Mock, Stalk & Quarrel is an allegorical assembly of not so opaque short stories—in that the allegories are well devised but quite obvious as to what or who they are referring to. The anthology contains the work of 29 writers, with a strong satirical voice that questions everything wrong with our society, be it communal differences, unnecessarily blowing things out of proportion through social media or the murky waters which Indian politics have become today.
These thought provoking stories have been brought to close quarters by the collective efforts of Readomania and respective authors, emanated from a nationwide contest.
The book sets a rhythm of atonement by targeting the contemporary issues and directing the lexical knowledge of the writers to highlight the same. Each writer has picked up satire as a tool to entertain the reader and in the process of storytelling, thrown some light on the pressing matters of politics, nepotism, communalism and capitalism.
The book is strongly aligned with the task of providing poetic justice and creative freedom in the discussion of the tabooed qualms of the Indian society. The creative pursuit of the book is laudable as it explores both serious and silly debacles with a good taste. While the underlying message of each short story could be distasteful to some readers if presented in a crude manner, the book uses wry humour to flip the mood and leave the readers in a thoughtful limbo. Overall, the book condones shackled systems of India and uses wit to send the message across. It’s a must read for anyone who is looking to find progressive views and theories packed tightly with wit and dark humour.