This book was a page turner and I finished reading it very quickly. Ten wonderful tales that had me gripped from the go. Some rather dark stories that made my mind wander and think about the realities of life. As the title claims, life surely isn’t a fairy tale. 

 These stories traverse through the lives of ten ordinary individuals living in the USA and India. Unsettling and unheard voices come to the forefront as you turn the pages and realise how quickly you’ll get through the book. Life in urban societies really does exist on a different plane and the book steers you through a myriad of facets like betrayal, superstition, marriage, love, and ecen Covid-19.

Suduhita Mitra is a first-time author and has emerged a great storyteller. According to her website, her extensive travels since childhood days exposed her not only to people from diverse backgrounds and their intriguing personal experiences, but also to her impeccable writing skills. So, when she isn’t being a tech girl, you’ll find her ‘weaving a tangled web of bite sized stories’.

This is a short story reader’s delight. If you have made a resolution to read more this year, I would recommend smaller books with quick short stories to get you going. That way you can get to your goals faster. It also helps to build the habit of reading.