We, the readers, are required to raise our expectations. Unless we raise our expectations we are going to be fed all the written, unrefined words that are the result of a stunted imagination and dwarfed expression. These are more or less the words of the author Prassant Kevin. It makes us, the readers, proud of what we do. It places us on a pedestal where we are superior to many others, where we are honored with a responsibility to decide what we want to read. Not only decide, but also be outrageous and demand it. The author has set himself apart from others who never ask readers to challenge what they are biting into. Respect.
But as far as his own book goes, the author has lost the game. The expression that I would use is “duck out”.
That’s the biggest problem with the alcoholics, she thought, as they always assume that alcohol will find them a solution, which never happens. The solution of the problem comes afterwards, when they wake up with shitty breath and look at their wasted self in the mirror. Its when they find a real reason to get their shit back together and find a way to work it out. And when they do, they thank alcohol again as it helped them to get back to the track and to celebrate it, they all drink again.
Cover page
On the cover page, is a suit and the cityscape fading. The color blue overpowers everything. So, someone who has a stunted vision is going to see an ocean of blue with a few sparkling lights here and there. The typography and the color combination makes the cover as unappealing as it can get. It also does not relate to the text inside, misguiding anyone.
Characters
Ayan Kapoor is a struggling writer, who appears to have a gift. He has got a chiseled body and a special talent. He can recite the alphabets in reverse order. Apart from these two characteristics, the author has failed miserably to give a personality to the lead character. The author goes on talking about the gem of the writer Ayan is, but there is no textual evidence supporting it. A chiseled body is not required of a writer, a good thought process is. Which again is lacking in Ayan. He thinks like any normal testosterone induced twenty-something in the city.
Misha is the lady love here. She is blunt, aggressive, protective, brash and a true blue friend. Again she can be any girl you meet anywhere. Being the love interest of the author who rules over million hearts, Misha was not given enough character.
Content
Misha and Ayan meet at her uncle’s bar. Ayan just found out that his girlfriend was sleeping with someone else. Misha while filling in for the bartender does not try one bit, to console him. She instead offers him a full bottle of alcohol, on one condition. And thus, they become friends.
The content of the book is everything the author does not want to see in “Indian literature”. It is the usual boy meet girl, fall in love, break hearts, get back etc. I was reading on and on and praying that there was more to the story, but sadly there isn’t.
All we have to do is to wait with hope and patience because our job is not to find love, our real job is when love comes to us, then to protect it from going away.
Language
The story keeps shifting its POV. It is not even third person narration, as it looks at certain parts. The author has got the grammar terribly wrong. The book is filled with colloquiums. The readers are going to find the SMS language repulsive! The narration is terrible. At one point I was just reading the words and thinking of what I would like to have for dinner!
Good points
The book has a good message about the literature scenario in India. We, the readers, are slowly settling down. We are very comfortable with what we are being fed. Unlike an era where the sages used to put their life into writing a book which is going to enlighten the entire humanity, the writers today are feeding entertainment between the pages of the book.
Bad points
Everything. The cover page is unappealing as a frog. The shallow characterization and the cliché story line make it difficult to finish the book. The book is more like a cinema script narrative than a piece of literature.
Overall
Overall, the book is a shabby attempt. This is the second book by the author, which makes it twice unforgivable.
Who do I recommend this to
As of now I do not recommend this to anyone. The book needs too many refinements.
* I recieved this book from the author on goodreads giveway. It has not influenced the review at all.