#BookReview: A Barren Heart by Shilpa Suraj

A Barren Heart by Shilpa Suraj
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aman and Rhea seem to have the perfect marriage. They are madly in love - with each other, with their own careers and the home and life they are building in a quiet Mumbai suburb.

What could possibly be lacking in their picture-perfect marriage? A baby. Like most women, thirty-plus Rhea Chakraborty wants to hold her own flesh and blood in her arms. And Aman too wants the same. Or does he? 

After another unexplained miscarriage that takes a severe emotional, physical, and psychological toll on them, Aman isn't sure if having a baby will complete them or destroy them.


Last month I read Shilpa Suraj's book - Love, Marriage & other disasters. What I loved in the book was how she had written a very heartfelt , simple yet much relevant story of characters that readers would relate to easily. So, when I was offered a chance to review her new work, I was very excited to see how she presented this story. Glad to mention that she did not disappoint with Barren Heart.

Barren Heart revolves around various stages/struggles women face while trying to get pregnant. What feels like a natural process, is too hard for some of the women and each one has her own "family planning" story. Some of the plot lines & conversations in the book felt very real and I could recall some friends sharing similar stories with me or their girlfriends. The pain, the confusion, the reactions of friends, and family were portrayed well and I felt a lot of empathy for Rhea. Both Rhea & Aman are successful, independent and loving persons who are pillars to each other. While Rhea has her own family drama, Aman's childhood wasn't good. Which binds them together but also makes them lonely without each other.

Sometimes, I felt that she & Aman took some of the arguments too seriously. Some of the fights and the eventual making up scenes felt repetitive and not too impactful to the rest of the story. Rhea's issues with her family were mostly unresolved which did not make much difference but I was left wondering still. Nevertheless, Reading this book felt like listening to my own heart's voices at times .. This is a beautiful story of a marriage that survives being hurt, the fights & differences between the couple. It is a happy ever after ending but with a very realistic picture that all marriages go through highs & lows and some low are literally rock bottom for one or both parties. How you build yourself from those moments is what matters in the long run.

This is a well narrated story that has roots in modern lifestyle , characters who you get attached to and a satisfying end.

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Let Me Go by Shriram Iyer

Best friends Indu and Anshu meet in school and bond over all things innocent and fun. They start ignoring each other  in college but what happens when they part ways is what we call life. When they get a second chance to meet and be friends , it is going to test both of them to the limit to decide how long to hold on to each other. 

Sometimes you start reading a book with some apprehension and expecting to be entertained for a while. And it is good as that allows the book to surprise you in so many ways. This book is a ode to friendship with love. And I am so happy someone wrote , perhaps a little cliched but still a story that so much is believable and close to truth.

Anshu and and Indu have always been best friends and nothing more. Even in their differences , they have not thought to hurt each other though Indu's actions however selfish , have always been for love and to make her relationship work. When Anshu falls in love and decides to marry , he has no plan to think of his past life but it still comes to crash the party. How he manages his friendship while juggling with everything else is beyond imagination.

This is a story of messed up priorities , reckless loving and living. It talks of dreams and how we get derailed from achieving that. There is no judgement , nothing wrong or right in friendships sometimes.  This is a well plotted and inspiring story. The story pulls you along very easily. There is no pretense or lofty ideas in there. It is a simple book that is meant to make you feel good when you finish.

I really enjoyed this book and am so glad I spent one weekend with these characters.

My rating : 4/5

Review: The Nine-Chambered Heart by Janice Pariat

The Nine-Chambered Heart by Janice Pariat
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book has each one of us in the cast, and sometimes many different versions of same person. We might judge the protagonist at times , and ignore her actions at other z but there was always a sense of understanding for her behave too. I had to pause at times to think of some of the stories ai have heard and made that so much were reflected in the book.

The book not just tells us nine different stages of same life , of loving but also the connections in each was subtle and yet a good reminder that it's the same mysterious person.

The setting of the book is so randomly vague that it can be any city. Same has been done with the lady in question
Janice's writing style is fresh, real, honest and so much full of kindness for those whom we love, even when reality is so hard.

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#Review: Twice Blessed by Rani Ramakrishnan

Twice Blessed by Rani Ramakrishnan
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


Twice blessed is a story of a suicide and the events leading to It explored layer by layer later. Its not the reasons of the suicide that matter 8n the end but how to convict the people responsible. While it deals with a sensitive issue , the author has managed to highlight other issues like caste , prejudice , education etc in the story line. I loved the central characters and the way the author picked a urban cool Muslim family. That was fresh characterization. The book is neither slow or too fast. It allows time to read and reflect on lot of things. No event is dramatized or feels forced while the story progresses.

 It has all the markings of a good thriller but fell a little flat in the end and how some of the characters evolved in the story. I will definitely try another book by the author.

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#Review: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Exit West starts like any book about wars raging in the region. A guy meets a girl ,who are totally opposite to each other and that's how they get attracted and start being with each other. The love story you know might be doomed soon , but it survives as unexpected events brings the girl into the house where the guy stays with his parents. When they migrate using the doors that connect one country to another and appear randomly in the country. And then you realize that this is not just their story but of how the whole world is changing and getting used to the same. There are similar stories playing out all over the world and soon it becomes evident how it all is connected.

 There are worlds that are alike the present and yet so unlike ,but humans always stay same and yet changing. This is a story of changing worlds , changing human bonds and the similar search for love , home and rhythm of life. Its nit just a story but an observation of way of life - of love evolving into respect, comfort and finding home. This book is a beauty to treasure while it lasts.

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The City of Devi by Manil Suri

I was overjoyed to receive my first overseas mail carrying a book for review by Norton publishers. So far, I was aware of this publishing house's name for the critical content it printed on literary classics, and was pleasantly surprised to see Norton publishing contemporary authors with experimental narratives and genres. Taking up with novel with a slightly odd name - "The City of Devi" - was easy, since credibility was established by the very name and packaging of the courier I received. That Manil Suriwas a writer who could churn out an epic with an apocalyptal theme turned out to be a pleasant surprise waiting to be unfurled with the turning of pages of this book.

The City of Devi is an innovative, unique and adventurous novel. It dwells on a love triangle with a twist. There is a woman, and two men. However, contrary to what you might be already thinking, in this book, a woman, Sarita, and a man, Jazz, are both madly in love with a third person, a man -Karun - who is the mysterious, elusive figure in the book. It is Karun, however, who keep the two alternate strands of narrative, that of Sarita and Jazz, find a common ground to develop cohesively from. The rather tumultuous love saga of these three protagonists is set against the backdrop of an apocalypse waiting to happen - a nuclear strike on Mumbai, ready to wipe out the last trace of life from the island. In a classic tale of cross-border communal conflict, humanity is standing vulnerable and on the verge of being sacrificed for what are assumed to be conflicts of supremacy of divine powers. Mumbai only could be saved by its patron Goddess - Mumba Devi, recently resurrected in a Bollywood incarnation - Super Devi - giving more fillip to the blind adoration of gullible multitudes. And amid all this mayhem, two, no three, lovers are eagerly searching for an opportunity to unite with each other, after eliminating the 'other'.

This novel doggedly follows the quest motif - a rather effective one in stories which deal with the pains and ecstasies of love. Love is, it goes without saying, the underlying theme. In addition to it, theme of communalism, humanism, hypocrisy, apocalypse and homosexuality have been adequately dealt with in the book. With sensibility and gusto. Dystopia, towards which the real world too is fast spiralling, is another prominent theme. The novel is rich with explicit content, and for the shy readers out there, I have to mention, Manil Suri does not believe in using innuendoes. A powerful strain of narrative, in fact, is developed around a pomegranate - a perceived aphrodisiac (about the veracity of which claim I have no clue!), and that pomegranate continues to be an inanimate, silent yet pivotal character in the book. Manil Suri also weaves together myths and memories in the story; especially curious is the way he deals with a rare interpretation of the concept of divine trinity.

The City of Devi is a work of passion, and intelligent story telling. It has elements which enthral a reader and keep drawing him deeper and deeper in the fiction which starts assuming dimensions of reality. An intriguing beginning and an out-of-the-box climax add perfection to an already great scripting. A grand cast of characters does not obfuscate a reader, because the main concern - the protagonists - are so well constructed and foregrounded. Witty dialogues and great use of embellished language make the reading experience rich and satisfying. Love and romance always work for the audience; but when supplanted with an element of impending doom, they acquire a texture of passion and urgency - a fact aptly exploited by the author. I could go on writing reams of material on they way this book influenced me, but for now, I will conclude by awarding it, in all humility, 4 stars on five. It is one great adventure to be a part of.

Book Details -
Author - Manil Suri 
Publisher - Norton
Published - 2013
Book Source - Review Copy
Genre - Fiction/Romance/Dystopia
Price - Rs. 499
Pages -  400

Reviewed by - SAUMYA KULSHRESHTHA

Urban Shots: The Love Collection, edited by Sneh Thakur

The book in a nutshell:

A collection of love stories, 31 of them from 27 different authors, compiled by Sneh Thakur.

My thoughts on the book:

So this is a love story anthology, right? What’s the most important ingredient to a love story? Well yeah, it is love. That ingredient appears to be mostly missing here.

When I started the read with the first story, “Written in the stars”, I knew the ending. It’s right there in the title. Put two and two together, and you know where the story is headed. OK fine, corny as the idea was, you’d think there was more about the lovely couple and their relationship. But no, that story was more about the protagonist and his obsession with “the stars”. Till the last page of the story, the damsel doesn’t enter the scenario. With love supposedly involved, you’d be forgiven if you think the guy was dating the astrologer.

With the standard set so high (no, I’m not talking literally), I thought some of the other stories would be better. Sad to say, the trip didn’t fare that well. The story “Rishta” was mostly, if not completely about parental argument and arranged relationships. The story “For Convenience’s Sake” had the ex lover’s sister blasting the protagonist guy for being him. “Making out” (yes, you can interpret literally to know the essence of the story) was more about the guy’s past than the kissing. Moving on, “Coffee” ended with a bitter taste in the mouth. “The Girl Who Was Too Loud” was just too one-note, not about love but of raw sex perhaps.

A few stories save the book from being totally down. Not coz of a love factor, but coz of difference in ideas maybe. I enjoyed “High Time” coz though it was quite a lot about arranged marriages, with the “dekhan dekhai” ceremony, and the parental blackmailing of the protagonist, the story had a humorous touch to it, and it showed there is another side to things. The story “Twisted” was one that had a twist, but the ending wasn’t as believable. “Beyond Reasonable Doubt” was perhaps the best in the book.

Overall, the book has more of these direct stories. Direct tone in love stories doesn’t work that well. The few stories that do work, and are enjoyable, don’t do enough to counter the effect of the not-so-enjoyable stories. I give this a 2.5 from 5.

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Book details:
Title: Urban Shots – The Love Collection
Editor: Sneh Thakur
ISBN: 978-93-81626-47-4
Genre: Anthology / Love stories
Publishers: Westland + Grey Oak
Price: INR. 199

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Reviewed by Leo
Shared with Indian Quills Reading Challenge

A Bowlful of butterflies by Ritu Lalit

Synopsis : This is the heartwarming story of an inseperable threesome, Chandni, Amrit and Soma. The girls are an exciting bunch but have a rather uneventful life in the sleepy town of Majhi Nagar. They are completely focused on their impending Class XII boards, until Chandni’s handsome cousin Jogi comes to live with her family. His presence brings to the surface many hidden truths that the girls must deal with.

The story spans a period of four months, in which Chandni and her family deal with many complex modern day relationship issues. A Bowlful of Butterflies deals with serious issues but is written in a light hearted vein. It is an engrossing tale dealing with the transition of Chandni and her friends from school girls to womanhood.




Nimue Says : Teenage.You remember the first crush ? The first time you wanted to know more about love and if its true ? the first kiss or when you imagined about it ? Being jealous with your best friend ? reading this book was a trip into those memory lanes. The way Ritu defines all characters  - the mother who left singing yet gave the knowledge to her kids , the content and experienced father and his brother , the ambitious and rebellious eldest son , the younger son bearing the effects of other's actions , Chandni the central character , Jogi - her cousin who silently bears allthat happens around him and at times being the reason behind it too ; her friends and other characters that connect all these people as family and friends. the story is predictable abit but that does not spoil the pleasure of reading this book. The family drama as you can term it, is both real and interesting to read.The emotions are spontaneous and well expressed. I literally smiled and felt sad at the events that were incorporated in the book.

A total heartfelt book !


Rating: 4/5


Also check the book trailer here :

Other Details :
Number of pages: 220
ISBN_PB: 9788129118455
Price :  156 @ flipkart


Ritu Lalit is one of my fav blogger.Check her amazing fun posts here

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