Review: When Our Worlds Collide by Aniesha Brahma

Publication date: October 30th, 2015

Publisher: General Press

Links: Goodreads | Amazon India | Amazon US

Stars: 4/5

Source: Review copy 

Akriti has led a pretty much sheltered life.
Zayn has been shuttled from city to city when he was growing up.
She is comfortable watching her life from the sidelines.
He wants to feel rooted to a place he can call ‘home’.
They meet each other quite by chance.
And both seize the chance to be someone they both need in their lives:
For Zayn, it’s a 'Partner-In-Crime'.
For Akriti, someone who just knows how to be there for her…
When their worlds collide,
It is not what either of them expected it to be.
Zayn has a steady girlfriend. And Akriti has a crush on him.
What happens when these two become friends?
The biggest adventure of their lives? Or the road to heartbreak?
What happens when two completely different people collide?
Do they become friends? Or, is their friendship doomed from the start?
'When Our Worlds Collide' is the story of two twenty-three-year olds, Who are finally growing up and finding their feet in the world.
A tale of friendship and love, crushes and betrayals, messes and second chances,
Marriage and divorce… and the elusive happily ever after!

REVIEW

I remember reading Aniesha Brahma’s debut. It was a colourful and well written novel, though a little rough around the edges. While reading her latest novella When Our Worlds Collide, I couldn't help but notice how far she’d come along as a writer. The dialogue flowed smoothly and the humour was subtle but made me laugh out loud. I read it without stopping for a break, and cried so much towards the end.

When Our Worlds Collide is the story of Akriti, a twenty something girl managing her mother’s café in Kolkata. She was a wallflower in school and college, preferring not to let her guard down. Her family situation was complicated, and she preferred having no friends to letting people into her life. Fast forward a few years, and she’s still as much of a misfit. The only person she talks to is her co-worker Ayoub. Then she re-connects with Zayn, a boy she once almost spoke to in school through his girlfriend Nimmi, a girl she’d reluctantly been friends with at one point. Their worlds collide, and Akriti finds herself crushing on someone whom she knows is taken.

The novella is packed with sweet, teary and some surprisingly real moments. It does not take the easy way out; loose ends aren't tied together with a frilly pink ribbon. Akriti’s at a phase of her life a lot of people in their twenties will be able to relate to. She has dreams, but hasn’t yet realised them. She has hope, but is too scared to pin it on anything. She’s too young to be defined by her past, and yet it isn’t something she can neglect. She’s transitioning, and every step she takes in any direction opens up so many possibilities. There’s freedom and then there’s responsibility weighing in on the consequences of every “free-willed” choice.

The author does a great job exploring these conflicts. She’s not afraid to have things take a raw turn, allowing the protagonist to grow in a more than superficial way. There’s more than enough quirk in it too. Poetry slams play a huge role in the story, but in a different way compared to Colleen Hoover’s Slammed. I could feel myself rooting for this girl, and I found the not-so-clichéd ending satisfying. When Our Worlds Collide is as much a story about personal responsibility as it is a story about a “hopeless” crush. I found that refreshing, as it was something I could relate to. 

Rating: ★★★★☆

A post-script on the novella's cover design: If there was one thing that bugged me a little bit, it was the cover. The cover could've been so much more representative of Akriti and Zayn or Akriti's life, or even just...Indian. Hopefully, future editions come up with a design that is more true to the book and the ethnicity of the main characters.

Featuring: Mohini by Ramendra Kumar [Guest Post]

I'm happy to feature Ramendra Kumar on the blog today! Ramendra Kumar is the author of Mohini, which delves deep into the world of Bollywood. Scroll down to read about his take on movies, the kind of books he writes and more :)

A beautiful and charismatic actress, a sensitive and immensely gifted director, a scheming, wily but brilliant manager - Mohini is the pulsating saga of three individuals - each driven by an obsession. Set in the backdrop of the bold and brazen world of Bollywood, it is a tale of passion, intrigue and suspense. The narrative moves at a roller coaster speed and captures love in its myriad shades: infatuation, romance, commitment, lust and obsession...

A young girl growing up in the backwaters of Bollywood nurses a burning desire to become the number one star in the industry. In her ruthless, and sometimes reckless, pursuit she uses and is used by many individuals. However, there are two men in her life who love her to absolute distraction. Each in his own way helps her reach the zenith of fame and success. One she betrays and the other she rejects. Both unleash vengeance and in a strange quirk of serendipity are pitted against each other as the novel hurtles to a throbbing, thrilling climax…

Mohini is not merely a saga of romance - the tale offers an insight into the biggest film industry on Planet Earth - the murky manipulations, the dirty deals, the shameless shenanigans, the tears behind the glycerin, the pain behind the paint and the suffering beyond the celluloid.

Publication month: January 2014

Publisher: Bluejay Books Pvt. Ltd

Links: Ebay|Goodreads|SapnaOnline|Homeshop18|Amazon.in 

GUEST POST:

A SPOT OF JOY, A SLICE OF VALUE

Over the years there have been several debates regarding a particular tag to be attached to a movie : parallel or popular cinema, art or commercial cinema or realistic or escapist cinema. I loved what Shyam Benegal once famously said, “There are only two kinds of cinema – good cinema and bad cinema.”

I have always been a huge film buff and enjoyed the entire range - action, comedy, drama, pathos et al. I have admired Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Kundan Shah, Shyam Benegal, Sai Paranjpe, Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra and many others. But if were asked to choose the entire oeuvre of a director and then pick the best I would select Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Rajkumar Hirani. And if I were to pick one movie from repertoire of each of these master craftsmen it would be ‘Anand’ and ‘3 Idiots’. I have a few reasons for zeroing in on these two directors and these two movies which I would like to share.

I have so far written 24 books for children. In every book of mine I have tried to tell a story which is racy and has a reasonably high EQ (Entertainment Quotient). I believe that today a young reader has too many choices. Hence if she is not hooked from the first word to the last she would simply switch over to the some other medium. But then I also feel that only entertainment is not enough, providing escapist fare alone will not do. There should be a take away in the form of at least a hint of a whisper of value. It should not be thrust like the anti-tobacco messages on the idiot box or a Rajashree Production melodrama but rather it should be subtle tucked somewhere in the narrative so that the young one internalizes it without even realizing.

Both Anand and 3 Idiots offer dollops of entertainment. Rajesh Khanna, in his most memorable role, keeps you in splits almost throughout. Yet, even as the movie moves to a predictable denouement the value is clear : “Babumushai, zindagi lambi nahin badi honi chahiye.” In 3 Idiots Amir and his friends blunder their way through the movie. And at the end what remains is Amir’s brilliant performance and the message: ‘Strive for excellence, not success. Once you achieve excellence, success would automatically follow.’

In my first book for adults, Mohini too I have stuck to my credo. It has been called a gripping, racy, un-putdownable narrative that takes a behind the scenes look at the ‘the murky manipulations, the dirty deals, the shameless shenanigans, the tears behind the glycerin, the pain behind the paint and the suffering beyond the celluloid.’ However, it goes beyond the grim reality and the sordid drama to offer more than a dash of hope. It reiterates that it is not unbridled manipulation, naked ambition or overpowering obsession that can bring happiness. Joy and contentment can come from a simple, yet all powerful four letter word called Love. 

As I sign off let me humbly appeal to the marquee names of tinsel town and the czars and czarinas of the literary planet. Beyond the esoteric and the abstract, beyond the hype and the hoopla, there is a little space ‘rented out’ by the child in each of us. Reach out to that space with a bit of humour and a ripple of hope, a spot of joy and a slice of value.

                                                                   ~ RAMENDRA KUMAR 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is ‘A Writer by Passion’. An award winning author with 23 books to his credit, he spins yarns mainly for the young and the young at heart. He also dabbles in satire, poetry, fiction and travelogues. His work has been published by some of the best names in the business and translated into several Indian and foreign languages. His stories have found a place in text books and anthologies published across the world. Ramen, an inspirational speaker and storyteller, is a regular at leading seminars and literary festivals both in India and abroad. Mohini, his first novel for adults was launched on 1/12014. Its publishers Bluejay/Shristi had to go in for the second impression, because of the demand based on pre-orders, almost immediately after its first edition. Mohini has also been maintaining its position close to the top on Amazon's 'Hot New Releases' list.

To know more about Ramen you can visit his website or his page on Wikipedia. 

He is working as Chief of Communications, Rourkela Steel Plant, Odisha.

Review: The Secret Proposal by Aniesha Brahma

Publication year: 2012
Publisher: General Press
Links: Goodreads | Flipkart India
Stars: 3/5
Source: Review copy

Eight years ago, she was the teenager he would use to get out of boring parties. But now, he is stunned to see her grown up.

He decides to delay his marriage by getting into a false engagement with her. Then he falls in love with someone else and she forces herself to move on. He comes back to her, but she's determined not to take him back. Will she ever get over her unrequited love for him?

Would a grand gesture from him make her believe otherwise?

And how do you know that your knight in shining armour has been standing right next to you?

Join Tanveer 'Veer' Bhattacharya and Larissa 'Jasmine' Chakroborty as they embark on a journey which questions relationships, friendships and makes one wonder...

how long would it take for love to eventually find a way?

REVIEW

I started reading The Secret Proposal a little before my December break and it felt amazing to sink into this... fluffy, dreamy haven. The Secret Proposal is a story of unrequited love, a fake engagement that gets out of hand and a lot of ups and downs, highs and lows, red, green and mixed signals in between.

If I had to describe the protagonist, Larissa "Jasmine" Chakroborty in one word, I'd go with "likable". She's someone you'd easily be friends with and that made it easier to slip into her predicament and feel a part of this insane chapter of her life. Tanveer "Veer" Bhattacharya is the kind of guy you would fall for and probably idealise a bit too much... so I could see what Jasmine saw in him. And then there's Neeraj, who comes out of nowhere and there's no second guessing his role in the story.

As you may have guessed from the title and the cover, The Secret Proposal feels like something out of a fairy-tale. Sure, there's no prince and princess and magical kingdom but there's Veer who could double for Prince Charming in Jasmine's eyes, even if he gets on her last nerve... and Jasmine herself, who is waiting to be swept off her feet, even if it is through a fake engagement to the boy she's secretly been in love with since forever.

The Secret Proposal is at the same time a bit more grounded than most fairy-tales. For instance, the media threatens to ruin everything. We are given more than a taste of Kolkata: with a full, blown-up picture of the city during Durga Puja; the mouth-watering sweets, colours, diyas and dancing. The Happily Ever After isn't instantaneous. The pangs of misery, loneliness and confusion before the Ever After feel real. More than anything, the Prince Charming here messes up a lot and needs timely help from a good friend to make his Grand Sweeping Gesture that was staring at him in the face all along!

There are times when the ups and downs of Veer and Jasmine's relationship get a little too much and the description of Veer's "chocolate brown eyes" during their every encounter feels like too much of an overkill... but overall, The Secret Proposal is a light and breezy read. It's just the book you'd pick up if you were in the mood for something girly and romantic... if you don't mind a few cliches (and a lot of swooning) here and there. Especially when they are well-written cliches and there's enough banter to keep you entertained!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Featuring: Jacob Hills by Ismita Tandon Dhankher

Publication month: May 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Links: Facebook|Goodreads|Flipkart|Homeshop18|Amazon.in

An unloved woman is a soft target, anyone can hit her, have her.
It’s just another evening at the Tiller’s Club.

Near the bar, Capt. Rana, the Young Officer undergoing training at the War College stands among his course mates, consciously avoiding his pregnant, Muslim wife, Heena. Rumour has it she had forced him to marry her because of the baby.

Saryu, village belle turned modern babe, drink in hand, chats up a YO. Her husband, Maj. Vikram Singh, shoots angry glances at her. She isn’t bothered; the question is, who will she go home with tonight?

Pam and Gary, the flamboyant Sikh couple, chat merrily with the senior officers, charming as ever. Who’d ever guess that they lead the infamous Key Club, an underground swinger couples’ club?

And in one corner stands the Anglo-Indian wife of Maj. George Chandy, Eva, who finds herself at the heart of a murder mystery when a woman’s bleeding body is discovered at the old church under the black cross. The murdered woman’s body is covered with cigarette burns. A six-year-old girl’s wrist is similarly marked. Another little girl shows signs of severe abuse.

Jacob Hills: an army station that houses the War College where young officers receive training. A world of army officers and genteel conversation, of smart men and graceful women. Set in the 1980s – in an India that was at the cusp of tradition and Westernized modernity – this is the story of the ugliness that lies beneath the garb ofJacob Hills’s beauty and sophistication. An ugliness the Chandys find themselves confronted with. Will they uncover the truth behind the woman’s murder? Will their love survive Jacob Hills?

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:

The shadow of the erstwhile British army lingered long after they left the country. Their drinking, smoking, womanizing culture was eagerly embraced by the cream of the crop in the organization. Flirtation is a norm of an elitist, high flying society and it was used to further, both personal and professional agenda.

The seventies and eighties was an era of great suppression, men and women were not allowed to mingle freely. All over the world the hippie movement was on a roll since the sixties but premarital sex in India was seen as an aberration.

Under the garb of British legacy, sycophants and lotharios in uniform thrived and carried on the tradition left behind by the Gori Chamdi.

Every organization has its grapevine, Ismita grew up hearing rumors, snatches of conversation, old wives tales. With an active imagination, the blanks were easy to fill and Jacob Hills was born.

Check out the book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N1haWkL6Syc

And a review of the book by Janhvi @ The Readdicts' HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ismita Tandon Dhankher is ‘A Lesser Known Poet’. Her poem, ‘The Beasts Run Wild’, is currently up on MSN, as part of an ongoing exclusive feature “Her Courage” in tribute to Indian women. http://news.in.msn.com/her_courage/the-beasts-runs-wild

Ismita’s, 'I am Beautiful’ won prize money of 50,000 on the Yahoo-Dove Indibloggers contest. She’s also the author of the romantic thriller Love on the Rocks, a Penguin imprint released in 2011. Her third mystery novel Love Kills is slated for release by HarperCollins India in December 2013.

Ismita went to Sophia College, Ajmer, where she studied Economics, History and Sociology. After acquiring an MBA and doing a brief stint in the Foreign Exchange Division of Thomas Cook, Mumbai, she took up poetry and prose wholeheartedly.

She just finished her fourth novel Secrets We Hide, and is working on The Song of the Sufi Masroof, a book of photographs and poems. Beyond the Hills(Prequel to Jacob Hills) is in the process of being completed.

Ismita blogs and can be reached at www.lesserknownpoet.com

Twitter/ Facebook

Review: Beaten by Bhagath! by S.V. Divvaakar

Publication year: 2012

Publisher: Leadstart Corp

Stars: 3.5/5

Links: Amazon|Goodreads|HomeShop18

Source: Review copy

‘I’ m sure you can do a much better job than Bhagath!’

When BB hears these inspiring words from his sexy lady boss, his staid life as a successful analyst in an MNC goes into a tailspin. Bitten by the ego bug and smitten by her, BB sets off on his quest to write a book that’s better than India’s greatest writer Dr.Bhagath’s blockbusters. Nothing unusual about this for BB, who likes a good fight. Except that he and Bhagath had been classmates and friends at college.

What follows is a roller-coaster voyage of the debutant author and his book, with all its twists and cul-de-sacs. Brushes with publishers, celebrities, retailers, book chains, and competition with the alliances among giants, mark the challenger’s journey, upping the stakes at every stage.

Will BB catch up with his famous friend?

What will their encounter be like?

Written from inside the ring, ‘Beaten by Bhagath’ is a gripping tale …the first-ever about the unseen side of the wonderland of Indian fiction.

REVIEW

Beaten by Bhagath! by S.V. Divvaakar is a book that truly took me by surprise! Thank you, Mr. Divvaakar, for putting the whole Chetan Bhagat hoopla (or should I say, “K-10 Bhagath”?) into perspective. And in a truly fair and uncritical manner at that.

Beaten by Bhagath!, as suggested by the tagline, is the tale of two kinds of Indian writers: the commercial ex-corporate bigwig whose characters and plots are a hit with youngsters and the reasonably successful banker or executive or corporate dude who has a way with words; who laughs at the former and thinks, “If he can do it, so can I.”

Which is precisely what happens to BB, the narrator of this satirical take on the contemporary Indian fiction writer world! Beaten..! is partly reminiscent of Five Point Someone or if you’re a movie person, 3 Idiots, and the rest is a surprisingly realistic picture of a wannabe author navigating through a number of ludicrous obstacles to achieve his aim of matching the success of the accessible and relatable garden variety novels churned by his college mate Ketan Bhagath (no prizes for guessing what that’s all about).

In the process, he realizes what it takes to be a success in the market: which has less to do with writing and more to do with the hard sell; with celebrity endorsements, buying Facebook Likes, failing to dodge fraud, running after book chains and learning hard truths of how the retailer and book chain system works. As a result, his relationship with his wife slackens and even his book begins to look less appealing. The whole thing threatens to go up in smoke and he wonders what writing his book should’ve been about in the first place.

In a nutshell, it’s not your average love story. It’s not one of those fast paced thrillers. It’s not even the college story it seems to be about at the beginning. What makes this even better: it’s NOT a spoof of Chetan Bhagat novels. In fact, Bhagat isn’t directly slammed in any way. The author makes an honest effort to understand Bhagat’s audience and hypothesise why his style and approach works for him. It does not, however, work for the trillion other writers who strive to duplicate his fan following.

I’m not exactly a Chetan Bhagat fan but I did enjoy reading Two States, have heard good things about What Young India Wants and don’t dislike him, so I respected that there was no downright slamming involved despite the protagonist’s initial resolve to “beat Bhagath”!

Overall, I found Beaten by Bhagath! to be a well-written, refreshing and at times hilarious book chronicling the misadventures of a debutant author. If you have anything resembling an opinion on Indian fiction or are looking/once wanted to be the next Chetan K-10 bestselling author, take one look at the tongue-in-cheek cover and I’m sure you’ll realize that this book is for you!

Clever, breezy and contemplative in its message, books like this making a buzz in the Indian contemporary lit scene wouldn’t be a bad thing at all!

“So, here I go with my most outlandish observation: there’s not much difference between a fiction novel and underwear, in terms of market price. I’m not talking about selling lingerie… that’s a different arena altogether. Isn’t a fiction book about the same retail price as a pair of briefs or banian? If you don’t believe me, check it out. Beauty fiction novel: Rs. 89; Beauty Banian: Rs. 85. Even the covers could easily substitute for each other. The guy in the shorts could well be an author who has lost his pants!” –p.105, Beaten by Bhagath!, S.V. Divvaakar

Rating: ★★★1/2

Review: The Homing Pigeons by Sid Bahri

Publication date: April 10th, 2013

Publisher: Srishti Publishers and Distributors

Stars: 4/5

Links: Amazon|Goodreads|Flipkart India

Source: Review copy (courtesy the Readers Cosmos Book Review Program!)

In the middle of the catastrophic 2008 recession, Aditya, a jobless, penniless man meets an attractive stranger in a bar, little does he know that his life will change forever…

When Radhika, a young, rich widow, marries off her stepdaughter, little does she know that the freedom that she has yearned for is not exactly how she had envisioned it…

They say Homing Pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

REVIEW

The Homing Pigeons had a lot working for it; right from the beginning. The title, for one, felt 'comfortable' and left behind a beautiful image of what the book could be about. The blurb was enticing, further evoking the idea of two unsuspecting lovers who were meant to be, come what may.

And when I started reading the book, I was hooked, as the writing was so so beautiful. I was reading it at the same time as Fahima from I Read, Ergo I Write (which was a lot of fun! We've never done this before!) and we couldn't stop texting each other about it!!

At its core, The Homing Pigeons is a love story that grows along with the central characters; disentangling itself from obstacles and severing cuts and bruises formed out of momentary foolishness, crumbling backbones and harsh circumstances. But reducing The Homing Pigeons to simply "a love story" does not do it justice. In fact, I felt the love story was the weakest part of the plot- though it was definitely essential to carry the book forward. 

What truly sets this book apart is that it is set in 2008, during the recession and it is relentless in showing the depths to which one can sink to during this time and how significant both money and love are, despite wishful thoughts that only the latter matters. The protagonists, Radhika and Aditya, are figuratively and even literally at times reduced to commodities, cheapened when the supply is high or when demand and supply don't quite meet. Their paths skirt around each other, crisscross briefly before they skittle away until they finally intersect and reach the point of no return.

More than anything, it was the writing that drew me in. The writing morphed the characters into so much more, with both Aditya and Radhika's alternating points of view and the back story revealed in bits and pieces. Despite their imperfections and the endless melodramatic circles they ran in, it was impossible to dislike the main characters as they were so resilient. They braved through obstacles that felt real rather than manufactured or blown out of proportion. 

I loved how artfully the back story was unraveled, surprising you most of the time as connections you never saw coming are slowly revealed to you and it all clicks in the end. There are so many lines you want to hold on to, that make you want to pause and reflect and quote over and over again! ❤

"The pain lingered on, of not being able to garner the courage to express what I felt for her. I felt the agony of never being able to dance with her to the tunes of old English songs. I felt anguished that even if I met her later in life, I wouldn't be seventeen."

The last line, I felt, captured so much!

Another line that left me feeling as hollow and torn as Radhika:

"I stayed there, locked inside, sweating, unsure of who I was hiding from."

The Homing Pigeons is a book that definitely does not hold back with parts that may shock you, make you feel as broken as the characters and have you enraptured till you hit the final page. It is the most engaging Indian contemporary novel I've read so far and I was happy to hear that there will be a sequel. I haven't revealed much of the plot in my review but I can assure you that it is a wonderfully written edgy, sort-of controversial and thoughtful book that stands out (in the best way) from the handful of contemporary Indian books I've read!

This book review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program. To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review: Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai by Rishi Vohra

Publication year: 2012

Publisher: Jaico Books

Stars: 3/5

Links: Amazon|Goodreads|Flipkart India

Source: Review copy

"Autistic. Schizophrenic. Psychotic…"

"They" use these words to describe Babloo - the doctors, his family, his teachers everyone... except Vandana. She treats him the way he wants the world to see him.

Mumbai... the city that defines his ultimate desires. Will it allow him the love and normalcy he so craves?

Vandana... yearns for a soul mate to rescue her from the confines of the Railway Colony they all live in. Is she looking in the right place?

Rail Man... a fearless, real-life hero who succeeds in doing all that Babloo secretly wishes to do... is Babloo his inspiration or... is it the other way around?

A random twist of fate on Mumbai’s endless, serpent-like, jangling local train tracks ties all these characters together in a complex weave of love, heartbreak, and courage.

Babloo draws the reader into his fascinating, heart-rending journey through the twisted, choked lanes of Mumbai, into an open space where he can finally exhale, be born again.

REVIEW

Once upon the tracks of Mumbai lived Babloo, who was highly neglected by his family. He was quick to be branded "mentally unstable" at various points of the story with no proper diagnosis or attention to treatment. Seen as "jobless" "disruptive", ignored, belittled, he was confined to his life by noisy Bandra station; a life by the railway tracks that came to signify so much more. Babloo is often in another world, craves routine, is devoted to his neighbour Vandana who is always nice to him and deeply disturbed by the injustice and ruthlessness that prevails in his surroundings, giving rise to a superhero flick, love story and a social message all rolled into one!

On the surface, especially from a glimpse at the cover, the plot of Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai by Rishi Vohra seems very filmy and in a way, it kind of is. There's a clear good versus evil divide, particularly in the beginning and as referenced in the book itself, much like a masala film, our hero Babloo manages to wade past the countless obstacles and "good" is rewarded! There is the clear cut villain in the book in the form of Sikander who is a schemer, manipulator and never up to any good. But there's also the evil that arises from the roots of corruption and negligence of duty. And the person to go head to head with this is none other than Rail Man- a superhero that gets the entire city of Mumbai talking! No points for guessing who the face behind the mask black paint is!

What I liked most about this book was that even with the filmy elements, it ultimately held its own. I loved the way both of storylines, the struggles of Babloo and Rail Man, ran parallel to each other and ultimately became one. While it took me a while to get into the book... especially in the beginning which felt mournful and painted a pathetic, sad picture of things as they were, I grew to love the flow of the narrative as it picked up pace. While told in the first person perspective of Babloo, there are also third person perspectives of the other characters to shed full light on the events that unfold over the course of the book.

The love story, thankfully, is no cliched affair either! Vandana, though affected by expectations from all over to be the coy heroine, is far from demure. She has aspirations of her own and while initially trapped by circumstances and societal expectations for her to settle down, she learns to stand up for herself and get what she wants. She's independent and even shapes up to be a little bossy with her take-charge attitude which I loved! While I flinched a lot in the beginning at the limiting picture of the city that was painted, it was great that as the story unfolded, we did get the fuller picture. We see the shades of gray as the characters live beyond the "climax" and their fates aren't entirely in black and white.

Overall, I definitely think Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai is one of the contemporary Indian reads I liked despite the slow beginning. With well fleshed out characters, a thought provoking narrative and a unique mix of "reel" and real, it's definitely a story that's worth your while.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Review: Pink or Black 2: High Drama at High School by Tishaa

Publication year: 2012
Publisher: Rupa
Links: Flipkart | Indiaplaza | Indiatimes Shopping
Source: BlogAdda
Rating: 3/ 5 stars

Tiana’s school year has just started and looks bleak already. Her boyfriend is concerned they ‘don’t connect anymore’, her best friends are being super nasty, her lunch group has been taken over by newcomers, and the final nail in the coffin: a blast from the past, whom she believed she had left behind forever, has moved to Hill View High.

Will anything go right for Tiana as she juggles friends old and new, tries to stay in her teachers’ good books, and, most importantly, attempts to keep all the boys at bay while she figures out her own feelings?

Find out in this funny yet moving sequel to the bestselling Pink or Black, as Tishaa brings alive all the high drama at high school with wit and understanding.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be. 

REVIEW:

I usually don't read books out of sequence but technically, I'd already met Tiana, the protagonist of Pink or Black 2. I had flipped through the pages of Pink or Black, the first book, at my favourite bookstore while waiting for my dad to pick me up. The author blurb was what got me really interested in the book... given that the author was only sixteen years old when she wrote the book.

There was something really endearing about Tiana and her quest to find herself... and though I didn't do more than read a couple of pages of the first and second to last chapter... and didn't end up buying the book, I was curious enough to read Pink or Black 2.

Pink or Black 2 picks up at the beginning of Tiana's eleventh grade year, a mere two weeks after the end of the board examinations. There are two "hot new guys" and one "hot new" girl...making things interesting for the old timers at Hill View High. Not for Tiana, though... especially since Ronit, one of the "hot new" boys stomped on her heart only a summer ago and the new girl is none other than her cousin Tea who loathes her.

With rumours, gossip and enough boy drama to make you dizzy, it's definitely not going to be a smooth year for Tiana and her friends... but when has high school ever been a smooth ride? It doesn't help that Tiana's ex Karam is annoyed with her because Tiana took their break up well. Or that her friends are constantly making Tiana feel alienated and dismissing her as a stuck up goody two shoes because she always ends up taking responsibility and prefers to avoid trouble.

Friend politics and changed seating arrangements at the cafeteria are only few of the many catastrophes Tiana has to wade through in eleventh grade as she struggles to stay afloat without giving up her ideals. The author, Tishaa, has a clean and simple writing style that makes the book a quick and breezy read.

And while reading about love triangles and endless circles of bitchiness and scheming may not be my favourite kind of story, now that I'm twenty and "all grown up" (okay, I wish), I can see my fourteen year old self really relating to many of the themes prevalent in the book. Especially the jealousy, complete misery and chaos that can prevail in one's friend group. And how, in spite of the huge fights, backstabbing and insecurities that are prevalent in a big group, at the end of the day... you love them so much.

I wasn't all that impressed with the boy drama... I found some of it a bit filmy and unrealistic... how many boys will fall for the same girl? And what's with shifting schools out of the blue just to be with said girl? Still, the almost monotonous or rather, routine chain of hook ups and link ups with nothing more than slight sentimentality attached to the whole ordeal was very high school. 

Pink or Black 2 is a quick and fun read that will bring back the ridiculous complications, over the top expectations from teachers and equally conflicting expectations from friends that funnily enough makes everybody nostalgic for their high school years. Indian Young Adult fiction is hard to come by and this is just the kind of teen read that is sure to resonate with the 13+ crowd!

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com . Participate now to get free books!

The Reluctant Detective by Kiran Manral

The Reluctant Detective has an interesting premise: pairing a bored thirty-something housewife with two murders in a suburban neighbourhood. Kanan Mehra, also known as Kay, was the last person to see Sheetal Jaiswal alive before she was brutally murdered in the midst of her morning jog. As was she with Rohit Sharma, whose body was once again discovered by Kay and her husband. Against her will, Kay finds herself intrigued by the mystery of the murders. With the help of her detective friend, Runa, she half heartedly (and the emphasis is on half-hearted) sets out to find the murderers while simultaneously making sure her kid, 'the brat' gets enough to eat and she is regular to his parent-teacher meetings.

As you can see, The Reluctant Detective seems like a quirky formulaic whodunnit with just enough personality to make it stand out! I wanted to fall in love with this book so badly. But, it kills me to say but, this book just wasn't amazing enough. It was breezy, sure. It had its moments of fun. I do not regret picking it up. But it could've toned down on the frivolousness and had more action; more twists and puzzle pieces in the mystery.

I'm going to go ahead and dissect the cover, characters, plot and writing separately.

cover

I've seen way too many stiletto covers in the past two years. Especially when it comes to Lauren Weisberger's books. Still, a huge stiletto in the cover screams chic lit which is great! That, along with the drop of blood under the heel represents the book perfectly!

characters

The characters were engaging enough! The main character, Kanan Mehra or Kay, did not make a good first impression. I was ready to hate her. There are a lot of people in real life like her who you have to learn to love. Just like I did eventually start liking Kay despite and in a way because of her little quirks.

'The spouse' and 'the brat' were even more fun to read about than Kay herself! Kay's husband, despite not possessing a single romantic bone in his body is loyal and caring. That was enough to move me! Kabir or 'the brat', as Kay lovingly refers to her son, won me over instantly with his disdain for certain things and his cute way of saying things! Go Kabir!

plot

The Reluctant Detective's tagline reads: 'how a housewife became a murder investigator between being a school-gate mom and her ladies lunches.' I'm sorry but murder investigator? Really? There were more of the ladies lunches and birthday parties (which were fun to read about! And I discovered so much more about Kay in the process) and less than fifty pages of actual detecting. Kay doesn't even start with the investigation till the second half of the book. Even then, her friend, Runa, is the one who gets started with the work.

There were a lot of fillers and the resolution of the mystery was a bit too simple. It was more chic lit than a murder mystery.

the writing

I love Kiran Manral's writing, especially towards the end. In the beginning, I couldn't stand it as the author made the main character digress a zillion times. Which was not very wise in terms of plot or scene progression. But by the second half, there was less frivolousness and fixation with what exactly the fat cells in Kay's body were up to when she devoured fried food. Instead, other than lengthy ramblings, there were more astute observations and fun dialogue. If only this had been the case throughout!

As you can see, the 'reluctant' in The Reluctant Detective was a bit of an understatement. The murder mystery plot barely picked up over the course of the story and I didn't care for how it was resolved. The narration lacked crispness in the beginning though it picked up and was filled with funny and fresh observations towards the end. One thing I can say for sure is that the author has a lot of potential. If The Reluctant Detective had only been chic lit and did not have the whodunnit element, maybe I would've liked its approach more. But since it wasn't and it didn't have that great a resolution, overall it was not-so-great.

You can read The Reluctant Detective at least once for the funny one-liners and relatable observations this book is filled with. Just lower your expectations and you are sure to be entertained by the true-to-life characters and situations! If the blurb at the back sounds fun enough, I will probably pick up Kiran Manral's next novel when it's out, hoping it contains more of what I liked about The Reluctant Detective.

read it or skip it?

SKIP IT if you're looking for a hardcore whodunnit, prefer crisp story telling and cannot tolerate the main character digressing every two seconds.

READ IT if you're looking for a light read with true-to-life characters and lines that make you smile knowingly and occasionally burst out laughing.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Fairy Tales: Love, Hate and Hubris by Manoj Kewalramani

From goodreads


If you caught up with the wolf that hounded little Red Riding Hood, can you image what he would tell you? What did the wicked and vain queen really want from Snow White? Is Beauty and the Beast a tale of love or a story on the shackles of idealisation? 

'Fairy Tales: Love, Hate and Hubris' is a poetic recap of 16 such timeless fairy tales. Delving into the lives of the antagonists and other characters that have been forever ignored, each poem is an adaptation that sheds new light on their predicaments and motivations.

The collection dwells on wide-ranging unexplored themes - from age and youth, the trappings of power, God and faith, narcissism, self-loathing, and unbridled desire, arrogance and lust, idealisation and love.

review

I'm not quite the poetry enthusiast. I read and appreciate the occasional poem and have liked novels written in verse but I've never read an entire collection of poems in one go. It's just that most times the crux of the poem eludes me. But I'm so glad I won Fairy Tales: Love, Hate and Hubris by Manoj Kewalramani in a Goodreads First-Reads giveaway. This book is never going to leave my bedside table!

First of all, the cover is amazing! I love how the wolf is looking into the Magic Mirror (The narcissistic wolf is the title given to the poem based on Red Riding Hood) and there are apple trees everywhere! Each page was so prettily decorated with more flowers and apples and the font and spacing made it very easy to read. I never thought these things would enhance or affect my reading experience but it did!

Second, the poems. I LOVED most of them. They were mostly centered on the antagonists of the fairy tales we have grown up reading and listening to. I was such a Disney fan as a kid, so I enjoyed reading the poems on Snow White's stepmother, Sleeping Beauty, Thumbelina and the insights that came along with it.

The poem that I warmed up to instantly was The narcissistic wolf which is from the perspective of the Big Bad Wolf! There were parts that made me laugh out loud. I enjoyed the point of view of the wolf and it made me look at the story of Red Riding Hood in an entirely different light!

Some of my favourite lines: "Baby you knew me, so why the shock/ My eyes, my ears, my teeth/Such a tease" and "You sigh in relief; but I am sure there's grief/For if it wasn't for me; The Big Bad Wolf/You'd be nothing more than another girl in a little red hood".

Though I didn't love it the first time, I gradually found Pea wars to be very poignant and Just a kiss felt like a fun, very modern take on the Princess and the Frog (Honey, sometimes a toad's just a toad). The beast of ideal, on the Beauty and the Beast was the perfect end to a very awesome collection of poems. It was great to hear the Beast say what he had to say!

In a nutshell, this was just the book I needed to read! Fairy tales are very big at the moment, with the TV Series Once Upon A Time (which I really need to watch) and the upcoming release of Snow White and the Huntsman. This poetic recap is smart, funny and totally adapted for today's world. I loved that I got to see a different side of characters I had not thought much about for a long time.

As a kid, things were always black and white. Snow White's stepmother was wicked and Rumpelstiltskin got what he deserved. It was great to sit back and rethink and relive those tales! I loved how in-character most of these antagonists were... I especially appreciated the way Snow White's stepmother was characterised. It was also great how most of the antagonists pointed out a single vice of the traditional protagonists' of these tales!

I'm sure to re-read this collection of poems several times this year. There is so much more I get from it every time I read it and it's such an enjoyable and fun experience every time! I would definitely recommend this and on an unrelated (or related but totally random) note, I really need to watch Once Upon A Time!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Harbart by Nabarun Bhattacharya (translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha)

This weekend, I read Harbart, the English translation of Nabarun Bhattacharya’s first novel which won him the Narsimha Das Award, Bankim Puraskar and Sahitya Akademi Award. He went on to write several other major novels and novellas, short stories, poetry and collections of prose. Herbert (the original Bengali novel) was also made into a movie of the same name by Suman Mukhopadhyay which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali.

Harbart is the English translation of the Bengali novel- translated by Arunava Sinha, who has also translated several works of classic and contemporary Bengali fiction such as The Chieftain’s Daughter by Bankimchandra Chattipadhyay and Three Women by Rabindranath Tagore.

The story begins with the discovery of Harbart Sarkar’s body. Harbart has killed himself after one hazy, drunken night which I couldn’t quite make sense of. But why did he kill himself? We are taken back in time to his childhood, formative years and finally the cause of his death. Harbart is an orphan and is brought up by his aunt after his mother’s death. There are several instances in his life when he is ignored and abused. From the beginning, he seemed in need of love.

Various incidents such as his failed attempts at poetry and the arrival of Binu, a Marxist-Leninist activist shape his life and the path he takes. Harbart soon becomes the proprietor of a business that delivers messages from the dead to their loved ones. He embraces this role as he is no longer an object of ridicule. He is revered by all as a sort of ‘godman’. Plans are made for this “guppy in a tank” to rise in prominence when a rationalist association threatens to put an end to it all. Harbart’s untimely demise follows but he, as the blurb at the back of the book says, remains a mystery even in death.

Harbart surprised me with its prose that was so rich in detail yet evasive at the same time. It seemed impossible to take in the dark humour, the well-carved plot and the lucid prose in one go. I’m certain that many details, I’m hoping not very significant, may have escaped me in the first reading. But the tone of the story conveyed by the words that are so artfully strung together hits you every time. It is impossible not to be swayed by the story.

We also get a vividly painted picture of the streets of Kolkata (then-Calcutta). Everything, from the lizard to the nymph in the Park Street antique shop, the ghosts, delusions and the cockroaches disappearing into the drain stays in your head longer than it should. Although I haven’t read many translated works to compare… It is apparent that Harbart is fantastically translated. Reading it didn’t feel like reading a translation. The 150 page novella is packed with punch; unique and memorable in terms of style and pacing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

SHIT HAPPENS: Desi Boy In America by Karan Puri

what it's about (from goodreads.com)

Anurag Sinha, a thoroughbred nerd, leads a cocooned life, confined more or less to the four walls of his room. A one-of-a-kind dad, a weepy mother and weird relatives complete his life. Average girls ignore him, hot girls bully him and school studs abuse him. His Delhi existence goes on until the big day arrives. Our hero gets a scholarship. To University of Rochester. To New York. To united States of Bloody AMERICA! Life must only look uphill from now on. America must be at least hundred times better than india. A roller-coaster American ride leads our desi boy to an exeptional journey rippling with twists and turns. Nonchalant blondes, mugless washrooms, strange slangs, good-hearted friends, beefy encounters, boozy nights and even a white girlfriend??? America shows Anurag itself in all its psychedelic craziness. But dreams and roller-coaster rides don't go on forever. What will happen to our hero? Will he return to his life in India or will he stay on? Dream on!


review

The description of the book made me pick it up right away. Shit Happens seemed like a fresh, fast paced and fun read- just what I needed after a week of tests in college! And it WAS fast paced. And fresh. The name 'Shit Happens' says it all. It was a roller coaster of a ride- exploring identity, love at first sight, making it in a new country, a new environment and coming back a changed person. The characters seemed genuine, though they could've done with a few quirks. Anurag, who the story was about, was the typical geeky underdog and his transformation into a confident and well rounded person was believable though, as I said before, it was all VERY fast paced.


For the skinny book that it was, Shit Happens managed to touch all of those obvious as well as subtle yet hilarious desi-boy-doing-his-postgrad-in-the-US (which is very, very common)-isms. But at times, I found myself wishing for a little more elaboration on the angst and maybe the introduction of more characters (His Professors? People he ran into? The only people other than Anurag and his family who are mentioned are Lizzy, who he falls for and her boyfriend Aaron. And university is a BIG place) and interactions that could've spiced things up!


BUT for what it is, it is a pretty good book. It is a decently written and very cute first effort! I especially liked the way things were wrapped up. The conclusion was very effortlessly awesome! I even had a tear in my eye ;) It was the middle that could've been fleshed out a bit more!

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

A Girl Like Me by Swati Kaushal

It has been a week since I picked up A Girl Like Me by Swati Kaushal and some parts of the book are still so fresh and vivid in my mind! Featuring the typical spoilt, rich girl, the goofy boy who does his own thing and the guy who will always be a little out of your league, A Girl Like Me took me back to school. High school can have its share of sweet and heart wrenching moments as well as moments of angst and confusion. This was captured amazingly!

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

Where does the protagonist, Anisha Rai fit in all of this? Anisha, or Ani, who spent a chunk of her childhood in Minnesota, comes back to Delhi where her mother takes up a job as a creative director of a hotshot company. India brings back memories of her father, who is no more and she is determined to be detached and withdrawn. But in spite of herself, she is reunited with her childhood friend Keds, finds her own group of friends at school and falls for an older guy, college theatre enthusiast Kunal, who may or may not be good for her. In the home front, Anisha befriends the girl next door, triggering unforeseen obstacles that creates a strain in her relationship with her mother.

WHAT I THOUGHT

well-written . light hearted fun, drama . gut wrenching climax . could’ve done with a little less?!

The deceptively light start follows a gut wrenching climax and at the end of the story, Ani’s understanding of herself, the world and the way things were and will be deepens.  Overall, A Girl Like Me is a well-written coming of age story. What really stood out were the parts of the book set in school- with the light hearted fun, drama and secondary characters who frankly, I loved more than the main character. But at the same time, it’s the problems at home and Anisha’s relationships outside school that majorly contribute to the intensity of the crux of the plot.

While usually in a book you might feel like it lacks that “something more”, with A Girl Like Me, I felt like it could’ve done with a little less. Little less of a certain neighbour subplot. It’s like that 90210 episode that would've worked better without the zillion sociopath characters… though the particular subplot of A Girl Like Me had nothing to do with sociopaths. What I’m trying to say is that while there were some characters who had depth and were lovable, some characters who though three-dimensional were downright unlikable, there was one character whose presence just… irked me. But maybe it’s me being nitpicky. Maybe the book may not have worked without that element of it.

Either way, the book did strike an accurate balance between the light hearted and the dark, school and home and made for a mostly relatable and moderately realistic read!

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.