Stars from the Borderless Sea - Shalini Mullick

Author: Shalini Mullick

Genre: Short Story Anthology, Indian Fiction.

Rating: 3 stars.

A collection of three novellas on the themes of lost/forbidden love. While the circumstances in the three novellas are distinct, there are many elements in common across them:

a. The leading ladies are strong women in many ways except one - they don’t get out of their dysfunctional marriage. (In one case, I simply didn’t understand why.)

b. Their husbands are jerks in varied proportions – ranging from tolerable to ridiculous.

c. There is some snippet (a letter/an invitation/a newspaper article) that causes them to go into flashback about a past relationship.

Thus there is a strong feeling of déjà vu coming through the stories. But there are still some factors that make them an enjoyable reading experience.

Here’s the feedback on the three novellas:

1. Sayonee – ‘Soulmate’

A historical story of Geetika, a princess who needs to follow her family diktat and marry into the right family, and Shekhar, the commoner who wants to serve his country by joining the military. The novelty factor here was that this was an epistolary story. Plus, there is a firm old-world charm to it. But other than that, this story didn’t impress me much; it contained nothing I haven’t seen in the Bollywood movies of the past. Furthermore, the epistles didn’t ring very natural. While writing to a loved one, there is a certain camaraderie, a casualness that come across. But the words in these letters seemed didactic and even contained lines that hardly anyone would write to the love of their lives. There were too many flowery adjectives at times. The ending was predictable. Still, there’s no denying the feel-good factor in the story.

3 stars.

2. Humsafar – ‘Companion’

The story of Rachna, a modern woman who went beyond the boundaries of her marriage in the past, her husband Rajat who has a few skeletons of his own in the closet, and Venkat, Rachna’s old love interest who has made a reappearance in her life. This novella was my least favourite in the book. While it wasn’t the only story to deal with marital infidelity, it seemed to do so while condoning it. Of course, infidelity in a relationship is never acceptable, but we all know in real life why certain circumstances might end up causing the couple to fall out of love with each other and seeking comfort in another’s arms. In this story, these circumstances were flimsy. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. The storytelling in this one was also quite roundabout, irking me further. On the positive side, Rachna’s life as a doctor is depicted well, the author’s own experience as a doctor revealing itself in the story.

1.5 stars.

3. Humraaz – ‘Confidante’

My favourite story of the book, and the only one in which I stayed invested in the lead characters from start to end. This story brings to us Mahima, a young accountant who is the victim of her husband’s gaslighting and yet stands up to him in whatever way she can, and Sanjay, her boss who is forced into running a business he isn’t interested in by his wife. This is the only one where the circumstances felt real, and the characters were layered and complex rather than having clear-cut black or white shades. It is also the only story where the male lead makes an impact. I loved the way this story was built up, loved the emotional nuances, and loved the realistic ending.

The only thing I hated in this story was the stepmotherly treatment given to my city. While I see clichés about Mumbai all the time, I didn’t expect an Indian writer to see the city only for its slums and nothing beyond. I know the writer is a Dilliwali, and her fondness for all things Delhi came out loud and clear. I didn’t expect the same passions coming out for Mumbai but when you are writing just one sentence about the city, at least don’t make it about slums. (IYKYK, Mumbai vs. Delhi is a serious topic of discussion among those who dwell in these two cities.😛)

4.5 stars.

As a whole, the stories cast light on how there’s much more to marriage than meets the eye. It makes you question what is “happily ever after”. The strength of the stories is in the leading ladies, all educated women achievers whose resilience takes them across troubled times. The men fall far short in comparison. Sanjay was the only man who made me feel like rooting for him. (Shekhar was a caricature of a character, so I still felt nothing towards him!)

This was an easy and quick read, despite the intensity of the emotions. Recommended if you want a look at love and emotional connections beyond the bounds of a marriage.

3 stars based on the average of ratings for the three stories.

My thanks to the Himalayan Book Club for a complimentary copy of “Stars from the Borderless Sea”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.