Ringa Ringa Roses - Neil D' Silva - Book Review

 

                    It has been years since I have been reading back-to-back horror books. This year, I plan to read more horror novels than before, regularly. Neil D' Silva, one of India's foremost horror writers had penned this book and I had to pick this as my new read.

                  The book is a collection of three horror stories involving kids. The first story has a single girl child, Nitya who is largely by her parents. When they move into a home and decide to give her room a makeover, little do they realize what they are up against. Nitya encounters a mystical boy who is manifested in the room and he has a special power. The second story is about a boy named Nitin living with his big joint family. He is socially reclusive but very much attached to his mother. One day, his mother returns home dead. He is not ready to accept that and makes a clay doll resembling her. Things start taking a new turn when the clay figurine starts to talk to him. The third story is about a mysterious creature that attacks an orphanage taking children. Nihar decides to fight the creature with others and put an end to it's reign of terror.

                    First of all, the read was very quick. Within 200 pages, I was able to complete the book in a matter of two hours. Neil D' Silva had done a good job of keeping us engaged in the book with his simple language and interesting narration. The author does not deviate into unnecessary plot twists or jump scares, making this a tight read. I liked the first story; the remaining two were predictable enough. Nevertheless, the read did not bore me. It was interesting how various subjects like mental health, and child care were dealt with subtly in the book. Each of the stories had different settings and dealt with different plots. All the stories had children as their center characters. Since I have been reading horror for quite a long time, none of the stories actually carried the scare element for me. Non-horror readers can also give it a try as the stories might not be scary enough for such readers.

                    In short, a small anthology of horror stories that can be read in a short time. The read is interesting and less scary.