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0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Human Operating System Sep 23, 2007
Dr. Memon in his lucid writing style has demonstrated that each story carries a theme and a message without being preachy. It is clear that Dr. Memon has a keen sense of observation of the subtleties of the East where he was born and raised and the West where he has lived and served as a doctor in his professional career.
Each story is different in background, perspective and certainly outcome. Most stories are written as a first person giving realism to the stories. Although fictitious, some of the characters in the collection are so real you would swear you know this person from your own personal experience in life. You will see yourself as the first person and mix your own values and judgments as to what the right way is and how you would have acted if indeed you were there. This is author's way to get you involved and make a lasting impression on you.
As a reader, you would go on the emotional roller-coaster along with the story itself and exactly as the author has intended. At times, you will go ahead of the story to predict the sweet little secret or the ending of the story. Sometimes you will be right and sometimes you will be surprised.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Faith for a time when we really need it. Aug 28, 2007
Dr. Memon evokes true emotional grit with his provocative title but the real treasure lies within this collection of parables of faith. The depth of Sattar as a person and writer shows through as he offers glimpses into the western world as well as outside of it. The stories are entertaining and engaging but I thought that his ability to show the faith of the human beings in this book was a gem. I hope that readers will be enveloped by the writing and feel the caring that Sattar shows to his patients and those persons he encounters in his life. Great book and I especially enjoyed the literary travelling that I was able to do while reading it. Thank you, Dr. Memon, for allowing faith to shine through in a time when there are so many challenges to cause greater doubt than ever.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Review from a patient ----L.L. Aug 13, 2007
I have been a patient of Dr.Satar Memons for the past year. He goes beyond the call of duty to make his patients at ease and comfortable as in his writing he puts his heart into everything he does. In Dr. Menons latest book I especially like Send Me An Angel and Shoe Shine Boy. It brought me to tears. You can get a sense of what a truly God loving man Satar Memon is through his writing.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Schadenfreude and Inspiration - all in one collection Aug 06, 2007
Sattar Memon's latest book is a collection of short stories. The opening lines from the headlined story set out also as the title of the collection include the words "Tell Them The truth: There Are No Angels... No Miracles. And There Is No God." These are juxtaposed with the promise, on the cover, that other "Tales of Faith" including "Send Me An Angel" are to be found within. The simultaneous admonition that one story nixes the idea of angels while another pleads for an angel, is a harbinger that the author addresses the contradictions inherent in many matters of faith and belief. Many of us ascribe to God or supernatural forces happenings in our lives or the lives of others. At the same time while our own misfortunes are taken to show a lack of divine intervention or insufficiency in our faith and devotion, the misfortunes of others are often taken - and sometimes gleefully - to be signs of divine or supernatural justice meted to the deserving.
Thus Memon begins the book with a revelatory glimpse into his experiences as an oncologist, a cancer doctor. "Send Me An Angel" is a story about both the will to live and the willingness to die. The patient's "conversations" with his deceased daughter will to some, evidence his faith and to others, evidence his delusion. But then, that is the paradox of faith - one man's faith is, in the eyes of another, a delusion. Memon grasps this dichotomy quite well and the rest of the stories are a testament to that understanding. Of course, as any good writer will, he guides the reader to the precipice but does not make the final leap - that is for the reader.
Mango Blossoms reveals another aspect of the paradox of faith - a Muslim girl falls in love with a Hindu boy and he too is smitten. The melody of the Hindu father's kindness to the child of one of the Muslim servants is contrapuntal to the harsh tune evoked when he learns that his Hindu son wants to marry the Muslim girl. In The Pawnshop Memon describes the frightful despair that poverty, here occasioned by drought, brings to the villagers and the exploitation of their plight by the local pawnbroker. His unabated and unabashed greed leads the pawnbroker to fall for the chicanery of a supposed Pujari or temple worshipper, a priest. The pawnbroker is humiliated and swindled in a story that seems to suggest he deserved his fate and coming, as it does, at the hands of a Pujari, was divinely inspired. Memon does not stop to explain why fate would so intervene - one is led to the suggestion that exploitation begets divine retribution. Memon is not done with Pujaris - a particular abusive one, whose conduct is evocative of the recent scandals involving sexual exploitation by priests, is made to confess in a delectable plot with a twist.
There are stories of kindness shown by complete strangers and an Alexander-Fleming-like tale of a young poverty stricken shoeshine boy who is rescued from his entrapment and given a chance at an education. He goes on to become a successful lawyer and there is the obligatory chance encounter in the finale when, roles reversed, he comes to the aid of his former benefactress.
In all tales of faith and belief, supernatural and divine, there will be moments of the unexplained - a coincidence or divine intervention? Are we dealing with supernatural force or just workings of the human mind? Memon includes these and the title story is another good example, Memon does not stop to justify the grand coincidences he creates, but puts them in the context of both the despair that comes from feeling abandoned by the Creator and the joy that comes from believing that God is on one's side.
These are simple stories but woven in a complex fabric of social issues. For example, The Shoeshine Boy is both a story of how much kindness and compassion shown to others comes back as a reward - a central tenet of most religions, and also of how, faith or not, there is a social issue with not just the glass ceiling for women, but the real problem of entry into the job market especially in emerging economies.
So, this is book you should read. If you are looking for entertainment, the stories will give you that, and if you like to think about matters of faith, they will make you reflect on how much of what we do and take for granted as a part of faith is balanced by the dark side of what we do not see and often ignore despite proclaiming our dedication to principles of equality, charity and kindness. Some will enjoy the stories for their moments of delicious Schadenfreude, heartwarming inspiration, and Memon's display of compassion for those who suffer without fault of their own and his outrage at those whose exploitation and greed knows no bounds.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Jews, Christians,Hindus and Muslims Aug 01, 2007
This is a small book which contains very large short stories each of which carry important moral lessons. Most of these stories take place in India where the author is very familiar with the daily lives of the extremely poor as well as the wealthy. Not surprisingly, the culture and religions of India are vastly different than what we experience in America, which means that the stories also provide an education in what it is like for people who must lead very different lives with limited choices. But regardless of who you are or where you are, the stories weave together the lives of its characters in ways that will make you evalutate your life and the way you relate to others because we encounter moral choices almost every day. This piece of literature will definitely help you view your life from a different perspective. I consider it well worth reading.
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