Long distance marriage is not a new concept but a book written about the whole dynamics is definitely a new thing that has come around. I was very excited for the book not just because of the title but also for the cover! This book is the most beautiful cover I have come across so far this year. About the inside, I did enjoy it. Just don’t think I will reread it.
Cover page
I absolutely love the cover! Harper Colins has done a great job at it. The bathrobes that indicates the genders and a great distance between them, also some sort of intimacy but also a great deal of sadness dangling in between. Somehow a yellow cover with two bathrobes cut into equal halves say a lot about the story inside than anything else. The text compliments the graphic enough to keep the attention on the distance pictorially than by itself. It is a similar strategy adopted on the back cover.
You will want to pick up this book just looking at its cover.
Characters
Ira is a bright young woman who wants to settles for an academic career, almost resigning from the corporate rat race. In the book there is not much of a description on how she looks or how she conducts herself. But the descriptions come from a man who is madly in love with her. From Rohan we know that she wears flower printed bathrobe, she loves prawns curry and is really talented at what she does.
Rohan is Ira’s husband of one year but they know each other since ten years. They have been in love with each other for a long time, enough for him to take Ira’s presence for granted. Rohan is a good man who may have focused on wrong things at wrong times. Ira is just a woman who needs to be loved and set free so that she can come back.
Content
The story opens with Ira getting ready for airport. She packs her bags and slips into the bathroom to take a shower. Rohan, all this while, takes his time to already miss her. After sobbing for a while he readies himself to help the luggage out. That’s when Ira makes a promise on each other’s behalf.
They will always have each other to come back to.
Ira flies to New York for further studies and Rohan does his part of missing, posting photos on Facebook and calling her periodically to check her well-being. There a lot of open display of love when the wife goes away. With some alcohol sessions and road trips with friends Rohan soon realises that his marriage was not picture-perfect that he may have assumed it to be. A major crack which he never realised was widening with each passing day.
Rohan is determined to fix his marriage. Ira, too, wants to make it work but she does not think Rohan even knows what’s broken. The daily going-ons are taking a toll on their marriage.
Language
There is a lot of making up and there is a happy ending. It is not much of a spoiler. Those who love each other like Ira and Rohan do, they always get back together. But what is exciting is the way the story is told. The narration is colloquial but not casual. There as good pauses and string of events. There appears a quote from famous authors right in the beginning of a chapter. You know how when you are in love every song is about you? It’s is exactly how these quotes feel like. They somehow fit well into the story. I am sure if these were even about the natural phenomenon like photosynthesis, Namdar’s writing would have you romanticised that as well.
Good points
The cover is exquisite! The content is sweet! The story is fast paced. But writing takes the cake away. The author definitely has a skill. He writes his characters well.
Bad points
I was hoping for a little more content. It s simple story of love gone wrong and fixing. There is no “Wow!” moment. I guess I was waiting for one.
Overall
Overall, I felt it was a good story told exceptionally well.
Whom do I recommend this to
This book is for those who like short simple stories. Those into short contemporary reads are going to like this one too.
Go ahead, grab yourself a copy of A Story of a Long-Distance Marriage and tell us what you think about the book! If you are a Kindle person, ensure to select the Kindle edition of the book.
A Story of a Long-Distance Marriage
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