, even if one-sided. It triggers you at many points, and disagreements flow in your mind as you read more. But such is this love, as Gulzar has said in blurb, 'There is no ideal love, and there is certainly no ideal lover'.
From same-sex, intercaste love, 'shaadi wala pyaar' (love after marriage), dating apps phenomenon to not-so-photogenic pair of lovers, the book has it all in these true accounts from some familiar people.
After each essay, or I would preferably call them testimonials, Sharanya Manivannan's poem summarises it, like a hymn after each scene in theatre plays. For who doesn't understand the essence of an essay can devour it through her poem.
In the essay, 'Size Matters' by Sangeeta, where she is conscious about her body not being loved by herself, love challenges her until she accepts the truth.
Diving more in the book, the fragility of committing to love takes over. In the essay 'When New York was cold and I was lonely' by Maroosha Muzaffar, she found "stable" love at the brink of leaving New York, like we sometimes find a perfect taste in the last bite of our pizza and then crave for more.
The one essay that stuck in my head after finishing the book is 'The one but Not the only' by someone whose name starts from the letter "D". The writer doesn't wish to reveal his identity because his family is still unaware of his polygamous marriage. My heart goes to the writer, for him and his wife have to stay in a closet.
Although the anthology reads like fiction, it's not an easy read especially, if you have been in love, even if one-sided. It triggers you at many points, and disagreements flow in your mind as you read more. But such is this love, as Gulzar has said in blurb, 'There is no ideal love, and there is certainly no ideal lover'.
February 22, 2021
WHY AREN'T PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THIS BOOK?
I happened to pick this up at a used book sale and I am so glad that I did!
Eleven Essays of discovering love, establishing it's meaning after one hell of a ride and trying to stand your ground. It's diverse (lgtbq+,plus sized,poly), it's real and it's raw. With some you feel a pinch because you've been there, while the others give you perspective of things you don't understand/overlook. At the start of each essay are beautiful poems that captures the essence of what is going to follow.
"There are fingerprints on everything : mug handles
and goose bumped skin,
the scalloped edges of the first blouse you
lifted over my head, the trail of trinkets
that led right back to my own door.
The forensics department called.
Nothing but the prints were a perfect match."
Pick it up for some real love
I happened to pick this up at a used book sale and I am so glad that I did!
Eleven Essays of discovering love, establishing it's meaning after one hell of a ride and trying to stand your ground. It's diverse (lgtbq+,plus sized,poly), it's real and it's raw. With some you feel a pinch because you've been there, while the others give you perspective of things you don't understand/overlook. At the start of each essay are beautiful poems that captures the essence of what is going to follow.
"There are fingerprints on everything : mug handles
and goose bumped skin,
the scalloped edges of the first blouse you
lifted over my head, the trail of trinkets
that led right back to my own door.
The forensics department called.
Nothing but the prints were a perfect match."
Pick it up for some real love
October 15, 2022
Frankly, I bought this book in the beginning of this year and it was mostly because of the vibrant cover. I finished this book tonight and I stand corrected as the content inside is even better.
Each of the eleven essays in the form of letters struck a chord. I haven't read a lot of anthologies and due to my limited experience I didn't expect to enjoy reading all of the eleven pieces of writing. Especially:
🌸'Size matters' by Sangeeta - Thank you for this perspective of looking at size, it makes me feel heard and seen.
🌸'The shade of you' by Anushree Majumdar, for calling out the casual racism that is almost always excused in this country.
These two essays are some of the best pieces of writings I've read this year and I'm definitely going to be thinking about it for a long time. Paired with the most beautiful poems at the beginning of each essay by Sharanya Manivannan, this book is definitely worth the read!
In conclusion, 'Eleven ways to love' is a book that delivers what the title promises. Different shades of love and areas of life that love impacts- are all explored over the course of eleven very thoughtful and insightful essays.
Each of the eleven essays in the form of letters struck a chord. I haven't read a lot of anthologies and due to my limited experience I didn't expect to enjoy reading all of the eleven pieces of writing. Especially:
🌸'Size matters' by Sangeeta - Thank you for this perspective of looking at size, it makes me feel heard and seen.
🌸'The shade of you' by Anushree Majumdar, for calling out the casual racism that is almost always excused in this country.
These two essays are some of the best pieces of writings I've read this year and I'm definitely going to be thinking about it for a long time. Paired with the most beautiful poems at the beginning of each essay by Sharanya Manivannan, this book is definitely worth the read!
In conclusion, 'Eleven ways to love' is a book that delivers what the title promises. Different shades of love and areas of life that love impacts- are all explored over the course of eleven very thoughtful and insightful essays.
July 1, 2018
Love cannot be defined. It's collection of emotions, for some it's easy and for others is way too hard. This book is just a proof that love is myth, it's a legend passed on for human generations in different forms. Everyone is trying to find something in their life and love as a myth is a good adventure.
March 8, 2021
The theme of this book is love, but the instances are so varied, the stories, the experiences. It's like looking into someone's life and understanding what they struggled with when it comes to love, with reference to gender, caste, body image etc. It's a highly recommended read. It won't get you anywhere, factually, but it will for sure give you a new perspective, may be a different one.
March 27, 2021
The essays are written by amateur writers from different walks of life experiencing 'love'. While some of the essays are vocabulary rich and seep in you like a warm giddy feeling of romance, some others feel like an unending banter of the modern problems in love. However, in conclusion, this book is worth a read.
January 10, 2023
As it often happens with anthologies, I liked some essays more than others. It was refreshing, I guess, since I have not read much creative non-fiction by Indian writers. It's modern. It's relevant. It's a great read.
October 3, 2020
Must read for everyone.
March 29, 2021
Such an underrated book! This one needs more recognition.
June 6, 2024
Some of the essays were very well-written and interesting. But most of the others felt like a whining about why they did not find love. I expected a more cheerful book. It was saddening.
May 8, 2018
Bad, very bad book. Horrible.
I am taking the pain to write this review so that no one else buys it because of the reason I did - foreward by Gulzar.
This book is named Eleven Ways To Love because it is a compilation of 11 short stories. Trust me, I can come up with 111 reasons to hate this book.
Enough rant though. If you do get a hold of this book somehow, I suggest you to ONLY read the second story - The Shade of You by Anushree Majumdar. This story was the only good one. It is also intriguing that in the last section of the book - where they have given a short introduction of all the 11 writers - Anushree Majumdar's introduction is the shortest, just 1 line. She lets her work speak for her, brilliant!
Also, there are 11 poems in the book, 1 before every story starts, all written by Sharanya Manivannan. I really liked her poetry, really well written. Do read them too.
That's it, these were the only 2 good things about this book. You can skip everything else happily! And I should give myself a medal for finishing this book though, phew....what a pain.
I am taking the pain to write this review so that no one else buys it because of the reason I did - foreward by Gulzar.
This book is named Eleven Ways To Love because it is a compilation of 11 short stories. Trust me, I can come up with 111 reasons to hate this book.
Enough rant though. If you do get a hold of this book somehow, I suggest you to ONLY read the second story - The Shade of You by Anushree Majumdar. This story was the only good one. It is also intriguing that in the last section of the book - where they have given a short introduction of all the 11 writers - Anushree Majumdar's introduction is the shortest, just 1 line. She lets her work speak for her, brilliant!
Also, there are 11 poems in the book, 1 before every story starts, all written by Sharanya Manivannan. I really liked her poetry, really well written. Do read them too.
That's it, these were the only 2 good things about this book. You can skip everything else happily! And I should give myself a medal for finishing this book though, phew....what a pain.
November 11, 2021
I'm not going to say
Our bodies should
Make room for our hearts,
Only that
There's already space here,
For one candle to light
Another
And another
Without extinguishing
It's original blaze.
- Sharanya Manivannan
The concept of this book is so unique to read. I know it is in an essay form, yet I got to know some much about 'Queerness' and about their hard journey of acceptance in this judgemental society. While reading it made me remember my own life struggles. Even though, I don't share the same struggle they are different, yet we all have our own problems and troubles. Not everyone one can experience the same pain.
People may have different journey, different pain, yet the battle of believing in oneself and accepting oneself is the same battle every soul in this universe is fighting within themselves.
Our bodies should
Make room for our hearts,
Only that
There's already space here,
For one candle to light
Another
And another
Without extinguishing
It's original blaze.
- Sharanya Manivannan
The concept of this book is so unique to read. I know it is in an essay form, yet I got to know some much about 'Queerness' and about their hard journey of acceptance in this judgemental society. While reading it made me remember my own life struggles. Even though, I don't share the same struggle they are different, yet we all have our own problems and troubles. Not everyone one can experience the same pain.
People may have different journey, different pain, yet the battle of believing in oneself and accepting oneself is the same battle every soul in this universe is fighting within themselves.
July 15, 2018
Very average
September 23, 2018
A real mixed bag. Some are well written and interesting. Some are just cliched and trite. Worth flipping through.
August 12, 2020
My favourite essay was "Size Matters" by Sangeeta; I loved her funny, thoughtful, and rarely self-pitying descriptions of dating as a plus-size woman.
July 9, 2020
Absolutely beautiful
I haven’t read a book so gripping and unexpected a long while. Love, poetically portrayed in all its human forms and all its messy glory.
I haven’t read a book so gripping and unexpected a long while. Love, poetically portrayed in all its human forms and all its messy glory.
August 22, 2023
Favourite essays from the list:
1. A letter to my lover(s)
2. When New York was cold and I was lonely
3. The one but not the only
4. The other side of loneliness
5. I am blind, so is love!
1. A letter to my lover(s)
2. When New York was cold and I was lonely
3. The one but not the only
4. The other side of loneliness
5. I am blind, so is love!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews