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Brink & Beyond : a collection of short stories
To anyone who has ever wondered if broken could be powerful and beautiful, the cover portrait depicts you, and everyone who, when at the brink of breaking, chose to heal. This is you – unbound, invaluable, whole. In this collection of stories, walk along the journey of the characters and witness their distinctive ways of escaping and embracing the cracks within them. Losing innocence to hunger. Being married to abuse. A gaping wound left by miscarriage. “One thing I knew back then was that hunger does not starve with you. Hunger slowly eats you. In its rancidity the good, the right, the bad and the wrong corrode alike.” – To the Elysian Fields “Given the social stigma sewn in strongly with incidences of domestic violence, the victims suffer in the embrace of torture without a noise. Is it murder only when you kill a person? What is it when you kill a personality?” – The Bird that Stayed Back “Somehow it is so much easier to spot people who have void in their lives. It shows up on them. He and I share the same void, only it does not show up on him as severely as it does on me.” – By the Name of Faith If you knew you could heal your cracks with something precious, would you still resist healing?
107 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 12, 2020
Healing. Healing is often an intangible phenomenon. We can’t see how it is happening, inside of us. But you see, it’s palpable. We can feel it. Once we are pushed to the brink, to the threshold of everything we can take upon us, we stand at the crossroads deciding upon the future course of action. And whatever we choose at that point determines our beyond! A beautiful idea, isn’t it?
Brink & Beyond by Supriya Saraswati is a collection of short stories set around women protagonists from different walks of life. These stories touch the contours of a woman’s life in different roles – a mother, a wife, a prostitute, or simply a girl willing to find the one who stays a bit longer. Right from taking us into the heart of someone who has to bare her body to different men for earning a living to someone who is out there amidst mountains finding her voice, these stories will tug effortlessly at your heart. And I tell you, they will stay at least for a while if not longer. Because we have a distinct way of responding to stories, don’t we?
A book that covers not all but still, a good variety of emotions a woman feels in her life. And what’s a better way to lay open a woman’s heart than some utterly beautiful lines of poetry. To communicate is important and is indeed an art. An act of courage, I’d say. Brink & Beyond feeds upon this courage and communicates what happens in a woman’s deepest recesses through brilliant narration. I am still in awe of the writing – subtle, inviting, and poetic.
The characters come alive when the author describes the mundane activities with a certain flair. Their thoughts grip us when the author attempts to portray them in their most raw form. Everything’s simply bare, genuine. It bluntly brings forth the multiple hues of a woman – a mother reeling under the loss of her stillborn or maybe, the one grappling with conceiving a child of her own. True to the title, these women are definitely pushed to a brink where they have to make a choice. They need to decide which way they want to head now.
The author says in the beginning that this book is meant for a certain audience. I’d agree with her because such stories need time to be read, comprehended, and processed. It is not for your leisurely reading. Rather, it is there to familiarise you with reality, including naked vulnerabilities. In fact, I don’t feel the writing, which is intricate but beautiful, would serve everyone. It does get vague sometimes. So pick this one up if you are patient and willing to question.
Brink & Beyond by Supriya Saraswati is a collection of short stories set around women protagonists from different walks of life. These stories touch the contours of a woman’s life in different roles – a mother, a wife, a prostitute, or simply a girl willing to find the one who stays a bit longer. Right from taking us into the heart of someone who has to bare her body to different men for earning a living to someone who is out there amidst mountains finding her voice, these stories will tug effortlessly at your heart. And I tell you, they will stay at least for a while if not longer. Because we have a distinct way of responding to stories, don’t we?
A book that covers not all but still, a good variety of emotions a woman feels in her life. And what’s a better way to lay open a woman’s heart than some utterly beautiful lines of poetry. To communicate is important and is indeed an art. An act of courage, I’d say. Brink & Beyond feeds upon this courage and communicates what happens in a woman’s deepest recesses through brilliant narration. I am still in awe of the writing – subtle, inviting, and poetic.
The characters come alive when the author describes the mundane activities with a certain flair. Their thoughts grip us when the author attempts to portray them in their most raw form. Everything’s simply bare, genuine. It bluntly brings forth the multiple hues of a woman – a mother reeling under the loss of her stillborn or maybe, the one grappling with conceiving a child of her own. True to the title, these women are definitely pushed to a brink where they have to make a choice. They need to decide which way they want to head now.
The author says in the beginning that this book is meant for a certain audience. I’d agree with her because such stories need time to be read, comprehended, and processed. It is not for your leisurely reading. Rather, it is there to familiarise you with reality, including naked vulnerabilities. In fact, I don’t feel the writing, which is intricate but beautiful, would serve everyone. It does get vague sometimes. So pick this one up if you are patient and willing to question.
February 21, 2022
Brink & Beyond by Supriya Saraswati is a collection of ten short stories. The book is poignant in bringing forward a gamut of female voices in the various circumstances. It’s not a piece of feminism but most of the stories giving battle cries for their women protagonist. Not necessary that these characters are rebels or loudmouthed, rather they are quiet and determined.
Clearly the book is meant for serious audience, and for sure grabs the attention of women who has endured the trough and crest and equivocal vagaries of life. If the destiny rolls out is wrath, it is the women that bear the heat of suffering most.
The first story is quite powerful about a girl who has been cheated by many to work as a prostitute. This story may bring a lump of grief to anyone's throat. It will shock you, leave you drained and trying to muffle screams of despair.
All stories walk around the different aspects of womanhood, shedding light on the trials, the pains, the triumphs and the debacles. Each story reflects truths that we see every day, at times right before our eyes and sometimes safely tucked away to nibble at our souls, bit by bit.
Some of the stories are preceded by lyrical poetic notes. Supriya's narration is subtly intertwined, you may need to reread some part in every story. She wrote an intensity but with an introvert heart. Despite all, the collection is readable and may leave you with absolute brooding if you value the life of a woman around you. These stories spiral off from different figures like a suppressed prostitute, a mother cogitating about her child loss, a blogger in search of someone who could stay long, an elder women longing to have a conversational ambience in her house. At some points, the stories do not come clear but the message.
Clearly the book is meant for serious audience, and for sure grabs the attention of women who has endured the trough and crest and equivocal vagaries of life. If the destiny rolls out is wrath, it is the women that bear the heat of suffering most.
The first story is quite powerful about a girl who has been cheated by many to work as a prostitute. This story may bring a lump of grief to anyone's throat. It will shock you, leave you drained and trying to muffle screams of despair.
All stories walk around the different aspects of womanhood, shedding light on the trials, the pains, the triumphs and the debacles. Each story reflects truths that we see every day, at times right before our eyes and sometimes safely tucked away to nibble at our souls, bit by bit.
Some of the stories are preceded by lyrical poetic notes. Supriya's narration is subtly intertwined, you may need to reread some part in every story. She wrote an intensity but with an introvert heart. Despite all, the collection is readable and may leave you with absolute brooding if you value the life of a woman around you. These stories spiral off from different figures like a suppressed prostitute, a mother cogitating about her child loss, a blogger in search of someone who could stay long, an elder women longing to have a conversational ambience in her house. At some points, the stories do not come clear but the message.
May 22, 2022
Great read
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews