Book review of I Choose Death. Every. Fucking. Time! by Aayush Sikhwal

Some stories seem to bleed through their very words, pouring pain onto paper and wisdom beyond time. A collection of stories that revolve around vices of life such as marriage, sex, intoxication, the rat race, and so on, I Choose Death. Every. F*cking. Time!: A collection of short stories on Smoking, Alcoholism, Religion, Love Marriage, L*st and The IIT-IIM Corporate World by Aayush Sikhwal is a treasure trove of sorts in the sense that it holds the real essence of what we truly are and what we choose at the end

We go about life as if it would last forever…
But,
Will it last forever? Or
Will one inevitably choose death?

These lines by Ayush Sikhwal put forth in his collection of short stories titled “I Choose Death. Every Fucking Time” is a couplet that is so deep and intense in and of itself that I felt punched in the gut while reading it. Yes, we choose death eventually, don’t we? I mean we all want to live eternally, but yeah this must have surely crossed your mind at some point in time to “relive” the so-called worldly rigmarole of life as I like to call it, purging your soul from all that is just a façade, yes indeed, life is that exactly, A facade, which is so ever-changing, like a whiff of a rainbow, that decides to appear in the sky after a shower. Blink and you might miss it and wonder- was it ever there! 

A collection of short stories, these tales revolve around vices of life such as marriage, sex, intoxication, religion and jumping on pre-set bandwagons and rat races, this is a journey you will be zonked once done with. Why? Simple. Death which happens to be the biggest eventuality in life, well perceptively it might be different to you, holding another meaning and significance for you than what it holds for another person.  And yet when met with a struggle, a challenging situation in life, we might unanimously choose it and how! 

Actually, I always feel we humans are hard-wired in that manner. Choosing death as a last-ditch option is a response many of us may adopt as a last-ditch attempt to solve that particular challenge and issue. That is because we, as humans, are trained with a natural instinct to try and overcome situations in a certain manner. If we fail to do so, it is obvious that we will adopt and adhere to more extreme brute force response theories. 

I Choose Death by Ayush Sikhwal is an attempt to answer the fundamental question in this case scenario: Does that person who chooses death every time to overcome that particular vice, that challenge, truly have a choice? Can he survive the clandestine and mend his ways? Or is it that he is doomed forever, stuck in a place that is oblivion and has no start or end?

These stories, which are centred on various vices that adorn humanity’s straits, proceed with a quaint and uncanny sense of knowingness, taking you through the home truth with a coy yet stark, clear realization. 

You know, one of the stories got so close to me on a personal level that I was unnerved as to how Ayush managed to get so honest, so critical, and blithely aware of how sharp his observation might come across to the readers. Yes, potent, powerful, and unabashedly unfiltered, these tales, which seem to penetrate the chain of logical reasoning of a being, depicting the inherent true human nature, were splayed across the page in a way that is unique, out of the box, enlightening, and unique all at once.

Written with a refreshing tone, Ayush has managed to capture the multiple hues of the horizons we all pursue in our lives and also those which stand beyond our outreach, waiting to be poured and perused as and when we wish to transcend higher than “usual.” A brilliant collection, but what really struck me was the simplicity and style with which Ayush has put forth the idea of how we as humans are constantly off-focus, so full of selfish mottos, so full of ourselves, to be honest, that while on a path in the journey called life, we somehow forget to take note of the path itself, not stopping or pausing to think or mull over what truly transpires.

A completely new pursuit, this is surely what I call a detour from the usual “Shakespearean” style of literary writing. A great read, bookmark this one for your next indulgent read, especially if you want to dive into nuggets of life that are candid but not necessarily candy-like, all bright and rosy yet dark in a different manner altogether. I’m leaving you with a few great lines from a couplet I read, which is part of the last story titled “The Rat Race or Death?”

The Rat race or death?”
I gained money, but lost love.
I gained colleagues and reputation, but lost friends.
I have a chef to cook for me, but no
One to share the meal with.
I gained power and reputation but lost my health.
I gained cars and houses, but nobody
To pass them on to.

So, I hope you guys liked my thoughts on this one. Stay tuned with us right here at Booxoul for the best in the fields of travel, food, finance, fun, fashion, entertainment, lifestyle, tech, and gadgets, as well as all things bookish.

Adios Amigos!