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sreesha_diva 's review for:
The Bestseller She Wrote
by Ravi Subramanian
Reviewed in detail on Rain and a Book
Lazy lazy lazy. Yawnfest.
Summary: Aditya Kapoor, nicknamed “paperback king”, “rockstar author” and other embarrassing (but seemingly glitzy) things is a 40-something banker and India’s # 1 commercial author. He gives a presentation at IIM-B, his alma mater, where he encounters is insulted by Shreya Kaushik, a student miffed by the fact that Aditya keeps referring to his book as a “product” (I echo her sentiments, by the way). Aditya’s gigantic ego takes a hit and he tells her to read his books before commenting. She does, and becomes an overnight fan. Shreya considers herself to be a voracious reader (she’s not; she only reads bestsellers, and she reads John Green only cos he’s “cute”) She also wants to become an author, and she seduces Aditya to help her become one. It is unclear whether she seduces him for her gain alone or if she is actually in love with him. (Actually, several things are unclear, but I am getting ahead of myself) Aditya is completely smitten, forgetting totally about his wife, Maya and 6-year-old kid, Aryan (could these names be more Bollywoodesque?). No, wait, he does not, because on every other page he tells us he loves his wife. And also Shreya. And also his wife. But anyway. Later, Maya comes to know of the affair and contracts Ebola at the same time. Aditya ends things with Shreya, and begs Maya to take him back. Shreya goes crazy, because of course.
The narrative is sparse, the language is rife with Indianisms, repeated stock phrases, slangs in content, and on the whole, it feels like a lazy attempt, like something written in a hurry. With respect to slangs, while they are accepted in dialogue, it’s just poor writing in narrative – unless the book is written in a first person narrative and the character in question needs to describe a certain sort of lifestyle, which isn’t the case here. Slangs when used incorrectly provide unintentional humour. The dialogues did not sit well with me on any level, because it felt – I don’t know what exactly, but the word that comes closest to describing it disjointed. Also, in dialogue when you want to stress a word, you italicize it, not capitalize it. There are also several inaccuracies in the book. For more detail and instances, please click on the link above.
This book has 84 chapters, and it’s 390 pages long. I have read books over 1000 pages that have, like, 19 chapters, filled with substance. This, on the other hand, is well padded out and airy. The characters are not likeable. Actually, no, I have read books where characters are outright evil, and I have had more emotion for them than I have had anybody in this book. This book is just an ego balm to its (dislikeable) protagonist. Everyone is a huge fan of his. There are scenes, which otherwise contribute nothing to the story, written only to show the reader how big of a boot-licking audience this man has. I can’t find myself caring for any of these characters, they’re so pointless in the world of literature.
On the whole this book is boring, predictable and highly “putdownable.” I can’t think of a single redeeming quality, except that it doesn’t take up too much of your time, 84 chapters notwithstanding. It tries too hard, and that just made me sad. Like the kid whose answers are all wrong, but has a neat handwriting. Although I have never “pity-rated” a book before, I am going to rate it a 2, instead of a 1 for this reason alone.
For more: Rain and a Book
Lazy lazy lazy. Yawnfest.
Summary: Aditya Kapoor, nicknamed “paperback king”, “rockstar author” and other embarrassing (but seemingly glitzy) things is a 40-something banker and India’s # 1 commercial author. He gives a presentation at IIM-B, his alma mater, where he encounters is insulted by Shreya Kaushik, a student miffed by the fact that Aditya keeps referring to his book as a “product” (I echo her sentiments, by the way). Aditya’s gigantic ego takes a hit and he tells her to read his books before commenting. She does, and becomes an overnight fan. Shreya considers herself to be a voracious reader (she’s not; she only reads bestsellers, and she reads John Green only cos he’s “cute”) She also wants to become an author, and she seduces Aditya to help her become one. It is unclear whether she seduces him for her gain alone or if she is actually in love with him. (Actually, several things are unclear, but I am getting ahead of myself) Aditya is completely smitten, forgetting totally about his wife, Maya and 6-year-old kid, Aryan (could these names be more Bollywoodesque?). No, wait, he does not, because on every other page he tells us he loves his wife. And also Shreya. And also his wife. But anyway. Later, Maya comes to know of the affair and contracts Ebola at the same time. Aditya ends things with Shreya, and begs Maya to take him back. Shreya goes crazy, because of course.
The narrative is sparse, the language is rife with Indianisms, repeated stock phrases, slangs in content, and on the whole, it feels like a lazy attempt, like something written in a hurry. With respect to slangs, while they are accepted in dialogue, it’s just poor writing in narrative – unless the book is written in a first person narrative and the character in question needs to describe a certain sort of lifestyle, which isn’t the case here. Slangs when used incorrectly provide unintentional humour. The dialogues did not sit well with me on any level, because it felt – I don’t know what exactly, but the word that comes closest to describing it disjointed. Also, in dialogue when you want to stress a word, you italicize it, not capitalize it. There are also several inaccuracies in the book. For more detail and instances, please click on the link above.
This book has 84 chapters, and it’s 390 pages long. I have read books over 1000 pages that have, like, 19 chapters, filled with substance. This, on the other hand, is well padded out and airy. The characters are not likeable. Actually, no, I have read books where characters are outright evil, and I have had more emotion for them than I have had anybody in this book. This book is just an ego balm to its (dislikeable) protagonist. Everyone is a huge fan of his. There are scenes, which otherwise contribute nothing to the story, written only to show the reader how big of a boot-licking audience this man has. I can’t find myself caring for any of these characters, they’re so pointless in the world of literature.
On the whole this book is boring, predictable and highly “putdownable.” I can’t think of a single redeeming quality, except that it doesn’t take up too much of your time, 84 chapters notwithstanding. It tries too hard, and that just made me sad. Like the kid whose answers are all wrong, but has a neat handwriting. Although I have never “pity-rated” a book before, I am going to rate it a 2, instead of a 1 for this reason alone.
For more: Rain and a Book