God Created Them All by Rabindranath CP : A Review

BOOK TITLE: God Created Them All

AUTHOR: Rabindranath C P

ISBN/ASIN: B06XYN7M1D

GENRE: Fiction / Short Stories

NUMBER OF PAGES: 286

FORMAT: Digital / PDF

SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank the author for this review copy.

SUMMARY:

"God Created them all" is a collection of fifty five short stories depicting the authors myriad experience spanning 25 years as a doctor, dealing with different personalities in life.

Some of the candid moments in the real life of these hapless people are captured truly in these short stories intertwined with the humorous, aberrant frailties of human nature shrouded in uncanny beliefs, rituals and cultural shackles, societal sanctions; aided and abetted by moral upholders in the society.

No doubt, all the characters are creations of GOD trying to make a living in their own way in whatever they are skilled in, many not understanding nor are aware of the consequences of their actions.

Among them the caregivers struggle to live with their loved ones normally in a stigma ridden, supposedly unpredictable sane world.

In these short stories, the author has provided simple solutions to complex problems, making use of their inherent strength and weakness, with the object of providing a chance to lead their lives with self-respect and dignity.

The untold supreme sacrifice of these lesser brethrens is a clarion call for all of us to lend a supportive and helping hand to make their lives purposeful and happy in our own small humble way as 'God would certainly have done if he were in a human form' as God created them all.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

When the author approached me for the review with a detailed description of his book, I had a very good idea of what to expect. In this day and age where a short story anthology had a maximum of 20 stories, a book with 55 stories intrigued me. Starting from the title that states a simple fact, the author (a doctor) tries to show how all people are unique in their own ways but also mainly similar in some ways. This book promised to be something from behind the scenes, showing the lives of not only the patients but also those beside them who are affected. I put all my work aside and sat down to read, completing this in two sittings.

Special bonus point for the interesting cover!

REVIEW:

What I expected when I first heard of this book: A short story anthology with more than the average number of stories, all of them somehow about medical field.

What I actually got: An interesting collection of stories that were narrated in first person, by a doctor. The length of the anthology did not matter because the stories were interesting enough.

God Created Them All is the book you would probably read under 'a different kind of book'. So why is it different? This book takes up the onerous task of holding the readers' attention by a collection of first person narratives that should predominantly be around the medical field. And at the outset, it manages to do that. It is not common, for the reader can never distinguish fiction and non-fiction, or identify what might be embellishments to original 'slice of life' tales.

I loved the experience the book provided. In it I saw characters that came alive with the doctor's descriptions, and some that were facsimiles of people I actually have seen in life. This is probably why the story will win with the readers. I found the narrative interesting too, once I could simply shut down my editor brain (years of experience being an editor did provide to be a hindrance but a strong narrative won over, at the end). All the stories touched some chord in my heart, and I could see just why this book was named what it was, and made it all the more interesting. Quite literally, the title 'God Created Them All' is the author's way of saying, no matter how different people are, each life is a unique lesson but follow a predetermined path created out of certain rules and ideas that govern our existence.

So where did this book falter? In the usage of words. And lack of clarity in the sequence of dialogues used. The book could have been so much better had there been another round of editing that would have caught misnomers and misspellings. The editing would have also taken care of the obvious need for demarcation of dialogues in the stories. In short, better punctuation and rephrasing would have made this a completely wholesome read. I had to note that the excellent narrative and realistic stories that detailed people next door, those we could know and see, faltered a bit with the inclusion of some forced jargon and jerky dialogues, almost as if the author was writing out his thoughts and recollections quickly and wanted to convey it all before the narrative sidetracked.

Overall, a book that would hold your attention and keep you glued because in some way each story could be a short film that shows the other side of people's lives - not just as patients, but as to what constitutes their environment. With the right editing, it could have been the perfect book based on stories from the medical fraternity.

WHAT I LIKED:

• The stories were, as promised, real 'slice of life' events.
• Some rare words peppered the vocabulary and made the story an interesting read for me, personally.
• The narrative was good, and kept me glued because the author was able to hold my attention with realistic stories.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• Some major typos, and misnomers that could have been avoided with a round of editing.
• Sometimes there is no lucidity in the text because dialogues are given at a run, and it takes a flow to follow the punctuation.
• A few words were used at places where they did not quite fit, showing the use of a thesaurus.

VERDICT:

A must read - despite what would deter you in the contents. A book that should not be missed.

RATING: 4/5 (Excellent narration - but with errors that could not be ignored)

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle, Paperback

PRICE Rs. 208.95 for Kindle, Rs. 275 for Paperback

BOOK LINKS: Amazon