I have read most of Preeti Shenoy's books. Some have been good and others not so much. I ordered this book on Amazon during one of their sales. When I want to read something light, I usually pick one of the Indian writers. I usually prefer one of yesteryear writers. I could not find anything interesting online, so settled for this book and I was so happy I did.
The story starts off with Ayan, one of the main characters in the book, losing his job and moving to Poongavanam (a hypothetical village) in Kerala upon orders from his controlling father. In Poongavanam, Ayan stays at Thekke Madom, his ancestral home where he bonds with his grandfather Gopal Shanker. Ayan soon loves the life in Poongavanam and settles in well while he keeps his hunt for a new job alive. Ayan's controlling father Jairaj, is also a controlling son and is based in Bahrain. The conversations over phone calls between Jairaj and Gopal usually go sour due to Jairaj''s vested interest in Thekke Madom. He hatches a wicked plot against his own father so that the property could be sold. Ayan comes to the rescue of his grandfather and earns his trust. Gopal shares his diaries with Ayan, who learns so much about his grandfather's life through them. Gopal loved his childhood friend, Rohini, pretty much right from his childhood but due to various circumstances at the time, both Rohini and Gopal end up marrying different people but remain loyal and care about their spouses, while keeping their love for each other alive. Both get engrossed in their work and household matters until one day when Rohini writes to Gopal, which rekindles their friendship and love for each other and they become a part of each other. Due to some circumstances, they are pulled apart again. Their story touches Ayan's heart who is determined to at least make them meet once.
The story line is a quite unusual and keeps you guessing sometimes. When Ayan moved to Kerala and it was portrayed that his grandfather was a dinosaur when it comes to technology, I really thought it was going to be a battle of generations. I was pleasantly surprised to know it was not. There is not much of a love story until the time Ayan starts reading Gopal's diaries. The story is just heart-warming and showcases love from a very different perspective, which I feel not everyone can easily understand. Most people label the love shared between 2 people as an affair, but in this story, it is demonstrated to be at some other level. It really shows the basis of love and what soul-mates are.
There are a few other characters in the book as well. Some of them play an important part in the book and others make you wonder why they even exist:
Apart from these, there are some people from a local football team (Roshan, Biju etc) who become friends with Ayan.
Now, I started reading this book after I read Dr. Ragab's Universal Language by Robert Twigger. The language in Robert Twigger's book was not complex but the level and standard seemed higher than this one. When I started reading this book, it initially felt like reading a book written by a novice with high school like language. However, as I progressed, it seemed to improve or may be mentally I was able to adjust to it. Barring a couple of grammatical errors and a spelling mistake, the book on the whole was well written. The other thing which was a little odd is that Ayan most of the time addresses Velu as Velu Chetta and sometimes as Velu. I think it is a little unlikely in real life. Also, the narrator for most part of the book, refers to Ayan's grandfather as Gopal or Gopal Shanker but in some parts has referred to him as muttaccha, which is what Ayan addresses him as. These are really insignificant observations and can be ignored in the bigger scheme of things. The language in the book is very very simple and free-flowing. The book is quite fast-paced and a page-turner. I sat up reading this book into the wee hours of morning. The description of Kerala and Pondicherry are so beautifully done that they transport you to those places. I also loved Thekke Madom's description. The book does get a little (very little) philosophical and preachy in parts. The main characters, as in most books by most writers, are embodiment of goodness- which is not a surprise.
I know we must not judge a book by its cover and I am glad I did not this time as the cover on this one is one of the worst I have seen- I mean, with the beautiful Kerala and Pondicherry in the story, there was a lot one could do in terms of cover art. I will be honest, cover of a book does matter a lot. It is one of the reasons that there are covers and not just pages sewn together. Also, usually we find appreciations for the writer or something about the book on the covers of books, such as- "From the author of xyz" or "Clever, funny, witty, modern day drama" etc. However, the only thing they found worthy of putting on the cover is shown below and it does look a little lame to choose to put that on while discarding all the other lavish praise that may have been showered on her in the past . Since it was Preeti Shenoy, I picked it up. I might not have if it was anyone else.
The story line was unique and well constructed and kept me hooked. It was just so very beautiful. I would rate this book 4/5. It is her best book after Life is what you make it.
The story starts off with Ayan, one of the main characters in the book, losing his job and moving to Poongavanam (a hypothetical village) in Kerala upon orders from his controlling father. In Poongavanam, Ayan stays at Thekke Madom, his ancestral home where he bonds with his grandfather Gopal Shanker. Ayan soon loves the life in Poongavanam and settles in well while he keeps his hunt for a new job alive. Ayan's controlling father Jairaj, is also a controlling son and is based in Bahrain. The conversations over phone calls between Jairaj and Gopal usually go sour due to Jairaj''s vested interest in Thekke Madom. He hatches a wicked plot against his own father so that the property could be sold. Ayan comes to the rescue of his grandfather and earns his trust. Gopal shares his diaries with Ayan, who learns so much about his grandfather's life through them. Gopal loved his childhood friend, Rohini, pretty much right from his childhood but due to various circumstances at the time, both Rohini and Gopal end up marrying different people but remain loyal and care about their spouses, while keeping their love for each other alive. Both get engrossed in their work and household matters until one day when Rohini writes to Gopal, which rekindles their friendship and love for each other and they become a part of each other. Due to some circumstances, they are pulled apart again. Their story touches Ayan's heart who is determined to at least make them meet once.
The story line is a quite unusual and keeps you guessing sometimes. When Ayan moved to Kerala and it was portrayed that his grandfather was a dinosaur when it comes to technology, I really thought it was going to be a battle of generations. I was pleasantly surprised to know it was not. There is not much of a love story until the time Ayan starts reading Gopal's diaries. The story is just heart-warming and showcases love from a very different perspective, which I feel not everyone can easily understand. Most people label the love shared between 2 people as an affair, but in this story, it is demonstrated to be at some other level. It really shows the basis of love and what soul-mates are.
There are a few other characters in the book as well. Some of them play an important part in the book and others make you wonder why they even exist:
- Shaila- Gopal's daughter. She has a fairly important part to play in the book
- Kamakshi- Ayan's mom and Jairaj's complying wife. Not much to do in the story other than call Ayan to check after him
- Dhiraj- Ayan's "best friend". He hardly has any part to play in the story
- Nishi- Dhiraj's girlfriend who plays an even more insignificant part than Dhiraj in the story
- Shivani- Nishi's friend who befriends Ayan and the 2 talk a bit about their woes. Her part though is insignificant, helps Ayan in rescuing Gopal from the evil trap laid by Jairaj
- Velu- Gopal's humble and loyal domestic help
- Padmaja- Gopal's mentally disturbed wife
- Raman- Rohini's husband
- Shyamala-Gopal's pesky neighbour in Pondicherry
- Nithya- Shaila's daughter
- Akshu- Ayan's brother and really, there is absolutely nothing this character does or brings to the story
Apart from these, there are some people from a local football team (Roshan, Biju etc) who become friends with Ayan.
Now, I started reading this book after I read Dr. Ragab's Universal Language by Robert Twigger. The language in Robert Twigger's book was not complex but the level and standard seemed higher than this one. When I started reading this book, it initially felt like reading a book written by a novice with high school like language. However, as I progressed, it seemed to improve or may be mentally I was able to adjust to it. Barring a couple of grammatical errors and a spelling mistake, the book on the whole was well written. The other thing which was a little odd is that Ayan most of the time addresses Velu as Velu Chetta and sometimes as Velu. I think it is a little unlikely in real life. Also, the narrator for most part of the book, refers to Ayan's grandfather as Gopal or Gopal Shanker but in some parts has referred to him as muttaccha, which is what Ayan addresses him as. These are really insignificant observations and can be ignored in the bigger scheme of things. The language in the book is very very simple and free-flowing. The book is quite fast-paced and a page-turner. I sat up reading this book into the wee hours of morning. The description of Kerala and Pondicherry are so beautifully done that they transport you to those places. I also loved Thekke Madom's description. The book does get a little (very little) philosophical and preachy in parts. The main characters, as in most books by most writers, are embodiment of goodness- which is not a surprise.
I know we must not judge a book by its cover and I am glad I did not this time as the cover on this one is one of the worst I have seen- I mean, with the beautiful Kerala and Pondicherry in the story, there was a lot one could do in terms of cover art. I will be honest, cover of a book does matter a lot. It is one of the reasons that there are covers and not just pages sewn together. Also, usually we find appreciations for the writer or something about the book on the covers of books, such as- "From the author of xyz" or "Clever, funny, witty, modern day drama" etc. However, the only thing they found worthy of putting on the cover is shown below and it does look a little lame to choose to put that on while discarding all the other lavish praise that may have been showered on her in the past . Since it was Preeti Shenoy, I picked it up. I might not have if it was anyone else.
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| This really looks like she wanted validation from Cosmo that she is one of India's most popular authors though I know that was not her intent- Sorry for being too harsh :-( |
The story line was unique and well constructed and kept me hooked. It was just so very beautiful. I would rate this book 4/5. It is her best book after Life is what you make it.
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