Book Review - Child / Currency By Ketan Bhagat

The book is a roller coaster of emotions through the downward spiral that life pulls the protagonist through. The glimmer of hope discovered in spirituality and the surreal ending is woven really well into the storyline.

The length of the book does come in the way as there are swathes of avoidable pages in the mix. However, it is understandable to some extent as sometimes it can be as difficult for an author to part with a single word he has written, just like it is difficult for the protagonist to part for a single moment from his child.

The language of the text is colloquial north Indian English, which makes it feel almost like the narration of a hearty tale by a Punjabi uncle on a long train ride. Yet in the midst of all the Hinglish conversations, you also get whacked in the face with a phrase like 'Sic Transit Gloria Mundi' that takes you unawares.

What is brought out really well in the book is the day to day story of any long standing marriage, tottering along on an endless path like parallel rail tracks, neither coming together nor moving apart. Every emotion and dialog is relatable to the daily humdrum you can hear emanating from any random house in your building.

The story lends itself to a parallel narrative of The Geeta's philosophy of the struggle against those who are nearest and dearest to us, the understanding of the helplessness of mortals against the wheels of time and karma, the realization that spirituality is not something to be understood, not even experienced, but rather something to be surrendered to. The one nagging doubt about why the protagonist does not then practice detachment, as taught in The Geeta, from the one thing leaving him beholden to the antagonist, is subtly explained away near the end.

The story starts out with an exuberant celebration of neo-feminism in the words of Preyas' speech and slowly and mercilessly unravels the bitter truth of the hollow words through Prakriti's later actions.

The one missing part in the book is the perspective of the other side as there is absolutely no exploration of Prakriti's character, except through Shreyas' eyes, which results in painting a one dimensional individual driven solely by greed and hatred, rather than bringing out the possibility of a complex character who is herself driven by doubts, guilt, circumstances, aspirations and helplessness.

Book Review - Complete / Convenient by Ketan Bhagat

Not yet finished the book, but then it is like a delectable gourmet dish you want to keep coming back to! First and foremost, you recognize straight away this book is straight from the heart. One can relate to every anecdote narrated here as an actual commonplace reality. One realizes this can and does happen while living in faraway lands some or the other time. Especially being in the same industry as Ketan describes in his book and having spent half a decade globe trotting and never knowing if I am coming or going, the situations ring true to experience.
The narrative hooks the reader right from the preface bringing out the dilemma of every NRI - aa ab laut chale or aa ek naya jahan basaye? return back or stay back?  Both options destined to take him 'back' somewhere.
The quick, humorous narrative throws you right into the midst of the cacophony of a boisterous north indian wedding with every detail brightly painted from the preparation and shopping trips to the conflicts to the loud relatives to the ego massages required to get through this occasion. The festivities of the wedding are contrasted very well by dramatically changing the scene and taking the reader across the panorama of a land of opportunities through the eyes of a newly arrived couple and their true to life experiences in a strange land where you are on your own. Completing the tangle of experiences is the peek into corporate life and office politics.
All in all a complete entertainer is what Ketan comes up with in his first attempt. The tone and language of the narrative is set as decidedly anecdote based making it a story you expect to hear in some party from the white collared, travel weary, two pegs down corporate hot shot.
I started by comparing the book to a delectable dish. Like any dish, I did find a few ingredients here which, given a choice, I would push to the corner of the plate. The depiction of joining the 'mile-high club' seems forced and almost looks like the distributor asked the director to include an item song in the movie to create popular demand. C'mon! There is hardly enough leg space for one person to just about sit comfortably in economy class man. Another speed bump is the sudden flashback which was avoidable. It does not add any twist nor reveal any new facet of the characters and makes one wonder why it was not put in sequentially anyway. The book is a bit longish and one gets the feeling it could have done with a bit more crispness.

That said, from an emotional experience perspective the book hits the right nerves and anyone who has been abroad and away from desh or anyone planning to embark on the journey will relate to and thoroughly enjoy the true to life experiences depicted here.

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