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Half-Open Windows captures 2017 in about 200 odd pages. Written by Ganesh Matkari who happens to be an architect and a film maker, it is only apt to see the stories revolving around architects and the people involved in their lives. The translation has been done smoothly by Jerry Pinto and this alone scores few points. As unique and Mumbai-ish these stories might be, they did little to impress me. Probably because I couldn't picture Mumbai vividly while reading the book. I do however enjoyed how cleverly the author brought the book together.

Half-Open Windows has multiple narrators and it won't remotely be possible for me to describe them all. The story mainly revolves around SNA architectural firm and its employees. It further branches out into their families/friends etc. I don't know if it was intentional but the first and last chapters are narrated by the same person while the rest introduces us to different people. They carry no similar theme but are bound together by a fine thread. There's a lonely widow who dreads moving abroad, a young couple going through a turbulent time, a corrupted architectural firm, a suicidal man and stories of betrayal. Each story is different from the other. But these weren't extraordinary. I couldn't connect with a few of them while few, I did enjoy reading. Overall, I felt it didn't portray enough of Mumbai. I wouldn't recommend it but there's no harm in giving it a try either.

Rating : 3.4/5.