Book Review: Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020 by Sabarna Roy

Etchings of First Quarter of 2020
Author: Sabarna Roy
Publisher: Leadstart Publications
Rating: 4/5

I have mentioned this before and I would like to mention this again that my love for Literature only became more profound when I experimented with the content and tried to understand the various point of views. Poets like Percy Shelly, John Keats and William Wordsworth have already written quite a many poems describing man’s quest to find the ultimate happiness and it is those poems that often make me question the life that all of us are living. Touching upon a number of essential topics, Sabarna Roy’s Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020 is a marvellous example of insightful writing. He delves deeper into the concepts of duality, the reality of purpose and erratic behaviour of humans.

No, this is not a self-help book. Instead, this book transports you to a retrospective zone where you are forced to question your likes and dislikes and often your decisions too. Using emotional connotation and varied forms of writing, the author deftly brings forth the stories of some very celebrated people and uses the rhetorical device to make the readers think. It takes a lot of planning and proper execution to mix several narratives keeping the pivotal theme intact. The author aces the test there. I liked how he managed to draw a parallel between fictional and real characters keeping the duality of mind as the central theme.

From what I could understand, there is no message but another door that this book opens for the readers. It’s all in the mind and that is what this book aptly establishes. The author’s words are evocative and they do not fail to paint a picture of reality. The three sections of the book (letters to the step-daughter, letters to Suranjana and letters from a step-father to a step-daughter) are quite interesting and they aid in setting the stage and building the pace. Overall, Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020 is a reflective account (in the form of a dialogue) that urges the readers to think bilaterally.

Best wishes to the author!

Buying link: Amazon