Dark White By Shweta Brijpuria

The Book Launch of Dark White By Shweta Brijpuria happened on 21st September at the Oxford BookStore, Mumbai which spelled out the emerging trends of self publishing from first time writers. When I met the author at the book launch I was totally unprepared for the voyage of a dark mystery to be coming out of her tale.

Being a mathematician, she knows how to play with numbers and in her book it was the longevity of the chapters. She managed to retain the pulse of the reader by fickle -mindedly ensuring that her chapters were waved beautifully, to ensure that the reader does not invite boredom whilst reading  nor do they get too engrossed to be unable to keep the book aside. She's ensured the book to be a soothing journey where the reader does not finish the book in one go but enjoys it over a long period of time, absorbing and enjoying each moment as it unfolds.

Many places, I came across confused feelings whilst I read the book. It was to do with the genre of the book. It is a tendency of a reader to settle in for a book to be of a particular genre and then enjoy the rhythmic flow of the book in that manner. But over here, the moment I would believe it to be a fun and frolic college fiction, I would be thrown into the unknown with the subject being something really serious like politics then it would again take a twist into becoming a murder mystery and so on. It seems all these things have been clubbed to make a Khichdi.

In the plot, the style she's chosen to showcase a flashback and then the present is uneven as there are plenty of places where the present moment is not conveyed sufficiently well. Also, the reader finds themselves groping in the dark as they are unable to identify whats going on and who is the "I" telling the story at many places.

The characterization of  each person, has been highlighted in a manner that the author can consider writing the stories of each of the characters in the book,  separately in her forthcoming novels. The identity which each  one possesses is unique and splattered with lot of scope. Making this book the bible of all that follow as an interlink.

Moreover, I will conclude by wishing the author all the very best with her book. Overall, the book discloses and takes care of  narrating a thriller with the conclusion to the story having a definite ending and yet can be called an open one, which isn't quite common to come  across in a novel these days.
This book spells out Invention.

Love Lasts Forever By Vikrant Khanna

So I finished this book within 7 hours, of reading it... I wonder how many out there found themselves hooked on to the story... No really ??

The first thought that came to me once I got done reading it was  the craving to have an ice- cream and only after I fulfilled that, I'm now going ahead with writing what I actually grasped from this book. I have so many thoughts racing about the book and what it has expressed. The story made me retrospect and look back in my life where I could relate to the characters and incidents including "love" narrated in the book. 

So to begin with .. The Cover Design 

Is very attractive and appealing. It looks beautiful kept in my library collection and adds up color to my room. The two golden rings intertwined are sort of in conflict with the Title which says " Love Lasts Forever"... only if you don't marry your love. 

That builds up a curiosity element in the reader to delve into the book and explore whats within. 

The Preamble  .... of the book 

Sounds very catchy and intrigues the reader further. The thing that catches the readers attention the most is "on a ship" , since merchant navy is the talk of the world where a high number of youth are flamboyantly opting for the adventure life of being on ship. Therefore, it brings in a connection and strikes the chord of interest. 

When one opens the book .... 

It is slightly disappointing to see there is no preface or authors note before the author plunges into the tale. Often, I've heard my friends tell me that the preface is something they definitely read. Preface forms an important part of the book as it is  which influences the decision of the reader towards increasing  the sales of the book. 

Language and content of the book... 

Can get the author into trouble as it narrates ragging - the incident where toothpaste is used and woman trauma post marriage in a perspective which is either negligent or enjoyable rather than as a social taboo and something worth fighting against. Technically, there is no word territory maintained. The word "Love" , which is already so ghissaooed in the world of writers is literally tortured beyond expectation in this book. 

Oddly enough, it is for this very reason - it is telling the story of millions of people out there and thus bagging a loyalty award point. 

Plot of the book... 

Flows pretty much smoothly and makes for a light read. There are few plot points in the book and each of them is well chosen. The narration of the story is pretty much straightforward where all the characters remain in their element with little or no change in them all throughout the story. It is for this reason there are places where the readers can predict whats coming up next once they catch the nerve of the way the writer is thinking. 

How Shekhar's story inspires and changes Ronit's point of view is convincing enough. Although, the fact that his wife is dead doesn't really leave him with any other choice but to stay in love with her throughout his life. Whereas, in Ronit's case, the reader does not get satisfied that he would not forsake his wife again over a tiff in the future and there is a high probability of him forgetting Shekhar's story altogether. 

In Conclusion... 

I'd like to say that is a story well told. Dealing with the initial disagreements and tiffs of married life. The intensity of danger in which ronit is put on the ship has been exposed softly and could've been more real. 

The book has several Unique Selling Points though: 

1. It invites the reader to use their own imagination after page 56 where the book directly jumps to 102 page number. Even though those pages are covered up later in the story, the initial bit where Shekhar's life is declared is TOTALLY MISSING... 

2. It runs back and forth in the story with short chapters. but again, the pages 72-102 are covered after the reader finishes reading till 124. It is an innovative way of keeping the interest of the reader. 

The book leaves the reader happy and contented by finishing on a happy note..
Lastly, it may work well to be considered to be made into a film. 

                                                     THE END 

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