Book Review- E Love

Romantic books, movies have always fascinated me. The feel good factor that they bring to the table is what draws me to them,  always. It makes me want to read more and more. E-Love is a teenage saga. Wanting to reminisce my teenage years, I picked up this book to review.

Ankit’s brother is getting married in an arranged marriage setup. He meets Akshi in this setup as she is related to the bride-to-be. After a few days they start talking to each other via text message and thus begins their relationship. Will this relationship stand the test of times? Will there be a happily ever after? The answers to these questions forms the narrative of e-Love.

The Book Bakers have done a good job in capturing the entire feel of the book through their cover page. Depicting love story over technology, in today’ s time- the main essence of the book has been captured well. The author has tried to capture the busy lives of teenagers today. In trying to be social – via Facebook, WhatsApp, et al, they are not realizing that they are getting anti-social infact. You don’t end up talking to the person who is besides you because you are busy facebooking or whatsapping on your phone. Relationships start/ end via technology and not by meeting in person. I think the depth of the relationship would be entirely different when you are face to face rather than conversing on the phone.

The language in this novel is extra simple, as if you are reading a school textbook. The author wants to reach out to the average Indians, I agree; but still as a reader, for me, the language was a complete put off. I do not want to read such simple dialogues. Also more than simple language, the book seems like a first draft. It feels like reading though a child’s essay. In the narrative, somethings are just illogical. On one side it shows how technology is taking over, and on the other side the couple cannot even meet alone!! There are a lot of grammatical blunders as well, which is definitely not acceptable in a published work. Love stories become epic when the characters get etched in your heart. But the characters of Ankit and Akshi are a blur. There is no relate-ability factor. There is no visualization. There is no flow of story. You just don’t know why the characters are behaving in a certain manner. Basically there is no connect between the characters & the reader,which is the saddest of all  things that can happen to a reader.

It is difficult to write a book and there is no denying that. It takes months, maybe years to string each and every word and weave a story; and we as reviewers read and give the verdict in 600 words. But all hard work notwithstanding, a reader deserves better than this. Indian readers have a far greater sensibility and choices in today’s time because of the prolific work of many Indian authors and also the availability of International authors due to technology ofcourse!! (pun intended  ).

Stars- 1/5

The review was first published on talespensieve.com.

Book Review- Shadow of the Dark Soul

Nirbhaya case had taken the entire nation by shock. It was one of the most talked about and heartfelt case in the history of Delhi Rapes. This particular incident has again come to the limelight, due to the juvenile being released free after committing such an atrocious crime. In the midst of all of this when I got the opportunity to review this one, I did not want to let it go.

Zayesha is  a journalist who has been given the task, to research about the Nirbhaya case. She is in competition with her colleague for this. Inspite of this, as the book progresses she fights her inner demons and takes a life changing decision. A very bold and courageous one, indeed. What makes her take that decision, is the story of The Shadow of the Dark Soul.

The book starts off with the author’s views about Rapes in India. It is a very researched narrative as the author has mentioned a lot of cases. It is very intriguing to read about all those cases. Also I saluteSukhmani Gandhi for giving such strong, courageous and bold views on the verdict and the statements of the so called known people of the society, on those cases. A line that still plays on my mind is “Why do we call a person who has been raped as a Victim? She has gone through hell, doesn’t that make her a survivor???” It was a sheer delight to read those thought provoking pages. Apart from rape, the author shares some light on LGBT, rape on men, children born out of rapes. All the topics entwined, forms the beautiful story of The Shadow of the Dark Soul. All the topics have been touched so smoothly that it etches in your heart almost immediately. The character of Zayesha, her neighbour – Mrs.Chandelier, Liza – the neighbour’s daughter, Armaan have all been crafted to the T. They have been woven very intricately and that is the USP of this book. The climax is a Eureka moment. You want to stand up and applaud the author for showing such a valiant character in Zayesha.

Only a few hiccups. I wish the cover page would have been designed as perfectly as the characters in the book. It neither creates interest to read the book nor does it depict even 1% of the strength the characters and the storyline possess. The only other put off are the grammatical errors. If those edits were perfect this book would have got a perfect score!!

Stars- 3.75/5

This review was first published on talespensieve.com.