Book Review: ‘The Little Book of Goodbyes’ by Ravi Shankar Etteth

Book Title: The Little Book of Goodbyes
Author: Ravi Shankar Etteth
Publisher: Westland
Number of Pages: 154
ISBN: 9371975350
Date Published: Nov. 24, 2025
Price: INR 271 / $19.18

Book Review

Ravi Shankar Etteth’s “The Little Book of Goodbyes” offers a poignant meditation on farewells in life’s roller-coaster, blending sharp wit with emotional depth across vignettes of personal and historical partings. Drawing from Etteth’s storied career as cartoonist and novelist, the slim volume captures goodbyes as transformative thresholds—lovers parting at dawn, soldiers bidding adieu to hearths, even gods waving mortals off—infused with his signature irony and cultural nuance. It’s a compact gem for reflective readers, evoking nostalgia without sentimentality.

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The author’s prose dances between humour and heartache, using concise sketches to universalize intimate losses, much like his acclaimed ‘The Book of Shiva’ or ‘The Brahmin’. Vivid imagery and sly observations make each goodbye resonate, turning mundane separations into philosophical musings on impermanence. The book’s brevity suits bedside or commute reading, rewarding revisits with layered insights.
Ideal for fans of literary minimalism, it shines in distilling complex emotions into accessible wisdom, cementing Etteth’s reputation for storytelling that lingers. While not his most plot-driven work, its emotional economy delivers quiet power, perfect for gifting amid life’s transitions.

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A thoughtful addition to modern Indian short fiction.

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