Well…. after a year of drinking coffee, it’s finally out !
Here’s a brief introduction/ blurb about the book :
Sandy, an aspiring young writer gets an incredible opportunity to work with his idol – the celebrated and reclusive author Saleem Afzal – who hasn’t written a new book in 23 years.
In a novel idea, each writer writes one half of the story, leaving it for the other to finish. Together, they imagine an epic battle between balance and chaos, a tale of a haunted house, a simple journey home that turns into a man’s greatest nightmare, and even the end of the world.
As the stories take shape, Sandy gets curious about Saleem’s past and the several unanswered questions that he encounters… Why did Saleem stop writing? Why can he no longer finish stories? What is behind the locked door in his house? And… what is The Lost Story?
Written like the premise, the stories in this book have each been done in two halves. One part by one author, and the second by the other, never discussing the story in between.
If you want a sneak-peek into the stories via some comic book styled artworks, here they are!
And for the latest on The Lost Story, you can follow the FB Page over here.
Reviews for The Lost Story
Stories sometimes come to us in pieces, right? Without a beginning and an end, and suspended frustratingly in limbo between idea and realisation. Perhaps the reality is that only segments of stories are ours to tell, that the gaps must be filled by others. Even a complete novel is just a fraction of time…
The book is Murakami-esque in the way that it bends reality and the manner in which the characters slip in and out of our understanding. It’s certainly fresh and innovative in a way that India’s indie publishing industry needs. The 99-rupee book has paved the way for a lot of undeserving publications, but this book is a departure from the norm. It is not brilliantly written, although the book is based on a sound and original idea. Any flaws in articulation are made up for with a number of surprises in the story.
The book holds a concentric imagery of the flow of the sequences of paragraphs that reflect the moving of all the sub-stories towards the center, the unknown. The style of writing works extremely well for them as they are able to create a zone for the readers that doesn’t tend to drift towards the lines of their premonitions and prejudices. The book almost takes horrendous turns that make the readers feel the anxiety of a non-acceptable twist. The stories are weaved through an invisible string of interconnectedness and the book will tell you how to be free from the clutches of expectations as they restrict our capability to accept our experiences in full light. The movement of the characters in the book are cleverly defined and constructed and they meet half way towards the exit from the doors of readers perception into the ever changeable world of the book.
This book increases the scope of writing as an artistic expression in India, as the majority of books that seem to do well crawl their way into the world through the underworld of popular culture that encompasses all the ever so popular understanding of the emotions.The Lost Story is a book that challenges the authors themselves and now is out to challenge the readers with intense portrayal of the ungalling incidences that keep unfolding in life.
The Lost story subtly portrays how reality is overrated and talks about the prowess of an individual’s perspective to fashion his/her own reality. Sandy, an aspiring writer gets an opportunity to work with his idol Saleem Afzal, a famous but misanthropic writer who hasn’t written a new book in the past 23 years. Afzal and Sandy decide to pen a novel where each writer contributes one half of the story. Together they come up with all sorts of plotlines such as a battle between chaos and stability and a journey home that turns out to be a man’s worst nightmare. The lost story is also about Afzal’s inability to complete a work on his own and the ultimate reason why he chooses to take Sandy under his wing. What makes the story unique and interesting is the fact that like its characters, the book is also the work of two writers — Goyal and Gupta. Though not powerfully written and significantly lacking in suspense, The Lost Story still works due to its rich emotional tapestry and unique writing methodology.
Song/Video
Lastly, you can also check out the Song/ Video created for the book – thanks to a lot of help from Sachin and G Arjun!
SUDHANSHU'S BLOG - ONCE MORE INTO THE FRAY 