Book Review: The Bicycle Thief And Other Short Stories by Manish Sahu

Book Blurb

A man who wakes up to read his own obituary in the newspaper…

A woman who learns the meaning of life thanks to her stolen bicycle…

A stern sub-inspector who is expected to rid a small town of a prowling leopard…

A traumatized man who is intent on ending his life, thanks to his adulterous wife…

A man who is willing to get his little finger chopped off in order to win his lady love…

A pickpocket who can’t forget his art…

A caterer in debt who steals a dog for ransom…

These are some of the characters from this collection of short stories. Some weird, some cranky, some adventurous—but all overwhelmingly familiar and believable.

The Bicycle Thief and Other Short Stories is Manish Sahu’s debut work. The stories which are all based in the heart of India, are earthy, amusing and very perceptive. Each tale is a slice of life from everyday India. You’ll find the book the perfect spicy accompaniment to chai and pakoras on a leisurely evening.

My Review

A potpourri of stories with a twist in the end.

The book is absolutely fantastic. Each and every story is concocted brilliantly. Sahu is a master storyteller. Some of the stories are quirkily hilarious while some are absolutely crazy! Some of the stories are absurdly funny while some are heart-warming. And Bam! All the stories end with a twist that even Holmes wouldn’t have thought of!

The book has a total of 14 short stories and all are my favorites! The Bicycle Thief is the story of a girl whose bicycle was stolen by a thief. One thing leads to another and thanks to social media, the girl ends up starting a donate-a-cycle gig. Well, is all well that ends well? Not always! Spot the leopard is a wonderful story that ended with a hilarious twist. Pinky Pinkie Ponky, The Long dash, No Rhyme nor Reason were simply funny! Many Happy Returns, The Lottery Ticket, Never See, Ever Again and Master Pickpocket were con stories with a brilliant twist in the end. The story of Dollar the dog made me go aww! A Hundred Words was a smart move while Endgame had killer moves!

And of course, my absolute favorite is Who Killed Vidyasagar. The story is hilarious, mind-blowing, quirky and will make you go ROFL! This is the craziest story that I have ever read!

Excerpt from Who Killed Vidyasagar:

Vidyasagar Nagpal had absolutely no clue who had killed him. He read, and reread the small news column located on page five of the local newspaper, in the bottom-left corner. the small obituary was titled, “Vidyasagar Nagpal, 74, passes away.”

It must be someone else called Vidyasagar Nagpal, he thought first. But no. His own grainy black-and-white photograph was printed alongside. Was the photograph a case of mistaken identity? He read the text of the obituary yet again.

“Vidyasagar Nagpal, 74, a resident of Somwarpeth, and a retired high school teacher, passed away on Tuesday after a brief illness. His last rites were performed the next day at the municipal crematorium.”

Vidyasagar was furious. Vidyasagar was dead. Long live Vidyasagar.
“Bandurao!” shouted Vidyasagar to his next-door neighbour, who was enjoying a
glass of tea. “Come up here, quick!”
Bandurao gulped his tea and came rushing to Vidyasagar’s house, “What has
happened now?” he asked.
“I am dead,” declared Vidyasagar.
“No, you still have time. You do have one foot in the grave, but you still have time,”
replied Bandurao.

I loved the author’s writing style. It is unique and has a dollop of quirk in it. Endings of each of the short stories are absolutely brilliant. The language is simple and easy to learn. Writing in simple English and yet managing to engage the readers is an art that not everybody can master. And this being Sahu’s debut novel, I must say that it is too good to be true! I would recommend this book not only to Indian readers but to International readers too.

The Bicycle Thief and Other Short Stories is a witty, hilarious and spectacular collection of short stories by Manish Sahu.