Format: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN: 9789381115961
Pages: 142
Price: 125.0

“Twists and Turns” is a collection of three short stories and one novella by debutant author and engineer Vignesh, who writes under his pen name ‘Vinu.’ The stories range from a treasure hunt set across Chennai city dating to Chola Period to a science fiction about the death and rebirth of the planet Earth. A short puzzling story of a mad researcher on second birth and solving a shocking murder based on political scams and detective plans.

The plots of all four pieces of writing are different with no immediate connection. The first story recites the tale of the legacy of a treasure chest inherited by Ganesh from a family of Kanakkar’s (auditors) dating back to the Chola Dynasty and the kingdoms of modern day Tamil Nadu. The story takes you across locations in Chennai and unravels the mystery guided by a poem penned by the Lord himself. As the title suggests, it does take a twist with his guardian greed’s persuading him to kill Ganesh and his friend for the riches with a turn again ending on a happy note. The second story gazes into the future of earth, its end and rebirth. Explained in layman’s language and scientific jargon, the theory interests a young brain to think for a prolong time on it. The story ends with a similar situation as its beginning in the future generation some thousands of years after. The third story, on a short note talks about the research conducted by Jayant on children via hypnosis to reveal secrets of second life that a soul poses. He is sentenced to death by the court of law when journalist Madav breaks out the news of brain damage to children for the mad research. The story ends when Madav finds out that Jayant took a second life in the form of his child when his child speaks of a code to the safe that no one but Jayant knew.

The novella like the other stories is set in Chennai talking volumes about the political scams and murders. The story centreson Ravi and Meenakshi, son and daughter to an IG Officer and the Home Minister respectively who in turn are married to each other as a part of business deal. It also shows the rivalry in politics and how opposition party play around with murders and kidnapping to gain popularity and corruption persisting in every walk of life; from ward boys working at a morgue to judges in courts.

The stories and novella are short and concise. Written in simple English, they do not exhibit high standard use of the language and are easily interpreted. The plot are carefully planned and woven well. Though no descriptive words are used to describe the setting or the characters, still one could paint a fair image of the protagonists and settings of the plot. Hardly one spots any figures of speech but one may interestingly find the twists and turns in stories by the author interesting. Overall the collection is a light read to be read after a heavy novel full of intricate details and descriptions. If you detest fat novels and are a light reader then this is one of the best choices you can opt for.

Rating: 6.5/10

More Details:
The book on Facebook: Twists and Turns
The author on Facebook: Vignesh Radhakrishnan

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Jai is a vital combination of bones, blood and brains haunts this earth with a pen and camera capturing the various dimensions prevailing on this planet. With flare for sarcasm he writes for politically correct reasons.  When he gets time from gym, discussing, networking and reading he also participates in writing and composing songs. His ambition is to become the head of United Nations and BTL is his way.