The Blogchatter Book of Friendship
Amazon : Link
Publisher : Notion Press
Publication date : 17 August 2026
Language : English
Paperback : 250 pages
About The Book:
Eighteen writers. Eighteen friendships. One truth - that the most enduring stories we carry are rarely our own alone.
The Blogchatter Book of Friendship is the fourth anthology from one of India's most celebrated creator communities, arriving at a milestone - a decade of Blogchatter. From the ghost of a best friend who finds his way home one last time, to four women who claim a Kolkata terrace as their own; from a retired Urdu teacher and the barefoot girl next door who pulls him back to life, to a stunt double who discovers that the friendship she was faking became the only real thing - these eighteen stories span grief and laughter, betrayal and grace, the friendships we choose and the ones that quietly choose us.
Funny, tender, devastating, and occasionally supernatural, this is a collection that will make you reach for your phone to call a friend.
Review:
This is a beautiful collection of short stories on different facets of friendships. Loved the theme. It brings together 18 different writers and stories in one paperback. Readers get emotional tales, thrillers, and drama. Each story is so uniquely stitched. That's the beauty of getting together several writers - different perspectives, beautiful ways of imagining friendship at every stage of life. We get chance encounters, adulthood friendships, attachment with a passerby in life, childhood connections living it up long in adulthood too, sometimes beyond life itself. As I read through the stories I couldn't help but marvel at the deftly created worlds with such limited word count.
Four O' Clock at the Terrace - is about women knit together through simple daily ritual of meeting on the terrace for a breather from routine life. Saheliyan having chitchats, heavy laughters, connection, and sharing food.
Peas in a Pod - is about friends of different temperaments. Disappointments too are a part of friendship. Anger, reconciliation, let not ego come in the way of friendship. The Man at the Gate - We do not think a certain friendship will hold space in our minds in busy life but they do. Through time and places changed, they stay in memories. The Rhythm of Sisterhood - Some friendships are like lifeboats. They give us a new start - a lease of life. A new breath. When all hopes have been thwarted. It's sisterhood that holds us.
Better Together - Friendship though often is like birds of the same feather that flock together - most often than not there are difference of opinions, world views, ideologies and decisions to lead lives in certain way. Adulthood complicates friendships that have survived since toddlerhood. But pride, ego can only go so long - friendship is eternal, soulful.
Sam: Where It Begins, And Where It Ends - This felt personally to me one of the most complete stories where brevity encompassed entire worlds, timelines, growth, and missed chances. And a blink of an eye felt like eternity. In such a span of few words the author has managed to weave a tale of friendship that lasted a lifetime, along with analogy of Kathak. Loved it.
The Cynic and the Golden Retriever - This one is my personal favourite. I laughed. I pondered. This story was so wholesome. Missing Jakey and Larry's tales from travels already. I wish the author collaborates and creates a webtoon out of this one. The dialogues, scenes are so lively - like a script to be presented.
The Double - This one reads like a spy thriller. Straight out of a movie. Plus, women helping each other climb the ladder.
Beyond the Muddy Puddle : A Lifetime of Debt - It made me so emotional, a friendship beyond life as we know it. So did Unlikely Friendship - Little do we understand life beyond death, and makes people revisit. The Unfinished Chapter - Misunderstandings cause more unintentional rift than actual mishaps.
The Waiting Room - Some relationships get created during the worst phases of our lives. It grows through shared grief, waiting for a silver lining together, through occasional jealousy - after all we are human. Some missteps, some realignment.
The Tide That Stayed - Some bonds are created as a result of inexplicable loss, and insurmountable guilt. And still manage to grow space for something beautiful over the years. Dhoka - takes us through guilt and penance. Fael Haal Jaari - Talks about coping through loss. Finding zeal to live again.
I may not have covered all stories but in a gist - I thoroughly enjoyed the collection.
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