Book Review: Rescued by Love by Shilpa Suraj

About the book:

Paperback
180 pages
Harlequin India: Mills & Boon
MRP: Rs 150

When Naina Ahuja is kidnapped as hostage days before her father, a Supreme Court Chief Justice, must sentence a terrorist, the stakes are very high. Lt Col Arjun Rathore and his team are the only ones who can be trusted with the mission of saving her. 
During their arduous trek back through the hostile terrain of Ladakh, Arjun and Naina spend days in danger of losing their lives - and their hearts. Back in safety, the real world and its very real problems threaten – as do their own perceptions of the differences between them. 
They must separate – but will life rescue their love?

About the author:

Shilpa was a year and a half when she was first introduced to the world of books. Her mother would park her with a picture book on the floor of the kitchen while she finished her cooking for the day. While it’s no longer the kitchen floor, you can still find her tucked away in a cosy nook somewhere with her nose buried in a book. While books in all genres interest her, it was romance that captured her heart. While racing through every romantic fiction book she could beg, borrow or buy, her over active imagination started to work overtime and weave its own stories. Years in the corporate world followed by a stint of entrepreneurship crystallised her belief that all she really wanted to do was give life to the stories bubbling inside of her. She briefly managed to tear herself away from the world of fiction to find her own personal happily ever after and now spends her time happily focusing on the two loves of her life – family and writing romances.

My Review:

The first thing that comes to mind in the aftermath of reading the book is that we just read a sweet feel-good story. 

This is the story, a quintessential Mills and Boon, with a twist. 

Naina, daughter of the Chief Justice of India and Col. Arjun  fall in love with each ither during a rescue mission.  The girl is betrothed to a Fatty politician who she obviously didn't want to marry even before this mission in the first place, the love gives her an added excuse. She says, "Marrying a man you didn't want was bad enough but marrying him when you wanted another would be torture"

But this is dear life, and nothing is less than twisted. There are other problems to look after: a servile mother, a domineering sonavabitch father, principles, the  crooked, intricate concept of honour. 

A leap of 6 months and fates will be decided. This is where you need to pick up the novel and see for yourselves what happens in the story next. Which means that I am asking you to read it. Which further means that this is a novel worth reading.

Character sketches are impeccable: the incorrigible father who would rather not go back on his words lest they backfire than break a marriage. Just like that. This character is crafted meticulously, because sad though it be, such people exist in flesh and bones and arrogance and  much more. And such a character and its obstinacy makes the ending of the novel believable, and satisfying.

M&B novels are supposed to entertain you with romantic descriptions and a surreal boy-meets-girl-falls-in-love plot. This book manages to honour this image so well.

That said, it comes with its set of flaws. For one, it is a quick, fast-paced read. I, who can savour books for hours at stretch finished this book in a couple of hours. Because reader can be kept longing for more. Not more plot, the plot has been done right. Great even. The timings. The setting. The  characters. Everything flows seamlessly into the plot. What reader seeks more of, is the description. Maybe a third person narration can be cited as the culprit but then the reader certainly has a right to know in detail the feelings and emotions of a character s/he has associated himself with for more than a 100 pages. So, we know Naina is getting a roller coaster of emotions, but which ones? THAT is a big question.

I also adore the wordplay within the dialogues, which were, in addition, succinct too. A great effort has gone into them.

 This is where the characters lack. This is where everything gets neutral. The characters' actions will have you nodding in appreciation and not knowing their emotions would have you creasing your lips and forehead, both the things cancelling out to make it a great read, if not a brilliant one.

My Judgement:

When all is said and done, such a novel's gotta be read. 

Find the book here:

Book Review: Business Doctors by Sameer Kamat

About the book:

Ivy League educated management consultant, Michael Schneider, gets hired by an unlikely client. A mafia boss wants to make a last desperate bid to revive his family business that spans across gambling, drugs and porn. A reluctant Schneider takes on the challenge to give the underworld organization a makeover. Join Schneider as he takes on the most challenging management consulting job ever!

• Publisher: Booksoarus (24 April 2014)

About the Author:

Sameer Kamat is among the best career counsellors in India. He also shares writing & publishing tips and ideas on getting self-published in India. The author is a multi-faceted personality. Hi earlier book Beyond The MBA Hype, published by HarperCollins, advises MBA applicants on the pitfalls and opportunities of applying to international MBA courses. Within 3 months of getting released, the first print run was sold out. He i the founder of MBA Crystal Ball, an MBA admissions consulting venture that helps Indian applications get into the top international MBA programs. He left hi Mergers & Acquisitions career and bid adieu to the corporate world in 2011 to focus full-time on the entrepreneurial aspirations. He serve on the Editorial Board of the Journal of General Management (UK), a leading UK-based academic publication that has a global readership.

My Review:

This is actually a four-and-a-half star from me.
This book peels its layers one after the other, and delightfully, to the readers' expectation and beyond, all layers are equally enthralling, if not more, and all of them have been woven to keep up the pace of the plot and simultaneously the intrigue and unalloyed attention of the reader.

Lets talk about the title first up. When the titles reads, "Business Doctors", it isn't just an oxymoronic play of words. It is for the reader to find out. And here begins a journey of the reader foray into the uncanny plot twists the story will take.
The story opens up with one set of characters and is carried forward by others.
Enter Stephen Woody: he makes killing look easy, he drummed his fingers to create a tapping sensation thereby building tension and suspense. In other words, he is an underworld boss.

The place he operates from is called the Dungeon.
With his foot in handful of businesses like casino, porn industry et al, his business is going through a lean patch. Scratch that. His business is on the brink of ruin. He desperately seeks some professional advice.
His wife (mafia's wife) comes into picture and changes it.
That is all that can be said without spoilers. How she changes it is for you to find. Suffice to say, the way she changes the equations is very pivotal to the plot.

Another layer to the book is the insightful management gyaan on offer. Right from the consulting expertise to the human resource management lessons in the alleyways and lanes of the plot, everything happens in an uncanny way. And why shouldn't it? This is certainly not any regular consultancy client!

Another commendable part of the novel is that the author has done justice to each character no matter how trivial or pivotal the role or however long or short the duration of that role.

Humour has taken vivid forms and shapes. The most enjoyable read is between the pages of those chapters which are a demonstration of an unusual sort of people-management.
*Spoiler alert*
The transformation of criminals and miscreants into valuable human resources( still criminals) is just hilarity in leaps and bounds.

Best Lines:

Usually I list out the quotable lines here, but this time around I shall make an exception, and state  an excerpt, for the sheer wit and humor:

Woody was reputed and feared as a man who had 

uncommon strength when enraged. This was not just rumor 

– two of the men present in the chamber had seen their 

boss twist off the arm of a rival goon - mercilessly –

agonizing screams echoing from the victim, till the arm was 

just hanging off via loose tendons. Suffice to say the doctors 

could not sew back Woody‟s handiwork

My Judgement:

In this era of an abundance of books, if you do have to make a choice among a plethora of books, do read this for it is worth the investment in money, efforts and time, with returns in the form of an added vocabulary, a fulfilled reading experience and insights into the forms that management consulting can take.

Book Trailer:

Find the book here: 

Thank you for stopping by, and reading through!

Author Spotlight and Interview: Deepak Kripal

Interview

Q. Tell us something about yourself ? How did you decide for a transition from a doctor to a writer?
I am sort of an explorer. I like to hear good stories, travel into the wild with my friends, spending quality time with my family, play cricket in spare time which I haven’t had for 6-7 years! I am proud to be a doctor. And I am ambitious in a strange way. I mean not in the material sense. I have a spiritual side, apart from 5-6 more sides I am yet to discover!

Q. What does writing mean to you?

The 3-4 months I spent visualising and writing this story was one of the most fascinating period of my life. I got to explore different world never had visited ever. I got to live lives other than mine. Is anything more adventurous than this! Writing, for me, is a medium of exploring the things and ideas that fascinates me, both known and unknown. It is both a passion, as well as part of my spiritual journey. It is a lot  more than I can ever explain to you.

Q. The book you have written, The Devil's Gate is a never-before-seen form of fiction. How did this really unusual idea strike you?
Just like that – out of nowhere! You ask me the most fascinating place in the world, and I’ll say it is – Nowhere! For it is from here most innovative ideas emerge into the consciousness. Creativity is a strange process. You think more, you get less. You go into the state of shoonya – a brilliant idea may be just around the corner!

Q. How did you go about planning the peculiarities and character sketches in the novel? We are pretty sure Dug and Katy have demanded a lot of your attention!

Not actually. Katy and Dug, somehow, came very naturally and easy to me. I had cat and dogs as pet during my childhood. May be, this made it easy for me to demarcate their characters. The most difficult part was creating a story which was unique, engaging as well as emotionally appealing at the same time.

Q. Your novel is getting nothing less than superstar ratings. You must be basking in the glory of your success!

I am overwhelmed, to say the least. I knew that readers would like the story. But I was a bit sceptical about the response of critics, since it was an out-of-box story. So, in a way, it was a huge confidence booster for me, which will help me in taking risks in the future too.

Q. So, do you plan on continuing this story, or would you rather narrate a new story altogether?

I think I’ll write a drama or a drama/mystery/thriller next. I am churning some ideas at the moment, but nothing has taken shape as of yet. About the sequel, I may write it at a later point if enough readers ask for it.

Q. What do you have in store for your increasing reader base?

As I told you I am playing around with some ideas of different genres. Only thing I can say at this moment is, you can expect what I think is the best thing in the world - A Good Story!

Thank you for such a wonderful Interview!

Like his facebook page: Author Deepak Kripal

Check out my review of his book The Devil's Gate: An Impossible Journey

Book review: Supertraits of Superstars

About the book:

Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Vidya Balan, Karan Johar. Each of these celebrities are adored and looked up to by millions who aspire to emulate their success stories. But what is it that separates them, and other Bollywood stars, from the rest? Which is that one defining trait that makes them stand out, and how can you benefit from knowing it? 

In this one-of-a-kind book, Priyanka Sinha Jha looks at eleven luminaries from Bollywood, and the attribute that is perhaps most responsible for their success. She details their stories, their struggles, their efforts to overcome setbacks, and what it is about them that made them not just reach the top of their game, but stay there. Be it Amitabh Bachchan’s discipline, Aamir Khan’s perfectionist nature, Salman Khan’s generosity, John Abraham’s enterprise Supertraits of Superstars will show you how to live life star-size.

or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s grace—each star has one unique quality that others can imbibe to reach greater heights in their own lives. With pithy observations and inspirational conversations,

 About the Author:

Priyanka Sinha Jha is a journalist who in her eighteen-year-long career, has written on celebrities, films, lifestyle, business and more. She has been a correspondent for publications as varied as Citadel, The Asian Age and Intelligent Investor. At the age of twenty-six, she became the editor of Society, India's first celebrity magazine, followed by a stint as editor of HT Style and HT Saturday. Currently, she is the editor of Screen, India's foremost film and entertainment weekly. She has also contributed toOutlook, The Week and Tehelka, and has a regular column in The Indian Express: Play. Between analysing celebrities and earning her daily bread, she likes to travel to unknown destinations, watch films and argue endlessly on egalitarian issues with friends and family.

My Review:
For the majority of prospective readers who would not risk buying this book because of its unconventional theme, Here's what I have to say: who knew self-help could get this interesting?
For those who always view bollywood stars with skepticism and antagonism, this is what the book says: check your facts, these stars are people who carved a niche for themselves and worked hard to reach the zenith of success, overcoming their Achilles heels, or reinventing themselves.
And to the generic category of bibliophiles out there: this is what the book has in store for you. Stories of 11 film stars who fought the odds, and turned the tide in their favour with detemination and grit.
The idea of the author is very novel. The extent to which the author has been successful in delivering what she intended to is worthy of appreciation.
Now the writer is leaving you with moral stuff about your favourite stars, but without being didactic, the singular quality which is found lacking when it comes to  writing inspirational boks. So tis book teaches you just one important lesson: If they can, so can you!
The book is also replete with a plethora of inspiring quotes which makes for an interesting read.
As for the comprehensiveness, there is something still amiss. While the book does not leave a reader unsatisfied, but at the same time, the reader is left yearning for more.
Looking forward to sequels to this book, which might include other stars who missed a mention in this one.

Best Line: 
The person who speaks words that bear no malice will always be liked, but the person who is discerning with truth is revered.

My judgement:

When they say, it is a one-of-its-kind book, they are being honest, so go grab your copy NOW!



The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve

Book review: The Homing Pigeons By Sid Bahri

About the book:

In the middle of the catastrophic 2008 recession, Aditya, a jobless, penniless man meets an attractive stranger in a bar, little does he know that his life will change forever

When Radhika, a young, rich widow, marries off her stepdaughter, little does she know that the freedom that she has yearned for is not exactly how she had envisioned it.

They say Homing Pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

About the Author: 

A hotelier by education, an ex-banker and a senior executive in the outsourcing industry, Sid gave up a plush career in the outsourcing industry to follow his passions. Based out of Ranikhet, he is now a struggling entrepreneur and a happy writer. A self- proclaimed eccentric, he is an avid blogger who loves to read and cook. Cooking stories, however, is his passion. The Homing Pigeons is his debut novel. He can be reached at sidd.bahri@gmail.com

Book Trailer:

My Review:

“It is always difficult for a person with a job to empathize with someone who doesn't.” Clearly, the author reads the minds of humans adeptly. Though not unusual, a debut author having a deep insight into human psychology is a welcome change, specially when this insight deploys itself to use not just over the hardihood and impudence of youth, but also a meaningless, hollow adulthood.

As the product of this insight, the author presents to you two  identifiable, fallible characters: Radhika and Aditya.

Since in the deep dungeons of a debt-ridden life, there is little respite, our male protagonist turns out to be a typical professional-out-of-job-spending-fortune-drowning-sorrow in pegs of alcohol, thereby clouding his thinking while ironically seeking to cleanse it. Then we have the other imperfect protagonist Radhika, who seems to fallen in every possible misfortune, not on account of ill-fate, but by virtue of indecision.

Coming from a debut author, this is a remarkable, if not stellar piece of work, in that he manages to somehow create people out of those characters, and not just hollow puppets compelled to perform as the writer has suggested. That is the gem in this work: It has been written so convincingly that it just skips your mind that it has an extremely contemporary plot, which has all the cons of having an overdose of three quirks: lust, greed and indecision.

Alternating between narrations by the two of them, the reader is transported through the various stages in their lives at an immaculately panoramic mode. However, the fact that the fallibility and imperfection is every now and then highlighted only by the breach of moral conduct, lack of a moral conscience and indecision as regards their physical relationships is a bit of a put-off.

Nevertheless, it has many such heart-rending instances whereby the reader earnestly wishes to sympathize with the characters who have for long been living a life of compromise. Because, “this is the reward for leading a loveless life”. Indeed, the author weaves expressive, analeptic soliloquy and assuaging monologues much to the reader's fulfillment.

There are moments when the reader is compelled to put down the book and, wearing a toothy smirk, contemplate; for instance when the male lead says, “Many complications in my life occurred when I enhanced my vocabulary to include words like guilt, morals and cheating. Ignorance is definitely more blissful.” or “I guess God is a little convoluted. He does not always favor good people.” It is only later that the whole relevance of these confessions is perceptible to the reader.

With a cathexis in all acts of protagonists, it makes even the ugly bearable.

Amidst countless revelations of the reality of (read: sham) NGOs, of the fickle-mindedness of human beings, of the agony and mirth of re-starting one's life et al, is a far momentous sequence of emotions: love, followed by practicality, quandary, repentance and finally atonement for the follies.

Best line: If that wasn't love, then maybe love didn't exist.

I wondered how simple life would be if there was no currency. No notes made of paper or plastic that differentiated between people. Or if there had to be a currency, then why it couldn't just be love?

The ending is abrupt, somehow the plot appears predictable and repetitive, but the presentation is so raw, jacose, amusing, and umbriferous of dingy realities, that a reader cannot help but feel a “book hangover” upon parting with it.

"This book review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program. To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com"

Book Review: Aisle be Damned By Rishi Piparaiya

About the Book:

A Hilarious Take on just about Everything Associated with Air Travel.
- Getting seamlessly upgraded to Business Class.
- The hows and whys of micromanaging the pilots.
- Action plans to counter the airlines Technical Snag routine.
- Sure shot strategies for winning the affections of flight attendants.
- Awesome icebreakers to start conversations with attractive co-passengers.
- How smart executives deal with the Walk of Shame to the economy section.
- How a water bottle dramatically improves flight safety.
- Breezing through immigration and customs, always making your flight connections and a whole lot more

Rest assured, your flying experience will never be the same again!

Details: Paperback, 216 pages
Published: September 2013 by Jaico Publishers

My Review:

To begin with, this book offers an immaculate treasure-house of hilarious anecdotal nuggets of wisdom to mark up on our heads while making the air-travels, nothing less of an ordeal.

Okay, that might scare the wits out of someone who hasn’t air-traveled ever, however for the regular air passengers, this is an indispensable tool, a weapon (no exaggeration intended) to fight the demons of serpentine queues, badly-labeled luggage, bad-tempered crew, a variety of co-passengers exhibiting traits ranging from schadenfreude, sticklers, the-eternal-gossipers and so on, words like “Flight Delayed” all in their digital manifestation mocking at you in their sadistic best, multiple dilemmas as regards seating arrangement, et al.

So, the best part was the beginning, which eased me into the forthcoming hilarity. The ensuing hilarity also lends the book readability, and the author’s self-inclusive comical gags and antics were profoundly awe-inspiring.

He mocks the mechanism of the currency exchange counter by asking the reader to repeat the exchange transactions and count the number that it takes to leave you with empty hands and pockets, and at one point, you have to admit, the writer, with the magnitude and finesse with which he directs his sarcasm, has forced you to deprecate yourself as a nitwit. Such is the flawlessness with which the sarcasm, hyperbole, and mocking comments have been made and executed as a written word. He goes on to describe numerous travesties, without losing his humour ever, which is a rarity among first-time writers.

In the most jocular fashion, he describes the mortifying trek to the economy section, the catchphrase of cabin crew “Technical Snag”, the escapades of meals, dealing with infants seated next to you.Even loos couldn’t escape the glare of this man’s keen observation and sarcasm.Who knew that LIFO and FIFO are not just inventory management systems

This book has the best compilation of quotes, a smorgasbord of witty-one liners and what not. So when you prepare yourself to board the plane and soar high the next time, make sure you have this little companion! If for no other reason, (which shouldn’t be the case, since there are plenty), then at least to find the relevance of LIFO and FIFO as strategies during air-travel.

Book review: Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat

To put simply, Five Point Someone is a story of three friends, Ryan, Alok and Hari who land up in IIT, and don't give it a damn. Yet, they have their own stories to narrate, their own experiences to share and their own selves to discover. It is as much a story of their transformation from Five Pointers (labels derived from their CGPA) to five point someone, as it is about the lacunae in our education system.

The author warns at the very outset that it is NOT a guide to survive your college days, but revolves around “what not to do at IIT”. This is indeed one of the direst warnings, since the plot is infused with a plethora of incidents that can put even the sassy and insolent of us to chagrin and mortification. 

    

Well, that also saves the author from being accused of writing a story, whereby the acts of the protagonists hint at moral corruption time and again. From a different perspective, this book is also an iconoclast in that it reveals the dark side of studying at such prestigious institute as IIT, what with the inherently high expectations, among other usual criticisms (about mugging and cramming) made of the education system.

For a reader, there's enough to treat the eyes, a senior who looks like a demon from cheap mythological TV shows, a terrific troika of protagonists, drudgery of routine that makes fun conspicuous by its absence, insipid food at the hotel mess, being reinvigorated to study with dedication and commitment in the aftermath of a bad quiz performance, a professor's daughter-turned-girlfriend of the narrator, a  piece of advice for friend trying to play the pacifier: if you just paraphrase everyone's arguments, you get to be the good guy... you get the drift.

As far as the theme goes, the author seems genuinely concerned about addressing the flaws of the education system when he remarks,”Where is the time for creativity? Where is the room for original thought?” but the sad part is that eventually, even the passionate Ryan after exhibiting much of his creativity in a project, ends up succumbing to the demand of the curriculum to rote-memorize. The reader can only be thankful that he has at least abandoned all his strategies and shortcuts-to-success-formula!

No mention of this book is perhaps complete without reference to its cinematic counterpart, the much loved film 3 idiots. Even if you try to remain objective, one is forced to conclude that the movie has outdone the book in ways more than one.

Well, I would say that I have tried a couple of times to like Bhagat's fiction pieces, even to the extent of ransacking them to find any meaning behind them. And I have failed this time too, like always, now I have understood that the meaning behind the words penned by him in his fiction is not hidden, but hideous. Still, in sharp contrast I am in love with his non-fiction. Yet, if you are game for an easy-to-read contemporary novel to add to your list, go ahead and get your copy.