The Redeemers, by Suresh Taneja

About the author:
Suresh Taneja is a chartered accountant by profession. He published his first book, “We Can Pull It Off” and this book is an improved version of that. He wishes more youth read it, and believes that the youth have a very important role to play in the development of India.

My thoughts on the cover design:
It feels casual, like a light read is implied. Gives out a projection of excitement and enthusiasm.

My impressions from the blurb:
Well, if Suresh’s belief is that youth should play a part in the country’s future, the novel seems to be a reflection of that. A story of youth who have set out to make a change.

My review:
Well, we begin at a time in the future, 2030 to be exact, where things have turned on their head. There is a young Indian ambassador to the US, and India is the leading superpower in the world. Indian companies have become THE brand abroad and such. We’re introduced to a closely knit group of four friends and their families, who are currently holidaying in the United States. This group (G4) are part of the initial revolution that changed India and got them to where they are now. Chapter by chapter from this point, we are taken back and forth in time to see what started it all, and how the change came about.

This book is inspiring, and calls for action from the youth to battle and conquer corruption that has taken over our country, and left it, as rightfully said on the blurb, in a shameful state. It tells us that small things and prompt thinking can help bring about that change, as shown when young Yuvika’s prompt thinking prevents her family from being unjustly accused and charged with murder. It also tells us change might not happen overnight, but working toward it can make it more possible that we feel it is now, to implement the good ideas we might have for changing the nation is also important. Lastly, it also shows we need to have dreams and believe in them, and we should be given that space to believe in them rather than other dreams pushed in, so they become true.

On the downside, editing lacked. A major mistake was Kolkata being spelt with a double t. It is in the future and by that time, another t might be added for all I know, but felt very odd. It also was very off-putting to read the sentences like “G4 initiated discussion with G3” or “G6 wished in chorus” etc. To show that all of the group said it felt wrong. Perhaps it might have been better to put it like one of them wished and the other followed in chorus, or one by one. And also, though they are known as a group like the parents together as G6, fathers alone as G3 and the four of them as G4, just using the group names felt seriously strange. Similarly with the discussion, when political parties was discussed. Names to the parties brings a more realistic feel to it. Things like India’s state of domination in 2030, with us lending huge amount of money to the Americans felt nice, but to be frank, it also felt unrealistic given the pace of development we are currently at. One suggestion from my side is that rather than starting out with India as a fully developed, global superpower, what might have been more apt is for the story to start in the present and go along from there till 2030. That, and being narrated from the point of view of G4 members, like one chapter from Yuvika, the next from Vikram etc., might have made it more effective and touching, rather than starting out with all is fine and narrating the past to their already awestruck children.

The Redeemers is a feel good story that leaves us wondering if we are asking the right questions and how the onus is on us to ask the right ones and be the stepping stone for change.

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My rating: 3.25 Stars

Book details:
Title: The Redeemers
Author: Suresh Taneja
ISBN: 978-93-82473-39-8
Genre: Fiction/Drama
Publishers: Leadstart / Frog Books
Price: INR. 145

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Reviewed by Leo

Shared with:
1. First Reads at b00k r3vi3ws
2. Indian Quills at The Tales Pensieve

This was an author-requested review. I thank Suresh Taneja for the review copy.

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Suresh Taneja's 'We can Pull it Off'

Suresh Taneja's 'We can pull it off'-the review

Title : We Can Pull It Off…
Author : Suresh Taneja
Publisher : Frog books,a division of leadstart Publishing
Prize : INR 200/-
Year: 2010

          At a time when even the judiciary isn't entirely free of corruption,Suresh Taneja's debut work as a writer 'We can pull it off' comes across as a relevant book.Suresh not only envisages a corruption free,super power India by 2030 but also puts forward a novel strategy to achieve the goal.

          'WPTO' tells the story of G4,(Vikram, Yuvika, Manisha and Akshay).They chance upon certain unexpected events during their vacation of 2009 which inturn force them to fight against the rotten system.In this fight for justice,they are also joined by the eminent journalist ,Varsha Dutt, a character modeled on the high profile NDTV journo,Barkha Dutt.It is quite ironical that the book has come out at a time when even Barkha herself is under the scanner for her alleged association with the corporate lobbyist,Niira Radia.The narrative flips back and forth between the India of 2009 and that of 2030.

          Debutant writer Suresh Taneja deserves accolades for having chosen corruption as the subject of his first book.WPTO is an honest and sincere attempt which manages to make a lasting impact on it's readers.The best thing that I liked about the book was the description of India of 2030,which had become a super power .

The plot- The biggest strength of this book is it's plot and the concept which it tries to convey.Some of the statements which it makes ('Corruption in the government sector can be attributed to the widespread economic disparity between the public and the private sector';'We don't want to be labelled as the citizens of a corrupt country')are hardhitting and needs to be pondered on.The concept of 'Corruption density index' was something which i liked very much.There are references to 'The satyam' and 'the cash for vote' scandals in the book which ifound quite interesting.But the abduction of Varsha Butt episode was outright childish and could have been easily done away with.

The Characters- There are too many characters but sadly none of them have been etched out well.The adults in the book often behave as if they are just out of school and mostly mouth cheesy dialogues.For instance,this is what a character says about one of her childhood friends-"wow! she is a combination of beauty and brains?".All the characters have been portrayed in a positive manner and for the same reason some of them lacked believability.

The writing-  Probably with the intention of getting a wider readership,the author has kept the language as simple as possible.But the language is so plain at times that I often wondered whether i was reading a book that is actually meant for young adults.Certain phrases get repeated again and again which hampers the free flow of the narrative.For instance,the phrase 'it's only the tip of the iceberg' comes every ten pages or so.A couple of grammatical errors have also crept in which can adversely affect the commercial prospects of the book.'We can pull it off' is that rare book which is brilliantly conceptualised but ends up as an average fare due to lousy characterisation and bland writing.

On the whole Suresh Taneja makes a decent debut with 'We can pull it off' and hope he comes up with another interesting issue based book in the near future.Rating-2.45/5

(The author is a C.A. by profession and is employed in a large listed companyas it's chief financial officer.This is his first completed work as an author.He can be contacted at taneja_suresh@hotmail.com)

reviewed by nikhimenon@gmail.com