Name of the Book - FLAKE - Friendship Love and Killer Escapades
Authors - Pankaj Giri and Apoorv Wanikar
Publishers - Pen Publications
Price - Paperback Version - 150
Kindle - 127
Blurb -
Prakash Bharti: a shy, self-effacing, spiritually-inclined simpleton from Gangtok; Purvesh Shroff: a cocky, strapping young lad from Mumbai; Richa Malhotra: a sweet, vivacious girl from Bangalore; Anand Kumar Rajput: a mysterious, enigmatic personality from Jharkhand. Friendship, Love and Killer Escapades (FLAKE) is a captivating story, primarily revolving around four protagonists pursuing engineering courses in a run-of-the-mill institute in Bangalore. The story encompasses a unique, intriguing, realistic love plot between Purvesh and Richa, numerous escapades, and thrilling adventures. Throughout the four-year roller-coaster, the academic and personal fortunes of the chief personas fluctuates à la the great Indian stock market! What impact will the inscrutable character, Anand, have in the lives of Prakash and the other protagonists? Will Purvesh and Richa succeed in sustaining their relationship over time? Will Prakash be able to transcend the stage of infatuation and eventually fall in love? What predicaments will Prakash and friends encounter in the academic journey? Read more to find out. Ready, FLAKE, Go!
My Review -
When I was asked to review the book FLAKE - Friendship, Love and Killer Escapades I was really excited. One because the title seemed interesting and second, it was co-authored by someone from Gantok, a place very close to my hometown. Pankaj sent me a pdf version of the book as soon as it was out in the market. This review frankly states what I feel about the book. I understand that the authors have worked hard on the novel and I hope that after reading they will not be disheartened, but work towards weaving better stories in future.
Here it goes -
I began reading this book sometime early this month. I started with great enthusiasm, but somewhere along the way I was not sure I wanted to complete the novel. Why? To begin with the story is simple and predictable! The authors have woven a story that they felt would appeal to the masses, but in this endeavor they did not realize that the only people who would actually relate to the novel are 18 to 25 year olds who would be just starting college or who have just finished college and can relate to the experiences. Well to think of it .. I guess it is a large enough crowd :) !!
Soon I lowered my expectations and continued reading the story, despite the fact that the words used in most parts of the book just did not appeal to me. As a language teacher, the words like – hitherto, anent, ere, ergo and the improper use of some words along with a few grammatical errors just stood out of the page and demanded more of my attention that the story itself. Some of the words used are out of context and difficult to comprehend. In some sentences, the words can be understood from the context, but in others the reader would have to keep a dictionary handy to understand the meaning of the sentence.
Being a feminist, another thing that did not appeal to me was the way the women are described - Charlie’s Angels are “voluptuous,” a simple girl in a Kurta is shown as a “good” girl while someone who wears short skirts, tight jeans and/or smokes is described in poor light! This is not what I expect from the young writers of today!! Having said this I am sure that the writer's perception does not match mine and that they had no idea that what they have written could be interpreted or misinterpreted like this ;)
I wish Pankaj and Apoorv all the best for the future!
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