Book Title – The Sorcery of the Senses

Author – Tanima Das

Publisher – ArtoonsInn Room9 Publications

I have had the good fortune of reading quite a few short stories from Tanima Das, a talented writer and one of the winners at the prestigious Write India contest hosted by The Times of India. So when I came to know she had written a novel, I was not going to miss it.

Most new novel writers would want to write a suspence thriller or a slice of life story or the sure-fire safe bet, a romance. But Tanima steers clear of these genres and attempts something unique.

In The Sorcery of the Senses, the human senses come alive and narrate compelling stories of life. Stories of simple folk belonging to long lost eras, where the senses play cat and mouse games with their so-called masters and change their destiny in a finger flick.

The modern era, depicted in the story of Dhruv, contrasts very well with the stories of bygone eras but as you read further,  the linkage between the eras is slowly unpeeled, page by page. The stories narrated by the senses grab the reader’s attention and what I loved, was the way the writer conjures up the ancient worlds, subtly stoking the imagination of the reader. Tanima is also successful in logically progressing the ancient stories, and modern sensibilities or thoughts don’t seep into the narrative, unknowingly. So kudos to that aspect of her writing.

Yatindra Tawde