Book reviews

A girl on the run: a tale of self-discovery and love

Meera Walia was the apple of her father’s eye. Pampered and protected by her family. She lived her life on her terms. Now life has thrown a challenge and her life has been turned upside down. She ran away from her wedding and landed up at her estranged best friend’s house. Incidentally, she gets a job at her friend’s resort where she encounters Sid.

Introducing Sid, a best-selling author, an esteemed guest at the resort. Will her past come between their friendship? Will she get happily ever after? A journey of self-discovery and finding love.

Overall, the book was a delightful read. Simple and short, to be finished in one sitting.

8 PM: An apolitical love story

In the current scenario of the pandemic, all of us have been at home in the last 4-5 months and dealing with similar issues of day-today life. In the book, 8pm: An apolitical love story by Fazale Karim, the protagonist Rahul has been dealing with comparable issues of life. His life has been unpleasantly affected by the constant 8pm news in the country owing to which he lost his job. The story unfolds and we are taken into Rahul’s past and realize why he is the bitter person that he is today, why he blames the external forces for his current situation, and how he lost the love of his life.The author has brilliantly captured the essence of a common man and his struggle for a normal life. He balances the facts and fiction to create a beautiful story. The writing is to-the point and clearly shows the author’s strong opinions about the political developments in the country. The characters are relatable and genuine. The minute details take you in the protagonist Rahul’s world and it definitely makes you think about your own situation and how all of us dealing with the current situation.

Empty Wallet

Empty wallet by Jagadish Jaganathan is a corporate thriller. The storyline revolves around Ezhil Kumaran, the CEO of EZ Corp. A company he built single-handedly with his sweat and blood. An unfathomable personality, he rose from the ground up. With struggles at every stage of his life, he did everything to survive in the harsh corporate world.The question now was will he be able to save his company or will he have to sell it? It did however survive a massive cyber-attack but will he be lucky this time? Will his instincts let him make the correct decision for him and his company? Will he win the battle with his internal monsters this time?The book is an interesting read with captivating characters and an equally good plot. The writing style is refreshing and easy to read. The author has developed the characters and story very well.This book teaches us the value of relations with family and friends. To maintain relations is something we survive on. It gives you a new perspective on life.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it strongly to everyone who like reading thrillers.

Jean Angel

Born in Zesia and brought up in Kala Nagari, Jean, did not know his true identity until his birth mother, Queen Tara finds out where he’d been all these years and tells him who he really is. Then begins the search of his true potential, the reason behind his nightmares and the scar on his chest.
The author quickly grabs the readers’ attention with a captivating and heart-wrenching introduction of the prophecy. It has intricate details and takes you inside the world of authors imagination. I like the way chapters are named after the characters and tells their side of the story. The language is simple and to-the-point.

What will happen to his mother, Radha, the one who brought him up, the one who protected him from every evil-eye? Will Jean, a 15-year-old boy, bring justice to a kingdom ruled by a cruel King? Will he be able to fulfill the prophecy? Will he bring justice to all the people wronged by the King? Will he ever find peace with his innermost thoughts?

Eagerly awaiting the next part of the book. Undoubtedly enjoyed reading this fantasy story and I would recommend all of you to give it a go.

Bahir

‘Sawera’ means the sunrise, a new beginning, yet everything in her life was a struggle to find place in her family and life, a battle to survive and a fight for honor. She was abused right from her parent’s house to her husbands’ house; her struggle continued even after she left everything behind.
‘Bahir’ by Monisha K Gumber is the story of this beautiful Pakistani girl, Sawera who only wanted to find happiness which eluded her at every stage. Her life began with being given up for adoption to her aunt. She was loved till her adoptive parents got children of their own, sons to be precise. After that everything changed. She was mistreated and beaten up by her mother. When she got married, her husband abused her and made her a mother of four little kids. Left alone to take care of them, she moved back with her parents. Only to find no help from them. She re-married to find no care but a cheating husband. She was all alone with four little angels and no one for help.
This book is heart-wrenching and makes you think that even today women are considered a piece of meat to be used and thrown away. A complete page-turner, this work of genius will keep you hooked on till the very last page.

Batman's guide to Life: Breaking myths since 1994

The word ‘Batman’ certainly catches the eye for someone who’s grown up watching batman movies and it was the primary reason I picked up the book. In the prologue, the author beautifully describes little excerpts from his childhood, why and how he chose the title and what to expect from the book.
The book has funny anecdotes, sarcastic one-liners with a sweet love story at the end. Each of the one-liners makes an unassuming point and even though we’ve known most of these things all along but clearly, we’ve ignored them to suit our needs. It hits you right in the face with the truth.
The love story of Kabir – Sonia begins with their first date and slowly transforms into a budding friendship cum love. There were no violins in the background or people singing but just sweet innocent love that matured into a great relationship.
Overall, it was a breath of fresh air and a quick read. I definitely recommend that everyone should read it.

A jar of stories

Gripping, unputdownable, brilliant, believable are some of the words that describe ‘a jar of stories’, a collection of 17 short stories. Written by equally brilliant and versatile authors, each describes a story of their own. How the society judges the modern woman is the crux of these stories and how we, women of today, deal with these pressures. This was a very quick and easy read because I was able to connect with each one of them and felt that somehow either I have been in the situation or seen someone close to me be in a similar situation.
These stories deal with alcoholism, sexual abusive, toxic relationships, losing their spouse, body image issues and many more. It takes a lot of courage and determination to stand up to what you want and each one of the stories has depicted that.
I have loved reading each of the story but ‘I am here to stay’ by Nehha Surana Bhandari particularly touched me the most. Being in a similar situation, I had given up my dream, but now, I picked up my mighty pen and started to write again!
Overall, it’s a marvelous read and I highly recommend that it’s a must read.