I got the book as a part of the review program in Outset.
I am very conflicted in my rating for this book. While it
was definitely better than 'ok', I am not sure I can commit to the statement
that I liked it. So, for me, this would be a 2.5.
The story is of one Sriram, and his journey across nations
and his journey within himself. While I did not enjoy the first half of the
book at all, there was something about the second half that held my attention.
The narrative, however, was not very fluid and jumpy at many places. It was
because of these reasons that I did not read the book in one stretch. Plus,
this was a kindle copy, not my most preferred mode of reading.
The story: The narrative was slightly jumpy for me. There
were too many things in one plot. While initially the blurb made me think that
the story would revolve around the journey for an Indian from a city in south
of India to the land of dreams, 'Merica, the beginning of the plot was quite
different from my expectations. There was a flavour of heartbreak and romance
in the initial chapters. And the detailing of the same, in my opinion, was very
amateurish. Also, the romance (or the lack of it) between the characters named
'Sriram' and 'Madhuri' instantly made me think of Madhuri Dixit (a popular
Bollywood actor) and her husband, Sriram Nene. What are the odds!
The story then moved on to the life of the protagonist in
terms of his career and the set-backs he faces in that arena. This part was
mildly attractive. The struggle that the protagonist faced in terms of his
professional life is detailed but comes across as a diary entry/venting rather
than a flowy narrative. The other area that the book explored was
soul-searching. There are flashes of it throughout the narrative but it is
mostly focused on towards the end.
My problem with the narrative was there was a mix of too
many things, with no satisfactory conclusion to any part. Maybe there was a
deliberate attempt on the part of the author to transition from romance to
career to soul searching, but that transition did not work for me. When I pick
up a book, I like to know what part of someone's life am I going to be privy
to. Too much happening in too little always leaves me with a taste of
dissatisfaction. The same was the case here. I would have, I think, preferred,
if the story was categorically written in parts, or at least divided that way.
The language: At the very best, the language is poor. I am
all for simple language. I firmly believe that the simpler the language is, the
more the reader will enjoy it. However, the language used here seemed like an
exact production of the thought process of the protagonist, with no effort made
to add to the character of the narrative.
The book has not been edited. It is riddled with grammatical
mistakes and spelling errors, so much so that I had to keep the book away for a
few days as initially the bad editing was all I could focus on. The backbone of
any piece of literature is the language used to narrate the story. This book
lost out majorly in this criterion.
A major part of the book is on the lines of this happened,
that happened and then that happened, with very little to portray the
feelings/thought process of the character.
The characters: Apart from the character of Sriram, no other
character is developed. May be that was deliberate, but a story (even of it is
of a certain person's life) is wholesome when there is an interplay between
characters. That was missing from the narrative.
All in all, the book has major potential if only someone
would spend time editing and proofreading it. There is a story in there if you
dig deep. In my opinion, the book needs some solid editing and, maybe, a bit of
rewriting as well. Recommended if you want something light to read, probably in
between books.
*****
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