A beautiful collection of short stories. Each story is interesting and depicts small tribulations and the ifs and buts of life. They are stories that elucidate the many facets of many women’s lives.
I loved all the stories but I loved some more. The zeitgeist of the stories is strong women, their dreams, wishes, career, families, children, guilt, happiness, sacrifice and a lot more. Some stories evoke pathos: an unfaithful husband, an abusive husband, a teenage mother,  and others downright feel-good.
A small nudge, assurance, hope, feeling good, and getting the right vibes are what gets us through our mundane life. Sometimes we need that old friend to remind us about how good we were or how capable we are. When we are children we yearn to be adults and when we grow old, we look at youngsters and sigh. We often look at others and feel that they are probably happier than us but the grass is always greener on the other side. The stories are all these and much more.
A story about a new mother struggling with motherhood is something every mother can relate to. She meets an elderly woman who narrates her struggle and boosts her morale. The new mother starts enjoying parenthood.
A wife discovers about the escapades of her husband after his death.
A very feminist story about how a lady who strikes back at her male boss who keeps degrading her was brilliant and I just loved the ending. There was another feminist story depicting a resilient lady, that surely brings a warm glow.
The author probably got the title from E. M. Forster's quote “They travelled for thirteen hours down-hill, whilst the streams broadened and the mountains shrank, and the vegetation changed, and the people ceased being ugly and drinking beer, and began instead to drink wine and to be beautiful.”
A fascinating collection of stories that is bound to make the reader feel good.
Thanx netgalley for a copy of this amazing book.