Ruskin Bond has compiled and edited both these anthologies with his usual panache. 'The Rupa Book of Heartwarming
Stories' is a wonderful
collection of stories that pulls at the reader's heartstrings with its character vignettes and lucid narratives. The collection includes stories by well-known writers like Anton Chekhov, O. Henry and Ruskin Bond himself. It also includes literary offerings of unknown but great story-tellers. Bond has with great care picked out stories that are narrated with artless spontaneity and an almost childlike simplicity. And yet, the stories draw the attention of the reader to the basic truths about
life,
death, life-after-death, faith, etc. Ruskin Bond has with dexterity put together stories where complex concepts are woven into the warp and woof of a simple narrative. This elevates the anthology to a collector's gem. Several stories in this collection have been narrated from a child's perspective and take us back to our own childhood untainted by the cynicism of adults. My Date with Graybeard by Robin Collins is one such story which narrates the tale of a little
boy from South Africa who is initiated into hunting at the tender age of eight. The boy decides to hunt and kill a majestic grey bushbuck on his first hunt but the fearless majesty of the buck stops him. "I knew I could not buy the hunter's badge at the price of so much splendor" says the boy, symbolizing the ideals of every young boy. All the stories are delightful in their own individual ways but the two stories that are especially touching are O. Henry's The Last Leaf and That Which Remained by Bartimeus. These are stories that symbolize the restoration of faith in the goodness of human nature. The Rupa Book of Thrills and Spills is another collector's anthology. Ruskin Bond in this collection of racy and dramatic stories caters to the human craving for excitement and adventure. Ruskin Bond has with 鬡n put together stories that catapult the reader into a world of men and women caught up in death-defying escapades. Stuntmen, pilots, soldiers, explorers, aeronauts, medicine men, gamblers and
lion-tamers enliven the pages of this anthology with their heroism. Each story brings forth a different facet of bravery. Rescue Squadron by Philip McCutchan and Four Men, Against the Desert by A.P Luscombe Whyte are true stories about the gallantry and never-say-die spirit of soldiers. Most protagonists are, however, ordinary men and women made extraordinary by their qualities of courage and valor. The story First Day in the Life of a Lion Tamer by Patricia Bourne is the true story of young woman who is determined to become a lion tamer. The attack by a lioness on her very first day does not frighten her. She simply taps the lioness on the nose and admonishes her for being a 'naughty girl'. Ruskin Bond's comments prefacing every story add to the spicy treat laid out by this master anthologist. Ruskin Bond is to be congratulated for editing two wonderful collections of stories which are a veritable treasure trove for the young as well as the old. I agree with Bond when he says that ?these are stories you can turn to again and again, as one turns to a favorite piece of music or a much loved picture.
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