#BookReview ; Loyal Stalkers by Chhimi Tenduf-La

In a private room sheltered from the Colombo riots, a seventeen-year-old girl gives birth to a hatechild. At a city gym, an introverted fitness instructor obsesses over his unattainable client. Inside an untended guest-house room, an adolescent cricket champ is caught unawares by his coach’s violent fury. By a rain-drenched gravesite, a special-needs teacher confides in a stranger.

Edgy yet tender, racy yet warm, these interlinked stories take us into the unfamiliar everyday of Sri Lankan living, where smugglers, waiters, single moms and cheaters cross paths as they attempt to negotiate a web of shock, subterfuge and irony.

A collection of infinite brio and charm, this is Chhimi Tenduf-La at his inventive best.

Loyal Stalkers is a collection 15 short stories intermingled with each other, written by Chhimi Tenduf-La & published by Pan Macmillan India. He is half-Tibetan & half-English and manages an international school in Sri Lanka where he has lived on & off for 30 years. As father to two energetic children & husband to an implacable wife, Tenduf-La uses his only time to himself to write. His first 2 books, The Amazing Racist & Panther, were published in 2015 to wide acclaim. The Tenduf-Las adopt a street dog for every book published, Tripod being their latest addition.

The book consists of 15 short stories with a wide range of characters who are inter connected some way or the other. It covers a diverse range of topics like that of an obsessed private trainer who fancies his client a bit too much, child sexual abuse, along with the story of a serial killer plus the story of a brave young lad who dares to come out of his closet to his close friends & his fate thereafter. It doesn’t just end here, there are multiple facets in the short stories which makes it a truly inclusive read. Get the book here to enjoy it..

I don’t review much short stories because honestly I can’t express my feelings into words as to what to say about the book but because this one is so good I’m quite sure what I want to say. Let me first make it clear that though I have written that it is a compilation of short stories but it can be called a novel too because as you’ll finish reading it, all the pieces will fit together & it becomes one story. The cleverness with which the author has linked one story with another is commendable but since I’ve read his previous books I’m not surprised as his way of storytelling has been innovative & fresh. The cover is just amazing, the title suits the book & the language used is extremely easy. One thing I can assure the readers that you’ll not feel bored at any point while reading this book. A must read!