Interview with Aparna Sinha, Author of Ashvamedha

Read the book review here.

• Ashvamedha is a political thriller, how did you get an idea to write on this topic?

 

Politics is ubiquitous, one cannot escape it. Starting from the office to controlling oil fields politics is everywhere because the power to control is innate. Since childhood I was abreast with global politics and systems by reading a lot of journals and newspapers, however, it was a boring subject/topic of discussion couple of years back. Now, the dynamics of politics is changing across the globe; with an introduction of social media and on the go technology, the youth of today is not only aware of the political arena but is also actively voicing its opinion and participating in discussions. Head of states/ governments of the globe are also considering the opinions of the young generation in taking critical decisions (e.g. Brexit)

Hence I felt it is the right time to write a political thriller because now youth can relate to many incidences in the book. Also, it is a lesser explored genre, I wanted to give readers a break from contemporary romantic comedy/ pop fiction.

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• The book blurb starts with the line: “You have to dethrone a powerful man to become the most powerful. I was itching to defeat the single most powerful person, but there wasn’t any. I was left with only one choice — to create one.” That is one powerful start to a story, how did you get an idea of adding this angle to your story?

 

Alexander wanted to be the ultimate king of the world and to quote him “heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters” earlier, claim to ultimate authority means defeating the existing power. Ashvamedha yagna of ancient India was a ritual to achieve the similar objective (the crowned, undefeated king was called Chakravarti Samarat). The current dynamics –especially post World War II changed the way global powers are defined, now the power to control lies in many hands; from technocrats, global leaders to even terrorist organizations. This is an interesting topic and needs hours of discussion- I was discussing the same with my husband when he came up with the idea of ‘creating a powerful person’ the idea clicked and I started to weave a story around it, which stayed latent for two years before I got the time and opportunity to write the entire novel around it.

 

• Did you have to spend time researching for your book, or did it come from your heart?

 

Because of the topic and the genre, I have to spend hours in research and validation of certain points on global dynamics and politics.

 

• If this book were to be made into a movie, who would be the best people to play your characters? Why?

 

I am sorry I don’t watch movies or TV; I am sure I will end up giving names I know, which may not be a perfect fit (considering the Bollywood changed too)

 

• Is there any tip that you would want to give to the authors who are penning their first story?

 

Don’t give up, your story is different and you should tell it to the world.  Write, express.

 

• What is the hardest thing about being a writer?

 

Writing comes naturally to me; I guess I can express myself better in writing, so there is nothing hard about writing per se, however, validation and research becomes boring and tiring at times

 

• What, according to you, should be included in the story to make it ‘a bestseller’?

 

There is no ‘mantra’ an honest story always makes to a best seller list

 

• If there is one thing, that you would want to say to your potential readers, what would it be?

 

Buy books. If you are a reader don’t borrow, don’t ask for free copies, purchase books, promote authors.

 

• Are you a reader yourself? Can you name some of your favorite books?

I read a lot. I have a list of favourite writers for each genre. For Crime and thriller, it is Robert Ludlum, Michael Crichton,  Alistair Mclean (I have all their books in my bookshelf). I love Russian literature, and I admire most of the authors of its golden era. In Hindi, besides my mother, my favorite author is Harishankar Parsai. I just love the wisdom of  Kahlil Gibran, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, John Keats… it is a very long list of authors and books that are rich in words and literature- I will end up using all the space J

 

 

• Are you working on your next project?

 

My next project is crime novel loosely based on true events. I am almost done with my editing but due to my new role as a mother, I am not getting time to polish it, the way I want.

 

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The Shakled Scribbles: Book Review

Author: Lars Teeny

Publisher: Xcism Press

Book Blurb:

Futharkia is a city built upon the layout of an ancient rune shape, and a foundation of slavery. The Broxanians have been enslaved by the Olgoikhorkian Masters to exploit the Broxanian talent for rune-scribing. In exchange, the rune-scribes are compensated with the sweet, golden liquid, Ichor, that the giant worm-like Olgoikhorkians secrete from their glands. The Ichor also happens to be highly addictive and psychoactive. The system has worked for millennia.

However, the Great Fern Jungle that surrounds Futharkia is dying, being bleached white by some unseen force. Coupled with the fact that the simian-like Fern Lice have been hunted to near extinction to provide for Futharkia’s ever-increasing demand for food, Futharkia’s ecosystem is near collapse. It is amid this setting that Cyesko Limariar, an aging rune-scribe makes one last attempt at greatness to lift himself out of poverty, even if by fraudulent means.

My Review:

It had been quite a while that I had read a book of this genre, so it was a refreshing change.

Even though the Shackled Scribblers is based in a completely different world, it does not take much time to get in the groove. The narration is such that you immediately understand what is going on and start rooting for the characters.

The pace of the book is quite fast, as one thing happens after the other, as readers, we are always on our toes. As the story starts we are introduced to two characters: Tialina, a female bird who is a natural when it comes to making runes and Cyesko, an old bird who has spent years perfecting the art of rune making in exchange for half a bottle of the golden liquid, Ichor.

Even though the characters are worms, birds, and other creatures, they have very human emotions. So, on one hand, we have these birds who are frustrated that they have to create runes for petty pay, we see these creatures who are under pressure to collect high-quality runes in order to live a happy life.

Overall, while some of the conflicts that have been mentioned in the book are a bit generic, the overall freshness of the plot, the setting, and the characters make this book an interesting read.

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My Blind Father: Book Review

Author: Anuj

Publisher: Kalamos Literary Services

Book Blurb:

“My Blind Father…” it is a story of Om, who is thanking god for the blindness of his father. It is story which if left untold then every child will wish their fathers could be blind. Om is writing this story when his father is on death bed. He is telling his life story and how his father helped him to live completely, live to the fullest of life, how to drink every drop from the glass of life.
Children were suppressed from the beginning of the civilizations. Women were suppressed by men. And they both together suppressed the child. Osho said ‘there will be liberation of child after the liberation of woman.’ Now this is the time. ‘My Blind Father’ is the beginning of child liberation in India.
This story will take you into the depths of child psychology to understand the child, to help the child, to provide them an environment where then can grow to their best potentials. From the beginning of civilization we are growing by ignoring child. Because it is very easy to ignore a child, you can tell them to shut up. You can force them to sit silently, so we forget how to understand a child. Your world is perfectly well without understanding a child. But now you can see the results. Ignoring a child, disrespecting the freedom of a child is producing criminals in the society. Now we need to understand a child to make our society crimeless. This book is to help everyone to understand the child. To make our civilization more civilized.

My Review:

This was the author’s second book that I read, and personally, this book felt a bit more polished in terms of writing and overall execution.

This is a story about a father -son duo and how their relationship grows over a course of time. I liked the protagonist, OM, who is about nine years old when we first meet him. He is quite mature and is quite curious about the things that happen around him. It is at this age that our personalities start taking shape, and there are quite a few questions that come to our minds, which the adults ignore or just term as “silly”.

I enjoyed reading the childhood part way more than the adulthood. Simply because it was quite reminiscent and brought back a lot of memories.

There were quite a few editing errors, certain words spelled incorrectly and some redundancies that should have been removed, but all in all I could see the author’s confdence impoved in this book. Good Effort.

A Girl in Love with a Beggar: Book Review

Author: Anuj Vats

Publisher: Paankhi Parkashan

Book Blurb:

She wants to know on what basis life is measured; it is on the basis of sacrifices you made to make people happy around you or on the basis of a fight to get the things that made you happy. And question is what is the limit to this sacrifice or to that fight ?

He wants to relinquish this world. He wants to die. He has reached the place where dreams ends and desires die. Where questions become unworthy of answer. Where life become death and death become new life. They shared life. They shared fate. They become each other’s moksha. They fall in love in love to complete each other. They fall in love to play their part in this eternal game.

My Review:

You know when they say do not judge a book by its cover? Well..this is the book they were talking about, at least to an extent.

When the book first came in my hand, I looked at the cover and my expectations for the book reduced. The fonts and the placement should that it was a bit of an amateurish effort. Additionally, the title of the book is not that enticing.

Coming to the story, on its surface, is a love story as well as a journey of a girl and her internal struggles. One of the major plus points of this book is that the story has philosophical undertones. I really liked how the author dealt with complex metaphorical thoughts were portrayed in this story using very simple language.

On the flipside, editing could have been better. Along with this, the narration also needs a bit of work. Some of the lines were a bit too direct, which tends to make the reader’s interest waiver. For example, the line “Physically she was holding her father’s hand but Psychologically her father was holding her hand,” could have been written in a way that the reader would be able to get the meaning themselves.

Overall, a good effort, but it needs polishing.

 

Secrets, Sins & Struggles: Book Review

Author: Kamini Kusum

Publisher: Zorba Books

Book Blurb:

A collection of five tales,Secrets,Sins & Struggles is about the lives and loves of five women, tracing their long, eventful journeys that are anything but linear.

Meet Pooja, a teenager forced into the flesh trade but determined to escape and get justice. Shrawani who dreams of becoming a bureaucrat despite all the trials life throws her way. Avni who is torn between her childhood friend and her brand-new boyfriend. Harsha who is trapped in a loveless arranged marriage while still being haunted by thoughts of her forsaken lover. Geshna who falls head over heels for a high school sweetheart only to find her own life shrinking to accommodate his.

These stories are about the odds stacked against women in their path to love and success.They are also about hope that the next turn will lead to the happiness and success they all long for.

My Review:

Well, Well, Well…looks like there are many female empowering stories that are coming my way and I could not have been happier!

The secret, Sins, and Struggles is kind of an anthology which portrays stories and struggles of five women from different strata, with different aspirations.The world that the author creates for each of these stories is commendable. Since there are short stories, the author drags you into her world almost immediately. All the characters, especially the five protagonists are extremely relatable.

While each of the women is different, her struggles are different, but you find yourself rooting for them. The story has a very earthy feel to it.

While all the five stories were excellent, I personally loved the first one. Pooja was such a fresh and different character. The way she stands up for herself and the way she deals with her “fate” took it to a whole new level.

If you like stories about humans emotions and struggles, this is one book for you.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

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Mega Book Giveaway by Kalamos Literary Services

Hello everyone,
Kalamos Literary Services is proud to announce its first ever Mega Giveaway.

We invite all book lovers out there to participate in this giveaway and make this event a success.

Rules:
1. The participant must be a resident of India.
2. The participant must have an Amazon account.
3. The participant can enter in maximum of 3 books giveaway, not more than that.
4. The participant will have to comment in the comment box of Colors of Life blog. In the comment please mention name and author of the book, and a note that includes your views and expectations from the book.
5. Multiple entries are not allowed.
6. The winners will be selected by the authors themselves.

Below are the books you can win-

1. The Three Wise Monkeys by Jeet Gian

Blurb-

The trio Amar, Akbar and Anthony had no clue whatsoever about their goddammit indecisive-careers-and-indefinite-struggles.
And that was because they were born with the Peter Pan Syndrome and were simple enough to be tricked by anyone, including their mystifying girlfriends—Meghna, Farah and Sarah.
And as is the fate of all morons, they were drawn into trouble—deep trouble—of hiding crores of rupees of black money in secret offshore companies.

Will their mistake of turning a blind eye to the philosophy of ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ cost them their careers and put them in prison?
Or
Will Lady Luck change their fortunes forever?

2. Should I Fall in Love by Shradha Khanna

Blurb-

A story of Fear….. of not finding forever after and questioning your heart. Naina has always been a strong headed, lively and carefree person. She always felt that there was a reason for everything. She believed in love, commitment and sacrifice, but when her three year old relationship crumble down in front of her she lost all the hope in love and marriage forever. With time and help of her friend, Naina starts afresh in a new city with a new job and people around. For the first time in her life she was not looking for love but a deep urge to stand on her own feet made its way in her life. Little did Naina know her life was going to change? Nothing could prepare her for the storm of love in the shape of Nihal, the confident, persistent and handsome guy she met at her boss housewarming party. Read on to know, will Nihal be able to penetrate the cold walls covered around Naina’s heart or her insecurities are more than enough to lead them on different paths in life. A story where thinking that questioning your heart with “Should I”, can stop you from “Falling In Love”.

3. Terminal Love by Vicky Arora

Blurb

In the mad roller coaster that is Mumbai, two men separated by age, class, and religious faith, find the love they yearn for in each other. This is their true story of braving all odds through the ups and downs in their lives.

What survives is their unconditional acceptance, unwavering commitment, and an unbounded love in the face of an unrelenting fate.

4. Secret, Sins & Struggles by Kamini Kusum

Blurb

This collection of tales about the lives and loves of five women traces their long, eventful journeys. Meet Pooja, a teenager forced into the flesh trade but determined to escape and get justice. Shrawani who dreams of becoming a bureaucrat despite all the trials life throws her way. Avni who is torn between her childhood friend and her brand-new boyfriend. Harsha who is trapped in a loveless arranged marriage while still being haunted by thoughts of her forsaken lover. Geshna who falls head over heels for a high school sweetheart only to find her own life shrinking to accommodate his. These stories are about the odds stacked against these women in their paths to love and success, and their hope that the next turn that they make will be the one that leads them to the happiness they are longing for.

5. Wild Card by Asfiya Rahman

Blurb

Karan Mehrotra thinks he has it all. He is about to marry the love of his life, Riya and is on his way to win at Wimbledon, fulfilling a childhood dream of his. However destiny has other plans for him and he is forced to put aside his dreams when life throws a wild card at him. Eight years later destiny coyly lays another opportunity in front of him. Does he finally get another chance to fulfill his childhood dream or will he let his fear stop him from taking up the challenge? Find out how a tennis champion is forced to step away from his fame into obscurity and how a bossy little girl forces him to take up one of the hardest challenges of his life and face the life he had left behind.

6. My Wife’s Diary by Deepanshu Saini 

Blurb-

‘Am I okay?’ I asked myself again, for the hundredth time. ‘I don’t know,’ I told myself again, for the hundredth time. I have never been so confused. For my entire life, I have taken decisions with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’: ‘Do I want to go for engineering?’ ‘Yes’; ‘Do I need to go for another job?’ ‘No’; ‘Should I look for career in writing?’; ‘Yes’; ‘Do I love her?’ ‘Yes’; ‘Should I smoke?’ ‘No’; ‘Should I drink?’ ‘Yes’ -my whole life has revolved around these two words. And the same words worked while making the most important decision of my life – my marriage. ‘Should I go for love marriage?’ ‘Yes’. Why shouldn’t I? After all, she is beautiful, fair and tall, with a shapely body, and with that tiny mole under her lower lip that most guys would be ready to die for. Overall, a trustworthy companion, a perfect daughter-in-law and an ambitious girl – what else does a guy want? But one year of marriage can prove you wrong. It can even give a shock perhaps. Just the thought that a girl in her mid-twenties can hold so many secrets, so many emotions, is actually astonishing. Few months ago, I would’ve never pictured things the way they are now. She once said to me: ‘Love has nothing to do with the body. It speaks from the soul.’ Well, she was absolutely correct. But I think, I was an Idiot as what she meant that day came into my wits now… I was uncomfortably aware of my conscience every time I faintly turned the page of her diary, and every time a feeling went through my nerves, like I was about to bite my own tongue. How had something so simple become so tangled and complicated suddenly? I still remember the first time I had met her. As much as I tried not to think about her, she kept flitting into my consciousness or into my line of sight. And I was clear that I wanted her. I want to formalize the relationship. How? I don’t know. But yes, my sentiments were really honest. That’s it. But now, it’s something different.

7. Epiphany: Tales of Revelation 

Blurb-

“A true and brutally honest utterance of love, this book connects with you instantly. An attempt to bring out the various nuances of a heart in love, the collection ranges from romantic poems to poems dwelling with the questions of self. This book is for everyone who wants to have a rendezvous with themselves and also with the ones they love in a familiar yet newer light.”

8. Blemishing The Odds by Harish Penumarthi

Blurb-

Say hello to Raghav, an immature, insensitive person who is apathetic about everyone else except himself. His life revolves around his parents and his friends. He is among the bad books of all his Teachers. Until one day, when Trisha, a new entrant; mesmerizes him at the very first glance. He finds a friend, savior, nurturer and an inamorata in her. Just when he thinks that everything has been set out in a picture perfect manner, life throws a series of ghastly surprises at him. Will he change for good or stick to his immature stand of “My Life, my rules” and screw it all up? This tale journeys across all the ups and downs a student could possibly encounter. The transformations that a student may endure, the courage and guts one needs to have in order to dodge all predicaments and eventually sketch the perfect end to all his agonies.

9. The Kissing Circles by Nitin Tewari

Blurb-

“A boat race. Sounds fun” “Not for me. Oh, but I can be a cheerleader.” No doubt a Toddy effect. “Yeah dude. So Pandey is going to design the next aircraft carrier ship.” “And Bansal, you’re going to brand this into the first Water Olympics.” “And I shall win the race and marry Kala in the most lavish wedding Mevalloor has ever seen” Yeah, welcome to the world of Ordinaries! Extraordinary In 2007, at the height of the Global IT boom, Manoj Bansal and Rajesh Pandey, two newly-releasedprisoners of Engineering with mediocre grades and a looming IT future, set out for Trivandrum for their Corporate Learning Programme (CLP). Torn between their past miscues and topical aspirations, they hope to find their true calling.Whilst in a confused, depression ridden transitory phase, they soon run into their fellow trainee, Adish Matthew – a Malayali Computer engineer, and a village simpleton Mutthur Sankunni – the no-hope skipper of MaruthiVallam, gearing up for the annual Vallamkali. Bound by a common thread of mediocrity, they shun the modern world’s great expectations and take off on a spree to discover the tranquility of the God’s own country. Until one day…when a Tsunami of mishaps rocks their life, impelling them to join hands and transfigure into the four kissing circles, fighting the most irrelevant battle of our times: To be or not to be, extraordinary.

10. Strangers With Known Faces by Gautam Dutta

Blurb-

Rajat, Meenakshi, Sadaaf, Amol, and Shanaya are five University students with nothing in common- who should never have met in the first place. They meet after winning a lucky draw- the prize of which was to take part in a puzzle game. Though the game was engrossing, they were unable to solve the puzzle in the stipulated time. However, this lead to the beginning of a deep friendship between them. Their friendship blossomed. But ego and misunderstanding led to an acrimonious break up. They meet again- two decades later- when Shanaya is murdered, and the other four are suspects. The four soon realize that in spite of being estranged for so many years, there were unknown ties that bound them- ties of treachery, deceit, and subterfuge. Ties that have led them to come together in circumstances that no one could have foreseen. And the game that they had left incomplete two decades back has to be played yet again – on a much bigger canvas. Now they have to trust each other, clear their names, and get to the bottom of the mystery, which threatens not only their lives and relationships, but also the fabric of democratic India. As their travels and travails continue, they discover hitherto unknown facets of the people around them, as well as their own selves. Can they succeed in resolving the puzzle this time? Or is history doomed to repeat itself? As hidden aspects of the human personality are revealed, they realize that no one is what he or she appears to be. For the world comprises of ‘Strangers With Known Faces’.

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Blemishing the Odds: Book Review

Author:

Book Blurb:

Say hello to Raghav, an immature, insensitive person who is apathetic about everyone else except himself. His life revolves around his parents and his friends. He is among the bad books of all his Teachers. Until one day, when Trisha, a new entrant; mesmerizes him at the very first glance. He finds a friend, savior, nurturer and an inamorata in her. Just when he thinks that everything has been set out in a picture perfect manner, life throws a series of ghastly surprises at him. Will he change for good or stick to his immature stand of “My Life, my rules” and screw it all up? This tale journeys across all the ups and downs a student could possibly encounter. The transformations that a student may endure, the courage and guts one needs to have in order to dodge all predicaments and eventually sketch the perfect end to all his agonies.

My Review:

This story is a sweet tale of the protagonist, Raghav, reminiscing about the best days of his life, his school days. Since the story is set in such a scenario, along with following the story line you also end up feeling nostalgic about those days as well. Especially when you read the parts where the protagonist and his friends hang around the school, play pranks of teachers, the innocent crushes, and much more!

Raghav goes about his life until Trisha walks in his class. Always a below average student and definitely not a favorite of his teachers, Trisha’s coming plays a havoc in his life. The innocence of the characters is such that everybody would be able to relate to one or the other characters.

The pacing of the story keeps fluctuating, so it helps to keep the readers on tenterhooks. While this is a love story, the ending has such a twist that even a person who reads only this genre would never be able to guess. Full points for this twist!

If you are looking for a love story with a difference, with the kind of innocence that is hardly seen in this day and age, go for it!

 

Colorful Notions: The RoadTrippers 1.0: Book Review

Author: Mohit Goyal

Book Blurb:

Would you give up your high-paying job and comfortable personal life to drive ten thousand kilometers across India? Just for fun!

Three twenty-somethings dare to do just that! While the two guys take turns to drive, the girl gives voice-over as they record their entire journey on a handycam.

Ab, Sasha and Unnati are ordinary youngsters, rendered special by the feat they accomplish. As they recount their adventures, I crave to live their journey all the more. They look at each other with a glint in their eyes, as if refurbishing those memories, as they narrate their spooky time at Bhangarh Fort, strange escapades at Wagah Border and Sundarbans, car breakdowns, wild animals, near-death experiences and highway robbers! It’s nothing less than crazy.

I doubted if I’d ever have the gumption to create such experiences. So I did the next best thing – I penned a book about them, and their roadtrip.

Colorful Notions is a journey of three young hearts on the Indian terrain and into the inner recesses of their souls, giving a new perspective to relationships, love and life.

My Review:

I had a lot of expectations from this book, simply because this was a book on road trips. Initially the author dives straight to the point, from the first page itself we know that the protagonist of the book is planning  roadtrip with this best friend and his best friend’s girlfriend. This makes getting in the world that is set up in the book quite interesting.

But later, as the road trip starts the flaws start to crop up. The main characters act extremely immature for their age, had the author kept their age as 15 instead of 25 it would have been more appropriate. The writing of the female characters is below par. Even though a girl is one of the major part of the book, the way her character is written lacks depth and dimension. Basically she is this “attractive/sexy” girl who randomly acts like a “Bad woman” instead of the “Good Woman” that she is. The focus on telling the readers just how attractive she is, is too much, and yet too random.

The book focused more on the drama that goes on in the character’s lives than the places they visit. They might as well not have gone for the trip. The visual imagery that one expects when one reads a travel book is missing. The place descriptions is limited to “beautiful”, or “Scenic” or some such words. You do not connect to the places they visit. Sometimes the places are not even described, just a line that they visited the following places that day and then the focus shifts to the drama in their personal life.

I feel that had the author focused more on describing the places and less on the personal drama, this would have been a much better read.

The overall rating:

1. Cover – 4 / 5
2. Language – 2 / 5
3. Story Line – 2 / 5
4. Concept – 4 / 5
5. Characters – 2/ 5
6. Overall – 2.5 / 5

 

Interview with Vinod Kumar Mohanty, the author of Re-union

V. K. Mohanty has written the book “Re-union”, here in this candid chat we get to know the person behind the book.

– Tell us something about yourself and your book.

I am a middle class family man who is a railway employee. It is a tough job trying to work on my writing skills along with a full time job.

“Re-union” is a story from my heart. I have tried to write a story that the feels real to the reader.

– You chose to write your book in Hindi. Is there a particular reason for choosing this language?

I chose to write my book in hindi because, frankly, I am a Hindi medium student and secondly, I feel that I can express much better in Hindi, especially the sentiments, as compared to English or any other language.

– What was your thought process behind writing ‘Reunion’?

The idea behind writing RE-UNION is that I am also an engineering student and during  our student days we spend a good amount of time interacting with people of different regions and religions. Secondly, my idea was to write such a story which minimizes the generation gap and the importance of keeping our culture alive even when we live a modern life.

– Your story is coming of age, where seven friends gain adulthood. What was your inspiration in writing this story?

My inspiration is Shri Chetan Bhagat and my sweet 14 years old daughter, who is also a big fan of Shri Chetan Bhagat. She wanted a story which reflected his writing skill and I tried my best. I received the big complement from her when she finished reading my book was: “Papa although I am a big fan of Chetan Bhagat, your story was so real it touches my soul and I am not biased to say that your story is far better than all his books, except writing skill and presentation.”

– Unlike other stories, one can say that your book has seven ‘main’ characters, how did you create these distinct characters, are they somehow based on people you know?

I characterized my seven main characters keeping in mind the seven colors of a rainbow.  I have also tried to cover seven directions and seven religions of India. All the characters are from my imagination and are not based on anyone in real life.

– Any words of advice for other authors who are thinking of writing, especially in vernacular language?

I am not in  a position to advice anybody as I am still learning, but I believe that whatever you write should be from bottom of your heart and when a reader reads your work, s/he should feel like they are reading a real story and the situations that you put in the story must be realistic.

– Are you a reader? Which are your favorite books?

Yes I am a reader but I always prefer to read stories which make me feel, otherwise I will stop reading. I don’t care who is the author, maybe it is written by a famous writer but important thing for me is that I must feel that the story is realistic, that is my criteria. Till date my favorite book is 2 States by Chetan Bhagat.

– What do you wish for your book?

I wish that when the readers read my book, they should feel good and their eyes should be filled with tears and more importantly, when s/he  closes the book after finishing it, they should be left with the “WOW” factor.

Re-union (Hindi): Book Review

Author: Vinod Kumar Mohanty

Book Blurb:

Re-union is a hindi fiction novel. It is a story about seven friends and their journey from college life to adulthood.

My Review:

The book “Reunion” is one of its kind and reading it was a whole different experience. For one this is one of the rare books in Hindi that deals with a story that is written for the Young Adult Genre. In fact, more brownie points to the author for sticking to this language as when you read it, you are able to connect to the story at a much deeper level as you can tell that the author knows what he is saying and how he needs to say it.

The language flows quite easily, so even those who are not that proficient in reading would be able to grasp it quite easily. The story is crafted quite nicely and it is a coming of age story for four guys. The experiences that the protagonists face are quite relate-able and the author has done a good job weaving it all together.

Coming to the plot and the characterization, I felt the story line and characters were a bit on the generic side. While it was a fresh read, the story more or less resembled the ones that we have read in this genre. So those who read a lot of coming of age stories might find certain redundancies.

This is a great read for those who are looking for a light read, with lucid language and especially those who are looking for books to enhance their reading skills.

Ratings: 4.5/5

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