As you already know that I got this book from Sapna bookstore in my recent book haul (read about the haul here). I wanted to read something light and nothing better than a children's book for it. Now, if you remember my previous review about Sudha Murthy's book (click here to read the review), I had mentioned that I hope that the next book of hers that I read would be different. Thankfully, this book was. The book's target readership is children and hence, written in a very simple language and has some interesting illustrations as as well.
The story revolves around Nooni, a 12 year old who goes to her village in Somanahalli to spend her summer holidays with her grandparents. The book paints a vivid picture of the slow paced village life, constantly comparing it against Bangalore. Nooni's grandma and grandpa narrate to her two different versions of a story of a stepwell related to an ancient ruler Somanayaka. The stories are both intriguing. Nooni makes a bunch of friends in Somanahalli and enjoys the village life a lot by going swimming in the river, picnicking and hiking to nearby places. On one such hikes, she stumbles upon something that feels like the stepwell described in the stories of Somanayaka and that sets the ball rolling for all the forthcoming activities in the village.
The book has amazing descriptions of food and had my mouth watering several times. In addition, the village life is very tempting and made me want to pack my bags and visit Somanahalli. I would have loved to go with Nooni and friends on the picnic by the river. However, I really did not enjoy the comparisons between Bangalore and the village. The village life has been glorified a lot and the city life has been shown as a negative. Both have their own positives and negatives and I would have really preferred if the writer focussed mainly on the village life.
Some of the writing which describes Nooni's thoughts actually sound like those of an old person and not that of a child. For example, Nooni does not understand what a native fruit is, but, in another place she says that people in Bangalore are more interested in eating at weddings. Somehow, the former comes across as a child's thought but the latter of that of an old person, in my opinion. These are some other such examples which are a little awkward and does not seem to originate from the same person's brain. The book does get a little preachy in parts- I guess it is intended to be, considering, the target readers to be children. Otherwise, the book is a great read for kids and adults alike. It was a page turner and unputdownable. I hope to read similar stories from Sudha Murthy going forward. I enjoyed reading this book thoroughly and highly recommend it for a children's movie too. The book has also touched up on some social issues such as lack of toilets etc.
Overall, a good read and I would rate it 4/5.
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