Month: October 2018

Mehr: A Love Story by Siddharth Gigoo

Posted on by Perfect Blemish

Book Name- Mehr: A Love Story

Author- Siddharth Gigoo

Published- Rupa Publications

Buy it from- Amazon

Blurb:
‘Thus, I begin, not at the beginning, but at the end when I had met her for the first time.’
Mehr, a Shia woman from Pakistan, falls in love with Firdaus, a youngster from Kashmir. Sundered by an unforgiving border, Mehr writes to her beloved, begging him to meet her. Firdaus relents, not knowing that the two of them are consumed by something far more dangerous than love and passion. They have caught the eye of Indian Intelligence and stirred the suspicion of one particularly tenacious officer. A deadly pursuit ensues. The lines between betrayal and revenge, deception and loyalty, love and madness, dream and reality stand blurred.
In Mehr, award-winning author Siddhartha Gigoo plumbs the depths of obsession in its many forms: love, patriotism, religion. Equal parts tragic and heroic, the novel explodes the boundaries between people and countries, finding peace amid the chaos of war and love in the shards of desolation.

My view:

In today’s world of hate and disturbances, and other negative aspects, the blossoming of love despite unfavourable conditions is what makes us believe in the good of people. It makes us see that despite the evil present in the world, sometimes there are certain pleasantries present as well.

‘Mehr: A Love Story’ by Siddharth Gigoo is definitely not your usual love story. It is a novel about a Shia woman named Mehr from Pakistan falling in love with a young Indian man named Firdaus, in spite of the fact that they both are divided by two most important things: caste and boundary. Despite never seeing each other, they both are in love and write extremely heart-touching love letters to each other in order to convey their love. However, like in all love stories, there’s a bad guy- a determined officer of the Indian Intelligence whose motives threaten their innocent love. Their love had caught the attention of the Indian Intelligence and especially that one officer.

I finished reading the book in two sittings because the more I read, the more engrossed I became and the more I wanted to finish the book. The way author has portrayed their love story, giving out every single details and feelings with the use of fabulous vocabulary is really admirable. The rich use of vocabulary makes the story extraordinary. The plot of the book is fresh and definitely out of the box. It consists of twists and turns not imaginable by the reader from before, making it a suspense read as well. The author has used many philosophical quotes as well.

This extraordinary book takes you through different aspects of one’s life. It portrays love and betrayal, deception and loyalty, politics and patriotism and so much more. It is about love during desolation and the chaos created by war. It shows that even during war there’s a possibility of love and a bit of happiness.

I would reccomend this book to anyone who would like to read a love story with a side dish of thrill making the book one worth it read.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thank you Rupa Publications for giving me a copy of the book for an honest unbiased opinion.

Tides Don’t Cross by Simar Malhotra

Posted on by Perfect Blemish

Book Name- Tides Don’t Cross

Author- Simar Malhotra

Publisher- Rupa Publications

Buy it from- Amazon

Blurb:
Sparks fly immediately when Rukmani—fierce and assertive in the best and worst possible ways—meets the gentle Ayaan in the magical city Paris. Meanwhile, back in India, her reticent sister, Mrinalini struggles to cope with the void of a loveless marriage and an early pregnancy.
Tides Don’t Cross follows these extremely interesting characters as their lives cross in surprising ways. Mrinalini, Ayaan and Rukmani wade through choppy tides, unaware of their common destiny. Deeply touching, this is an unforgettable story of thwarted desires, of love and its loss, of losing and finding oneself, and of falling and learning to rise.
Young and talented author Simar Malhotra has created yet another piercing and riveting read.

My view:

‘Tides Don’t Cross’ by Simar Malhotra is a story of two sisters, Rukmani and Mrinalini, and how they navigate through their lives. Even though they are poles apart (while Mrinalini continuously obeys her mother and lets her mother control her life, Rukmani is fierce and does not hesitate while speaking her mind), they love each other endlessly and are there for each other in a heartbeat. Along with them, there’s Ayaan whose life too gets intertwined with theirs.

The book contains three parts. The first part talks about Mrinalini and how she tries to cope with her ‘loveless marriage’ by trying to raise her son and being a responsible wife to Surya Srivastava. The second part informs us about how Ayaan and Rukmani meet and what transpires between them while the third part accounts how the the three of them cross paths with one another after three years.

This is a tale of love and hope, of betrayal and redemption, of dreams and aspirations. It is also a blend of complex issues and situations. It talks about family pressure, society, femminism and also about the political tensions due to Islamophobia and the inter-cultural differences present in our country.

Simar’s narration is what kept me glued to the book. Her style of writing and portraying the lives of two different women and the way they are being treated by the people of our society is commendable. She has been able to highlight the contrast pretty nicely and with every turning page, you want to know more about what’s going to happen next in the story.

Even though the book was a bit predictable at times and the end was forseeable, the writing was pretty fluent and lucid. The characters vividly develop through the book and it was a pleasure seeing them grow.

I would recommend this book to all since it’s not just a romance novel. If you dig deep, you’ll find that Simar, at the age of just 21, has tried to give us something more and for me, she has done a pretty brilliant job.

Overall rating: 4/5

I received a copy of the book from the publisher for an honest unbiased opinion. Thank you.

Hope and Sunshine by Debasmita Nath

Posted on by Perfect Blemish

Book Name- Hope and Sunshine

Author- Debasmita Nath

Publisher- Power Publicatiom

Buy it from- Amazon

Blurb:

Naina Grover has an imperfectly perfect life, or is it perfectly imperfect? A Punjabi kudi from Delhi working in the city of joy, Kolkata is joined by her crazy cousin, Arjun and his sober friend Aditya to come of age while at a long – distance relationship which seems to be going nowhere. She knows it is a recipe for disaster but should she let go or not? Should she hope for the best? Hope she will be accepted?Hope she can settle down? Hope she can come to terms with a family secret bothering her for years now? Just hope. Keep hoping? And then, Hope welcomes a ray of sunshine. Naina welcomes you to look at life from her perspective. ‘Hop’e On!’

My view:

Emily Dickinson had rightly said ‘Hope is the the thing with feathers’. Hope is that one thing in life that keeps you going no matter how hard or difficult time you’re facing. It’s the thing which makes all the suffering worth it. It’s what makes us believe that there’s a bright ray of sunshine at the end of the dark, desolate tunnel.

“When there is hope, there is sunshine…
… And when there is sunshine, there is hope…”

Author Debasmita Nath’s debut novel ‘Hope and Sunshine‘ in the Romance genre is a story about Naina, Ved and Aditya. It is set in Kolkata which makes it a more relatable read for me as I’m from the City of Joy as well. The thing which gives a more Bengali touch to the book is the various mentions of the best of Kolkata restaurants which makes it a totally relatable read for a Bengali like myself. I could also relate to the traditions followed by Aditya and Arjun’s families while few of the typical Bengali dialogues made me literally laugh out loud.

The story goes as Naina, a Punjabi girl, had fallen in love with Ved when they were studying for their MBA. Now they were in a long distance relationship. While Naina was living and working in Kolkata, Ved, due to his mother’s tumor, was staying with her always to take care of her. Unable to find the courage to tell his family about Naina, Naina often felt that she was the only one putting all the efforts into the relationship so that it remains afloat. She also felt somewhat trapped in the relationship and that Ved does not give her adequate time. Even when Ved’s family did not agree with their relationships, Ved did not stand up for their relationship which hurt Naina even more.

During her working period in Kolkata, Aditya, a Bengali boy, joins as the HR in Naina’s office. Sparks fly and there’s physical attraction between the both of them at first, no doubt, but things don’t go further due to Naina’s already present relationship. Naina becomes Aditya’s ‘Sunshine’ while Aditya becomes Naina’s only ‘Hope’. Even though both of them feel comfortable, happy and just free with each other, they keep their distance as well due to Naina’s relationship with Ved. What happens to their relationship? What happens to Aditya? Whom does Naina choose? Is it Aditya who gets the girl or Ved? Does the story end with a ‘happily-ever-after’ or has a heartbreaking end? To find the answers to these questions, you gotta pick up this book yourself! No spoilers!

The plot was unique unlike other romantic novels and the pace of the story was slightly slow and predictable. The book also had quite a few plot twists and turns that helped it come off as an interesting read. The characters described by the author were very realistic which in turn made the things which happened to them seem realistic. They were in sync with reality which resulted in the simplicity of the plot and a sense of relation with the characters. The author portrays the cons of a long distance relationship to the best of her ability and shows the difficulties faced by Naina and Ved in an exemplary way. Even though the plot was a bit cliché, the writing style was simply and easy, making it a perfect light read for those who enjoy an eccentric romance book. I would recommend this book to those who are willing to read a simple, romantic novel to enjoy a lazy afternoon.

Overall rating: 4/5

I received a copy of the book from the author for an honest unbiased opinion. Thank you.

On the Open Road by Stuti Changle

Posted on by Perfect Blemish

Book Name- On the Open Road

Author- Stuti Changle

Publisher- Invincible Publishers

Buy it from- Amazon

Blurb:

Myra wishes to break free of her cubicle.
Kabir wonders what life would be to build on his own.
Sandy drops out of college to work on the next big start-up idea.
Ramy inspires millions of his generation on his travel blog – on the open road.
The story revolves around the lives of these restless and dreamy 20-somethings as they battle their inner demons and the societal taboos to live life on their terms. The journey entails undying friendship, love and loss, happiness and depression, fear and conquest, dreaming and achieving.
Will they be able to embark on the hard yet empowering journey to start-up a company? Or succumb to the hardships on their road to freedom?
Somewhere between right and wrong, past and future, there lies now.
Don’t let it go. For now, often leads to a new road.

My view:

Stuti Changle’s debut novel ‘On the Open Road’ is an Indian fiction book and a perfect mix of a love story and a startup business story. It has a good amount of Bollywood in it as well which makes it an offbeat novel.

The story is about four people and the struggles they face in various aspects of their life. It’s about how they want to break free from the prison called life. It’s about how they want to spread their wings and fly and achieve whatever they dream of. It’s about breaking free and doing what you love.

Myra (our main protagonist), who’s fed up with her regular, boring life, wants to build a business with the help of her friends. But as usual, life comes in and shakes them up providing them with obstacles they’ll have to face.

Ramy, Myra’s best friend, is a blogger and has a blog ‘On the Open Road’ with the help of which he inspires a lot of people of his generation. He’s full of wisdom and good thoughts as well as advices and is always there for Myra.

Kabir (our second main protagonist), a rich boy running his family business wants nothing more than to make his own name by creating his own life. So along with his best friend Sandy, they work on a startup idea, together. Sandy is nothing but a college dropout and follows Ramy’s blog along with Kabir.

The whole book revolves around these four characters and talks about love, friendship, travelling, betrayal, lies, honesty and most importantly the struggles of building a startup.

The language with which Stuti has written is easy and can be finished in one sitting. With characters highly relatable, Stuti has been able to portray every single emotion and struggle extremely well. The struggles, the dreams, love and its complications were all described in the book in an adequate amount. The story is not too long and is definitely not a drag.

This is perfect for a light read or those who are bored with their monotonous life and are working on a startup idea or someone who just wants to relax on an afternoon with a cup of coffee.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

I received a copy of the book from The Bookoholics for an honest unbiased opinion. Thank you.