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| Image Source: www.loveincrazytimes.com |
L<3VE IN CRAZY TIMES: Fiction (A gripping tale of search for love and freedom, braving heart-breaks, evil bosses and family pressure).
AUTHOR (About from Book overleaf): K.V.Gautam - is an entrepreneur, cartoonist and film maker based in Delhi. His educational qualification includes MBA and PG Diploma in Mass Communications. He has worked as a cartoonist for leading newspapers like Hindustan Times and the Dainik Jagran and has illustrated more than 50 books. He is now founder and director of Delnex Media, which runs entertainment portal Fundoofun.com, shopping portal Tiffy.com and Convixer.com. To know more about K.V. Gautam, kindly visit http://www.kvgautam.in/
BEST SELLER(S): Love in Crazy Times is his Debut.
SYNOPSIS (From back cover):
EXCERPT:
MSM Speaks: This is a massively delayed review and I am sure, that Mr. Gautam would be wondering what the heck ever happened to the reviewer (That is your's truly). Ahem, my apologies.
Okay, getting back to the review. Love in Crazy Times is the debut novel of Mr. K.V.Gautam, and encapsulates the life of an average middle class guy Amit, looking for love, job, fighting the cruel world and looking for answers to every set back that pokes him down.
Amit has high ambitions and expectations from his life. His heart is in place but the cold and manipulative attitude of his employers, discourage him and he quits most of the places he works at. Meanwhile, we come to know he has a thing for Beautiful eyes and therefore, finds a number of women, who befit his needs, prominent among them being Swati and Shruti. Amit has a best friend Suraj, who has his own troubles and is the only one, who understands the ideologies Amit has. But eventually as the book progresses, we see how he as well, succumbs to the societal norms of marriage and caste system along with his other friends Shantanu and Satish. Amit discovers that he will have to stand up for his dreams and he does, winning the love of his life and finding his true calling. The attainment of his dream towards the end of the book is a pleasing note.
Few negatives which are glaring in the book are that there is an unrest in Amit and at places, I feel Author has lacked the finesse in shaping Amit's character who rants about how unfair the society is. It seems downright juvenile at points, when I try to gauge his (over)reactions. I feel that the Author has an urge to prove how infantile and unfair our norms are, which is true, but I felt the overkill sometimes. Also, the desperation to find a girlfriend was a bit sick. I am not saying that Amit's character is not unlike any other guy, but at places Mr. Gautam made him downright creepy. And Stalkerish. The description of kissing scene made me swore to celibacy. The book was peppered with numerous grammatical and spelling errors and I understand, the author has nothing to do with it.
On the whole, this book as a debut novel, is a one time read. I would recommend it if you have liked Chetan Bhagat's work, but if you are looking for a profound and engaging read, you may try out something else.
My Rating: 2.5/5 (It's my opinion)
Published by Diamond Pocket Books Pvt. Ltd. (c) 2012
ISBN No. 978-93-5083-094-9
Price: 100/-INR
(I received the book from the Author)
AUTHOR (About from Book overleaf): K.V.Gautam - is an entrepreneur, cartoonist and film maker based in Delhi. His educational qualification includes MBA and PG Diploma in Mass Communications. He has worked as a cartoonist for leading newspapers like Hindustan Times and the Dainik Jagran and has illustrated more than 50 books. He is now founder and director of Delnex Media, which runs entertainment portal Fundoofun.com, shopping portal Tiffy.com and Convixer.com. To know more about K.V. Gautam, kindly visit http://www.kvgautam.in/
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| Image Source: delnex.com |
SYNOPSIS (From back cover):
Love in Crazy Times is a gripping tale of search for love and freedom, braving heart-breaks, evil bosses and family pressure. The protagonist Amit is a daring middle class guy who chases both love and dream of starting his own business. He is faced with the hypocritical Indian Society and the corrupt business class on his path. His victory is not easy and comes after a long trail of professional and personal setbacks.
The story also shows how India, after the economic liberalization, is offering immense opportunities as well as challenges to young people. It's also about the cultural gap between a small town and a metro, and how parents find it difficult to adjust in a fast changing nation. The story, narrated in the first person by Amit, is set in Delhi from the period of 2005 to 2011. The story follows the life of Amit, a small town boy, armed with optimism and confidence, who comes to Delhi in search of a job. The story also narrates personal and professional struggles of his friends, Suraj and Shantanu, who came to Delhi from Lucknow and Kolkata respectively.
It's a racy and pacey story that has elements of romance, humor, emotions, drama and a bit of social message.
EXCERPT:
I found it taxing to spend hours doing the soul - sucking work for a pittance, without much incentive. One day, on a Friday. I went outside the office compound and brought back a small bottle of vodka in my office bag. The working time was divided in shifts. The day shift people worked from 9 AM to 5 PM while many, including me, worked in the evening shift from 2 PM to 10 PM in the night. I sat there working till the day-shift employees left the office. All girls also left. I emptied the vodka bottle in my water bottle. No one could guess it was vodka as it had no colour. Then I went on to slowly sip vodka from my water bottle. It made me feel better and working hard was easier then. In the back of my mind I was aware that I could get fired instantly if management knew what I was up to.
After that, I drank vodka from my water bottle, following the same process whenever I felt bogged down by work. Luckily I never got caught!
MSM Speaks: This is a massively delayed review and I am sure, that Mr. Gautam would be wondering what the heck ever happened to the reviewer (That is your's truly). Ahem, my apologies.
Okay, getting back to the review. Love in Crazy Times is the debut novel of Mr. K.V.Gautam, and encapsulates the life of an average middle class guy Amit, looking for love, job, fighting the cruel world and looking for answers to every set back that pokes him down.
Amit has high ambitions and expectations from his life. His heart is in place but the cold and manipulative attitude of his employers, discourage him and he quits most of the places he works at. Meanwhile, we come to know he has a thing for Beautiful eyes and therefore, finds a number of women, who befit his needs, prominent among them being Swati and Shruti. Amit has a best friend Suraj, who has his own troubles and is the only one, who understands the ideologies Amit has. But eventually as the book progresses, we see how he as well, succumbs to the societal norms of marriage and caste system along with his other friends Shantanu and Satish. Amit discovers that he will have to stand up for his dreams and he does, winning the love of his life and finding his true calling. The attainment of his dream towards the end of the book is a pleasing note.
Few negatives which are glaring in the book are that there is an unrest in Amit and at places, I feel Author has lacked the finesse in shaping Amit's character who rants about how unfair the society is. It seems downright juvenile at points, when I try to gauge his (over)reactions. I feel that the Author has an urge to prove how infantile and unfair our norms are, which is true, but I felt the overkill sometimes. Also, the desperation to find a girlfriend was a bit sick. I am not saying that Amit's character is not unlike any other guy, but at places Mr. Gautam made him downright creepy. And Stalkerish. The description of kissing scene made me swore to celibacy. The book was peppered with numerous grammatical and spelling errors and I understand, the author has nothing to do with it.
On the whole, this book as a debut novel, is a one time read. I would recommend it if you have liked Chetan Bhagat's work, but if you are looking for a profound and engaging read, you may try out something else.
My Rating: 2.5/5 (It's my opinion)
Published by Diamond Pocket Books Pvt. Ltd. (c) 2012
ISBN No. 978-93-5083-094-9
Price: 100/-INR
(I received the book from the Author)
nicely done.
ReplyDeleteI might just pick it up when I'm on the move.
For a new author, spelling and grammatical errors are common as the publishing houses do not even bother to proof read them. And the author gets the flak for it. You did good by letting it be known that its not the author's fault at all times.
The plot seems to be a bit different, although the love scenes in today's books really makes me upset. But the sad fact is that, it sells. A kiss or a sex scene sells and publishing houses want that.
celibacy ??
ReplyDeleteyou broke so many hearts MSM :P
jokes apart .. i can imagine that feeling. some books do make sure you never even think of the scene ever again !!
And i believe that grammar is for sure on author's head if not spellings. If am writing in english ,I should be confident not to make such mistakes. Its the least that a writer has to and should do.
nothing new in the book. I can not even pick it for a journey.
Firstly,lovely review,MSM!! The name of the book kinda puts me off :( The plot doesn't sound interesting either. And those grammatical and spelling errors do kill the entire reading experience :\
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