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jainandsdiary's Reviews (310)
Where The Sun Never Sets by Stuti Changle is the story of Iti, who is working in a company and writing taglines for the companies and advertisements, and as the lockdown was just about to begin, she was offered to go to her hometown in the lockdown period and work on a script for a movie. Written in the diary format, the book explores the to and fro of Iti's life from her past relationships from her first love Nishit, her best friend Shelly, to her parents and co-workers!
Written in easy language and fluctuating between various timelines through the course of the diary, the writer has tried to develop the character of Iti, and show the change in her from being down in life to upliftment through various instances which have affected her! The dynamics of people in the company are shown very well with whatever space it has given. The character of Shyamala didi was something with which I feel connected the most because we can see people like her very often in our life and can understand their perspectives.
But I felt that the book has much more capability in delivering the emotional connection, character development, and showing more of the places where the story is set! Set in the beautiful city, of Mussoorie, I feel that the story could have shown the beauty of the place through words a little more. The sudden change in the attitude of Iti was something that I feel could have given a more subtle and soft transition instead of a little abrupt and fast. Also, the relationship dynamic of Iti with her grandfather was something that I thought would be explored in the book, but it didn't which left me feeling a little disheartening!
Overall, if you are someone who is looking forward to reading a book that can give you a happy ending and feel-good vibe, you can try it! I will give it 3/5 stars.
Written in easy language and fluctuating between various timelines through the course of the diary, the writer has tried to develop the character of Iti, and show the change in her from being down in life to upliftment through various instances which have affected her! The dynamics of people in the company are shown very well with whatever space it has given. The character of Shyamala didi was something with which I feel connected the most because we can see people like her very often in our life and can understand their perspectives.
But I felt that the book has much more capability in delivering the emotional connection, character development, and showing more of the places where the story is set! Set in the beautiful city, of Mussoorie, I feel that the story could have shown the beauty of the place through words a little more. The sudden change in the attitude of Iti was something that I feel could have given a more subtle and soft transition instead of a little abrupt and fast. Also, the relationship dynamic of Iti with her grandfather was something that I thought would be explored in the book, but it didn't which left me feeling a little disheartening!
Overall, if you are someone who is looking forward to reading a book that can give you a happy ending and feel-good vibe, you can try it! I will give it 3/5 stars.
Book: Mis(s) Adventures Of A Salesgirl
Author: Aashisha Chakraborty
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Rupa Publication
Pages: 256
Mis(s) Adventures of a sales girl by Aashisha Chakraborty is a contemporary fiction story of Enakshi Chatterji aka Ena. Born and brought up in Delhi, she was sent to the Chennai headquarters of Telescion, a telecommunications company for her internship for an MBA. And there comes another twist, she wanted to be on a marketing team, but was placed to be in the sales! A single girl in the sales team, working between all the colleagues in a field where people think there is no place for a girl, who doesn’t know a word in Tamil and this is the place where everyone prefers speaking their mother tongue, and on top of that, some secrets of her family are coming on her way! How is she going to manage all of it? Read the book to know about it!
As a debut book, Aashisha Chakraborty has done a great job! Written in such engaging language and plot from the starting itself, the book deals with many themes altogether! From sex ratio in the workplace as the main theme, it deals with the problem that arises when a girl finds her way on the road not taken, or to say, the road the society does not want them to take! It talks about freedom, the career, behind the scenes of a journey, the family dynamics and the relationship, the OCD (Obsessive–compulsive disorder), and much more that if I tell would be a spoiler! I genuinely liked how the author explored the journey of Ena and through the course of the story, of her mother Rupa as well, which was something that has been presented beautifully. Also, the way things unfold at the end was remarkable and the author deserves appreciation for it. The pinch of humor at some places in the story was really good and to the point. Also, the cover goes very well with the book and I like it!
The only thing that I felt needed to be tackled a little better was a scene in the story. Although talking about it in depth would be a spoiler here, so I would just say that I understand why it is presented that it was because it happens in real, but if the closure could have been given to it, could have led to a better message for the readers.
I will recommend it to everyone who is looking forward to reading something different and breaking the monotony of any genre and enjoying this wonderful writing. I would give it 4/5 stars!
Author: Aashisha Chakraborty
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Rupa Publication
Pages: 256
Mis(s) Adventures of a sales girl by Aashisha Chakraborty is a contemporary fiction story of Enakshi Chatterji aka Ena. Born and brought up in Delhi, she was sent to the Chennai headquarters of Telescion, a telecommunications company for her internship for an MBA. And there comes another twist, she wanted to be on a marketing team, but was placed to be in the sales! A single girl in the sales team, working between all the colleagues in a field where people think there is no place for a girl, who doesn’t know a word in Tamil and this is the place where everyone prefers speaking their mother tongue, and on top of that, some secrets of her family are coming on her way! How is she going to manage all of it? Read the book to know about it!
As a debut book, Aashisha Chakraborty has done a great job! Written in such engaging language and plot from the starting itself, the book deals with many themes altogether! From sex ratio in the workplace as the main theme, it deals with the problem that arises when a girl finds her way on the road not taken, or to say, the road the society does not want them to take! It talks about freedom, the career, behind the scenes of a journey, the family dynamics and the relationship, the OCD (Obsessive–compulsive disorder), and much more that if I tell would be a spoiler! I genuinely liked how the author explored the journey of Ena and through the course of the story, of her mother Rupa as well, which was something that has been presented beautifully. Also, the way things unfold at the end was remarkable and the author deserves appreciation for it. The pinch of humor at some places in the story was really good and to the point. Also, the cover goes very well with the book and I like it!
The only thing that I felt needed to be tackled a little better was a scene in the story. Although talking about it in depth would be a spoiler here, so I would just say that I understand why it is presented that it was because it happens in real, but if the closure could have been given to it, could have led to a better message for the readers.
I will recommend it to everyone who is looking forward to reading something different and breaking the monotony of any genre and enjoying this wonderful writing. I would give it 4/5 stars!
The Break-up Expert by Sonya Singh is a contemporary fiction of around 304 pages. This is the story of Manny Dogra, the CEO of a company who is specialized in other people's break-ups. A very successful person, who appears in many magazines, interviews, and shows and is in a relationship with Adam, a proud fiance, who is proud of her and her company, it looks like she is having what she wants! But when she is photoshopped to look less Asian and more white than she did normally in a magazine, she felt she has lost a piece of the puzzle of her life, and so she is on her way to get reconnected with her roots! And here comes Sammy Patel, an unusual client of Break-up, who is helping her to rediscover herself! To know what happens to them, read the book.
The book started very well and kept me engaged from the start. With very intriguing language and characters, it goes ahead very smoothly. With many anecdotes in between, it was a very intriguing read. The character sketch of Manny was very well portrayed. The characters and their mental situation were well represented and their dynamics were shown beautifully. The everlasting friendship of Manny with Anjali, Rajeev, Rob, and Jay and the new emergence with Manisha and Aliyan was something that stood out the most for me from the book.
The story was predictable to me. Although it represents the Indian culture and traditions in the book where Manny wants to find herself, I felt the representation was a little stereotypical in some places. Also, the connection and relationship of the main characters with each other and some backdrop of their actions was something I felt should have been given more space and time as it felt a little underwhelming. The excessive Priyanka Chopra's mention in the book didn't work for me as well!
Overall, it was an enjoyable, engaging, interesting, and fun, one-time read for me. If you are looking forward to something new, exciting, and similar to the concept, you can give it a try. I will give it 3.25/5 stars.
The book started very well and kept me engaged from the start. With very intriguing language and characters, it goes ahead very smoothly. With many anecdotes in between, it was a very intriguing read. The character sketch of Manny was very well portrayed. The characters and their mental situation were well represented and their dynamics were shown beautifully. The everlasting friendship of Manny with Anjali, Rajeev, Rob, and Jay and the new emergence with Manisha and Aliyan was something that stood out the most for me from the book.
The story was predictable to me. Although it represents the Indian culture and traditions in the book where Manny wants to find herself, I felt the representation was a little stereotypical in some places. Also, the connection and relationship of the main characters with each other and some backdrop of their actions was something I felt should have been given more space and time as it felt a little underwhelming. The excessive Priyanka Chopra's mention in the book didn't work for me as well!
Overall, it was an enjoyable, engaging, interesting, and fun, one-time read for me. If you are looking forward to something new, exciting, and similar to the concept, you can give it a try. I will give it 3.25/5 stars.
Borderless is the debut book by Namrata Poddar. Divided into two parts, “Roots” and “Routes”, this book explores the genre of contemporary fiction in around 182 pages and represents the story of Dia Mittal. Dia works for Hasna Airlines as an airline call agent and lives in Mumbai. And for the betterment of her lifestyle and her aim, life takes her to California, and there comes her experience as an immigrant into the picture. But this book is not only about Dia, it represents the characters and themes around her in detail as well, the immigrant maids, the brotherhood of second-generation sons in America, the sisterhood of sisters, who aren’t related to each other by blood but by “a shared culture shock of marrying into a desi American community”, single mothers, Afro-Asian refugees, Marwari merchants, the essence and meaning of friendship and family, sexism, parenthood, and what not!
When I started reading this book and read the first three chapters, all different from each other, with all new characters, new places, new themes and I felt like I’m reading a short story collection, the stories with open endings, and I liked it! I have had the recheck whether it’s a novel or a novel in stories. But then as I read more and progressed with the protagonists, I saw their ways getting interconnected, I can see the threads which were separated earlier now getting intermixed. And this is not the story of Dia only, this is much more than that! This book is so diverse with the themes it carries that you need time to grasp what you have read.
But this book cannot be described by talking about the main protagonist only as it doesn’t have only one, this cannot be explained by giving it a timeline because it doesn’t have only one, and it cannot be restricted by naming some themes that it covers because it doesn’t have only one, it cannot be interpreted by thinking about getting closure to the character, because it doesn’t give that, and that’s why it is “Borderless” in the real sense, in the real essence! It breaks the boundary of characters, timelines, themes, closures, and anything that you expect it to be because it is unconventional! The book truly signifies the title itself and although I felt like why the cover of the book is like this, we get to know about it at the end, and again it’s upon us, the readers that how we take it.
Although the story was a little slow and there were ups and down moments while reading this book for me, it would be wrong to interpret that it was non-interesting. This story demands time, you cannot rush through it or read it in a day by looking at the page count, you have to stop yourself from time to time, sometimes after chapters, sometimes after pages, sometimes after paragraphs, and sometimes after some lines, and think about what was there, and more about what is there being signalled but unsaid! From the start to the middle and almost end, I wasn’t sure what was going on and what should I take or interpret it, and what will be my thoughts, but till the end, specially in the chapters “Shakti At Brunch” and “Victorious”, things started getting clearer for me and then I felt that why the previous chapters were like that!
This book, as I said earlier is like the threads being separated at the start and getting intermixed later, so it will depend on the reader and their views that what they take out of it, for some readers, it would be crocheted beautifully into something they wanted for themselves while for others, it would be nothing more than the tangled threads of no use! And that’s the beauty of the book! You cannot point out to someone and say that you might like it, in the truer sense, it is BORDERLESS!
What I wish could have been more in the book was emotional connectivity with the characters, as I don’t feel connected with them much, maybe because of the changing narratives without the mention of the perspective of which it was, leaving readers to get to know about it while going through it, or changing of the timeline rapidly, as most of the investment goes into understanding what was happening rather than feeling the connection with them. In some places, I felt the characters and the representation to be a little stereotypical as well.
As I said, you cannot recommend this book to someone as you do generally, and so I would say that if you want to read something different, specially in the form of writing and storytelling, you can try this because you don’t come across with the writing style like this regularly. But if you are a beginner, I would recommend you to skip it for the moment and read it after being into reading for some time because of the little complexity it has! I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
When I started reading this book and read the first three chapters, all different from each other, with all new characters, new places, new themes and I felt like I’m reading a short story collection, the stories with open endings, and I liked it! I have had the recheck whether it’s a novel or a novel in stories. But then as I read more and progressed with the protagonists, I saw their ways getting interconnected, I can see the threads which were separated earlier now getting intermixed. And this is not the story of Dia only, this is much more than that! This book is so diverse with the themes it carries that you need time to grasp what you have read.
But this book cannot be described by talking about the main protagonist only as it doesn’t have only one, this cannot be explained by giving it a timeline because it doesn’t have only one, and it cannot be restricted by naming some themes that it covers because it doesn’t have only one, it cannot be interpreted by thinking about getting closure to the character, because it doesn’t give that, and that’s why it is “Borderless” in the real sense, in the real essence! It breaks the boundary of characters, timelines, themes, closures, and anything that you expect it to be because it is unconventional! The book truly signifies the title itself and although I felt like why the cover of the book is like this, we get to know about it at the end, and again it’s upon us, the readers that how we take it.
Although the story was a little slow and there were ups and down moments while reading this book for me, it would be wrong to interpret that it was non-interesting. This story demands time, you cannot rush through it or read it in a day by looking at the page count, you have to stop yourself from time to time, sometimes after chapters, sometimes after pages, sometimes after paragraphs, and sometimes after some lines, and think about what was there, and more about what is there being signalled but unsaid! From the start to the middle and almost end, I wasn’t sure what was going on and what should I take or interpret it, and what will be my thoughts, but till the end, specially in the chapters “Shakti At Brunch” and “Victorious”, things started getting clearer for me and then I felt that why the previous chapters were like that!
This book, as I said earlier is like the threads being separated at the start and getting intermixed later, so it will depend on the reader and their views that what they take out of it, for some readers, it would be crocheted beautifully into something they wanted for themselves while for others, it would be nothing more than the tangled threads of no use! And that’s the beauty of the book! You cannot point out to someone and say that you might like it, in the truer sense, it is BORDERLESS!
What I wish could have been more in the book was emotional connectivity with the characters, as I don’t feel connected with them much, maybe because of the changing narratives without the mention of the perspective of which it was, leaving readers to get to know about it while going through it, or changing of the timeline rapidly, as most of the investment goes into understanding what was happening rather than feeling the connection with them. In some places, I felt the characters and the representation to be a little stereotypical as well.
As I said, you cannot recommend this book to someone as you do generally, and so I would say that if you want to read something different, specially in the form of writing and storytelling, you can try this because you don’t come across with the writing style like this regularly. But if you are a beginner, I would recommend you to skip it for the moment and read it after being into reading for some time because of the little complexity it has! I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
Of Marriages And Madness by author Sachet is a collection of 8 short stories, revolving around the multiple dimensions, distance, and distinctions of marriage and its madness, to say at least!
All of the stories explore multiple stages of the relationship and are written in a very simple yet effective way. Some stories have open endings which I absolutely loved and give much food for thought! The dynamics of emotions, expressions, and evolution in the relationship of the people involved are explored and represented in heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same moment in various instances which is commendable. The author has a very good grip on the way of storytelling, and as a debut book, the stories emerged very well and makes me excited to read more upcoming work by the author.
Although there were some points where the stories could become a little more exciting, and gripping and create a little suspense, apart from this, the story collection was a delight to read.
If you are someone who is looking forward to reading some stories that could give you food for thought and accompany you with a cup of tea or coffee, you should check it out, a simple book with easy language, having stories from our surroundings presented in very captivating and engrossing manner! I would give this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.
All of the stories explore multiple stages of the relationship and are written in a very simple yet effective way. Some stories have open endings which I absolutely loved and give much food for thought! The dynamics of emotions, expressions, and evolution in the relationship of the people involved are explored and represented in heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same moment in various instances which is commendable. The author has a very good grip on the way of storytelling, and as a debut book, the stories emerged very well and makes me excited to read more upcoming work by the author.
Although there were some points where the stories could become a little more exciting, and gripping and create a little suspense, apart from this, the story collection was a delight to read.
If you are someone who is looking forward to reading some stories that could give you food for thought and accompany you with a cup of tea or coffee, you should check it out, a simple book with easy language, having stories from our surroundings presented in very captivating and engrossing manner! I would give this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.
Book: A Price To Love
Author: Smita Das Jain
Publication: Readomania
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 256
A Price To Love by Smita Das Jain is a contemporary fiction of around 256 pages revolving around the main protagonist Sonia, who is working in an eminent media company and has her name as one of the most punctual, hardworking, and best in her work. Having Sameep, her husband by her side, his boyfriend from college time, and Rishabh, her manager admire her work and so things were going great for her! But for how long will she be able to manage the work-life balance? What will happen when her past will affect her present? Read the book to know more about it!
I loved the way how the author grabbed the attention of the readers from the first page itself and maintained it throughout the book. The naturally flawed representation of the characters was another thing that makes this book remarkable with the showcase of the grey side of the people rather than the contrasting black and white, stereotypical representation. The characters prioritizing their happiness and well-being was something that this book represents as well.
Although the last few pages in the book were disappointing for me and were something I felt needed a little more time and space and a little more research for the topic it covers. I would like to recommend this book to you if you want to read something that gives you a lot of food for thought and discussion and give contemporary fiction a new perspective. I would give this book 3.25 out of 5 stars.
Author: Smita Das Jain
Publication: Readomania
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 256
A Price To Love by Smita Das Jain is a contemporary fiction of around 256 pages revolving around the main protagonist Sonia, who is working in an eminent media company and has her name as one of the most punctual, hardworking, and best in her work. Having Sameep, her husband by her side, his boyfriend from college time, and Rishabh, her manager admire her work and so things were going great for her! But for how long will she be able to manage the work-life balance? What will happen when her past will affect her present? Read the book to know more about it!
I loved the way how the author grabbed the attention of the readers from the first page itself and maintained it throughout the book. The naturally flawed representation of the characters was another thing that makes this book remarkable with the showcase of the grey side of the people rather than the contrasting black and white, stereotypical representation. The characters prioritizing their happiness and well-being was something that this book represents as well.
Although the last few pages in the book were disappointing for me and were something I felt needed a little more time and space and a little more research for the topic it covers. I would like to recommend this book to you if you want to read something that gives you a lot of food for thought and discussion and give contemporary fiction a new perspective. I would give this book 3.25 out of 5 stars.
Book: Life and Political Reality: Two Novellas
Author: Shahidul Zahir
Translators: V. Ramaswamy and Shahroza Nahrin
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 204
Genre: Literary Fiction
Life and Political Reality: Two Novellas is a book originally written in Bengali and translated into English by V. Ramaswamy and Shahroza Nahrin. As the title suggests, this book consists of two novellas, first, Life And Political Reality, and second Abu Ibrahim's Death.
Life and Political Reality explores and examines the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war. Set in a local village in Bangladesh, the story explores the conflict between Abdul Mojid and Abul Khayer and how the decisions of the present are influenced by the past. On the other hand, Abu Ibrahim's Death makes us travel to the world of Abu Ibrahim, the life of a normal person. The story shows the problems and questions he faces and makes the readers dive deeper into it, as it makes the connection with today's scenario as well.
I have little high expectations from the book from the reason that this book is translated from Bengali, the language which gave me two of my favorite reads of this year, both being the translated books, Parineeta and Devdas, written by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Although this book belongs to quite a different genre, timeline, plot, and location, I was intrigued to read it. I wanted to read books based in Bangladesh or written by any Bangladeshi author for a long time, so it looked perfect for me to try this. And knowing that Shahidul Zahir has "some of the most unique and powerful works of fiction to come out of the subcontinent", as mentioned in the book, excited me.
The book is unique in the way of storytelling with the tangled characters and story, giving it a distinct identity. But what I was left with overall with the book was a disappointment, specially with the novella Life And Political Reality. I did not feel connected with the plot, characters, and their development, and overall to the complete story throughout its course. It took me a lot of time to get into it, which you can understand from the fact that I have read the first 10-15 pages at least 6-7 times to finally move forward with it. The language, words, and sentences felt very abrupt and difficult to go through. The constant repetition of the names of the characters throughout the story was irritating and it did not work for me at all. While Abu Ibrahim's Death was a little better than the former, having a linear structure and representing the dilemma of the character with the decisions.
Being a reader who loves books that are character driven and shows character development with a focus on the minute detail on them, this book although character-driven, left me underwhelming. The book might have been better in the original version but since I haven’t read that, I can comment on it, but I felt a sense of constriction in the writing while reading the story.
I will recommend you read the first few pages of the book from the sample available on the kindle before going through this book so that you can decide whether the book holds your interest or not. If it does so, you can try it as this book is quite different from the one that we read on regular basis. I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars.
Author: Shahidul Zahir
Translators: V. Ramaswamy and Shahroza Nahrin
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 204
Genre: Literary Fiction
Life and Political Reality: Two Novellas is a book originally written in Bengali and translated into English by V. Ramaswamy and Shahroza Nahrin. As the title suggests, this book consists of two novellas, first, Life And Political Reality, and second Abu Ibrahim's Death.
Life and Political Reality explores and examines the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war. Set in a local village in Bangladesh, the story explores the conflict between Abdul Mojid and Abul Khayer and how the decisions of the present are influenced by the past. On the other hand, Abu Ibrahim's Death makes us travel to the world of Abu Ibrahim, the life of a normal person. The story shows the problems and questions he faces and makes the readers dive deeper into it, as it makes the connection with today's scenario as well.
I have little high expectations from the book from the reason that this book is translated from Bengali, the language which gave me two of my favorite reads of this year, both being the translated books, Parineeta and Devdas, written by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Although this book belongs to quite a different genre, timeline, plot, and location, I was intrigued to read it. I wanted to read books based in Bangladesh or written by any Bangladeshi author for a long time, so it looked perfect for me to try this. And knowing that Shahidul Zahir has "some of the most unique and powerful works of fiction to come out of the subcontinent", as mentioned in the book, excited me.
The book is unique in the way of storytelling with the tangled characters and story, giving it a distinct identity. But what I was left with overall with the book was a disappointment, specially with the novella Life And Political Reality. I did not feel connected with the plot, characters, and their development, and overall to the complete story throughout its course. It took me a lot of time to get into it, which you can understand from the fact that I have read the first 10-15 pages at least 6-7 times to finally move forward with it. The language, words, and sentences felt very abrupt and difficult to go through. The constant repetition of the names of the characters throughout the story was irritating and it did not work for me at all. While Abu Ibrahim's Death was a little better than the former, having a linear structure and representing the dilemma of the character with the decisions.
Being a reader who loves books that are character driven and shows character development with a focus on the minute detail on them, this book although character-driven, left me underwhelming. The book might have been better in the original version but since I haven’t read that, I can comment on it, but I felt a sense of constriction in the writing while reading the story.
I will recommend you read the first few pages of the book from the sample available on the kindle before going through this book so that you can decide whether the book holds your interest or not. If it does so, you can try it as this book is quite different from the one that we read on regular basis. I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars.
