Book Review — Biswas Kora Jae Na by Amitav Ganguly

Biswas Kora Jae Na by Amitav Ganguly is an exquisitely chilling collection of 17 supernatural horror short stories that will keep you on tenterhooks of excitement and pleasure. The book centers on love themes with unexpected twists in the end. At all places, in 17 stories, the characters are well-developed and relatable, making their survival struggles and fears all the more flagrant.

Amitav’s writing is atmospheric and haunting, evoking a sense of dread and unease from the first page. He masterfully weaves together multiple timelines and perspectives to swing around the stories with amusing complexities. In every story, the plot is layered, letting readers to interpret their own guesses till the end. In the story of that husband gone missing like a prank and later on found dead, I am still working around to find the exact cause of his death and on what reasons his wife is innocent and comfortable with her lover?

It is not a pure horror book with throat slashers and sanguinary chases, rather it stands out on its own. It lays emphasis on psychological terror over gore or jump scares. The author is a mastermind that builds tension and thrill throughout the book, culminating in a heart-stopping finale that will leave you groping for more and light.

On the whole, I would express affirmatively that this is a must-read for those who are fan of tangential horror genres with a taste of good scare like psychological horror, supernatural horror, and survival horror and so on. ‘Forever She’ and this Bengali book is a testament to Amitav’s raw storytelling talent.

Review done by Sejal Roy