The Book Critiques

BOOK – Hello Sir Myself Zoya

AUTHOR – Sunil Kumar PUBLISHER – Bluerose Publishers

GENRE – Fiction

PAGES – 150

REVIEW – We all live in a society where more money is spent on a girl’s wedding than her education. From the beginning, females are subjugated by males, they are expected to focus more on their families than their own career and if by chance any girl rebels then the whole society turns against her and do everything to make her life hell!!

And that’s the story of Zoya, a Muslim girl whose only ambition was to study and make her parents proud but it was not that easy for her because the society in which she lives were super orthodox, as per whom females are made to look after the family and rear kids.

But Zoya has very cooperative parents who always supported her and always want best for her, they allowed her to do graduation and attend college regularly. In her college, Zoya met a teacher, Alok Sir, who helped her in every possible way and because of their daily interactions they both started having feelings for each other. But on the other hand, her parents fixed her marriage with her cousin Sarfaraz.

Will Zoya complete her graduation?

Will she marry Sarfaraz?

Or does destiny have something else for her?

This is not only the story of Zoya or Muslim girls, but this situation is also faced by so many girls in this country, discrimination against girls can’t be categorised on the basis of religion.

The cover and the title are apt and catchy.

The language used is a beginner-friendly but it has many grammatical errors, even the heading of some of the chapters are confusing.

Though I liked the plot but the way it is presented turned me off. Till the mid part, the pace was average but before the climax, it picks up speed which was not required plus the story has many loopholes.

I found the book inspiring and I know the story has all the potentials and the author picked up the topic which many avoids but because of the negative points I mentioned above this book failed to touch my heart.

BOOK – Fluid

AUTHOR – Ashish Jaiswal

GENRE – Non-Fiction

PAGES – 234

REVIEW – “FLUID”, written by Dr Ashish Jaiswal is divided into 5 parts viz,

1. Anti-fluid

2. The dangers of entering machine age with an anti-fluid mind

3. But, I M a specialist, my friend

4. The fluid specialist

5. The bigger fluid questions,

in which he has talked about the current education system and the much-needed changes so that we can face the competition in the future which will be with artificial intelligence.

In today’s era students are forced by their families, schools and teachers to choose only one field and spent their entire life without exploring other options. Isn’t it wrong? If a person wants to paint and also wants to be a lawyer why can’t he do both? The society, the system doesn’t allow them to try their hands-on different things because as per our so-called system it is quite impossible. And the cherry on top is they aren’t allowed to fail.

But but but Ashish has busted all these myths by arguing that great minds who have changed the fate of humankind are actually the ones who failed, faltered or remained uncertain, yet never bothered to stay pasted to a rigid line, they were fluid.

The facts, letters, diagrams and the illustrations used by the author make this book more appealing. This book is proof of intense research done by the author. He has written each and everything only after doing the proper study.

The language used is super easy and beginner-friendly. The cover is catchy, though before starting this book I was confused about the title, after reading I got to know why the author chooses this title, he has wonderfully explained it and in his book, he let us know that it is kept so considering that our approach towards life should be fluid and we should not be rigid about sticking to one field.

Overall, it was an eye-opening book for me and I highly recommend it.

BOOK – Our Love Story

AUTHOR – Rohit Sharma

PUBLISHER – Fingerprint Publishing

GENRE – Fiction(Romantic)

PAGES – 304

REVIEW – Stymied from the endless rejections and failures Veronica decides to put a stop on all her sufferings by jumping into the Arabian Sea. But before she could take any action she was stopped by Aditya who has an endearing smile on his face and a guitar strapped to his back.

Veronica is the first child of Mrs Jacob, who to help her mom and support her family came to Mumbai to join the entertainment industry.

Whereas, Aditya is the son of a filthy rich business tycoon Vikramjeet Bakshi. Aditya being a motherless son was constantly neglected by his father just because his mom dies while giving birth to him. But even after all the pains, he has a soul-soothing smile on his face.

What happens when a happy to go lucky Aditya meets depressing Veronica? Will they fall in love? Or does God have different plans for them?

What a heart soothing book it is! Aditya is a darling, who will seize your heart with his smile. The way the author has portrayed his character is praiseworthy and not only his all the characters are well developed and played an important role in the story.

‘Our Love story’ is not any other rom-com, it is an inspiring tale of selfless love and intricate relationship and of hope and hopelessness, friendship and hatred, tears and smiles.

I enjoyed this fast-paced novel. It is not a book that made me cry in the end, it is a book that left a smile of contentment. The suspense build up by the author was impeccable and has a right impact on me.

I have read n number of novels so the plot was not new for me but the thing which touched my heart was the way in which the author has presented the entire story. The author has used the right words at the right time and in the right place. And the cherry on top was the quotes in between the chapters.

‘Our Love Story’ has a rich vocabulary which makes it a little bit difficult for beginners.

The title and the cover go with the theme.
And as it is said each and every book teaches you something or other similarly from this book I learnt the value of true love and the power of hope and positivity.

This one is no doubt a must-read!!

‘Sales people are not born! They are made.’

BOOK – DNA of a Champion Salesperson

AUTHORS – P. Raguraman and Tanmay Dubey

PUBLISHER – Invincible Publishers and Marketeers

GENRE – Non- Fiction (Self-help)
PAGES – 182

REVIEW – Last year I went to a shop to buy a pair of jeans but I returned with the clothes worth rupees 8000. I bought all those clothes because the salesman in that shop was so influential that I couldn’t say no to him.
And now I wonder that that person was no doubt a champion salesperson.
But what were the qualities that person has which make him a champion? How he was able to sale me all those clothes?
And I got answers to my qualms after reading this book.

‘DNA of a champion salesperson’ describes ten traits or mantras that can make any person a champion salesperson, only and only if that person applies all or most of these traits in his life.
The book is divided into 12 chapters where in the first ten chapters these traits are elucidated with the help of stories, specimens and illustrations.
And not only this, at the end of each chapter exercises are also given to check what you have learnt.

Both the author has a professional experience of more than twenty years of working in many leading companies and they have used this experience in writing this self-help book.

And now if you are assuming that this one is written only and only for those who are working or want to work in the field of marketing and sales then you are entirely wrong. The mantras mentioned in this book applies to one and all as we all are salesperson, we all are selling something or other.

The writing style is immaculate and the language used is easy and it can be understood even by a layman.

The cover of the book is catchy and both the title and the cover does justice with the content .
Overall it was a terrific experience for me to learn these traits which I am gonna apply in my life.
I highly recommend this book.

“Sometimes it is important to fail. It show you what not to do.”

BOOK – Chandragupta: Path Of A Fallen Demigod

AUTHOR – Rajat Pillai

PUBLISHER – Cedar Books

GENRE – Historical Fiction

PAGES – 303

REVIEW -Chandragupta was a poor farmer boy who lived in Gaval village of Magadha kingdom along with her mother Murra. But after his conflict with tax officials, the mother and the son duo fled to Patliputra, the then capital of Magadha. At that time Magadha was under the rule of Dhanananda who was the grandson of Mahapadma Nanda.

Due to her past, Murra personally knew the brother of the king and because of which Chandragupta got the job of the Palace attendant but soon was thrown out of the palace on the order of the king. And this particular incident veered his life upside down. He met Vishnugupta at her mother’s childhood friend under whose guidance Chandragupta formed a rebellion army ‘Karma Sena’ to out throw Dhanananda and after two failed attempts the Guru and his disciple succeeded in their mission.

And from there begins the journey of Samrat Chandragupta who become the unconquerable king of that era.

He married the daughter of a blacksmith from his village and later on married to Princess Lavanya of Ashmeka.

This book delineates the life of Chandragupta from being a farmer boy to his path of spirituality.

The cover of the book is inviting and goes with the plot, even the title is apt as Chandragupta, due to various incidents in his life, was considered as an avatar of Lord Krishna.

I love to read Indian history and that too in fiction form. I like to know about our great rulers and ‘Chandragupta’ is one such book that gave me the opportunity to learn about Samrat Chandragupta and his lifestyle.

I would also like to mention here that this book is no doubt a proof of the intense research done by the author.

The language used by the author is eloquent and easy to understand and all the characters are well evolved.

I recommend this book to those who love reading Indian history.

BOOK – The Dead Woman Writing

AUTHOR – Rajat Pillai

PUBLISHER – Srishti Publisher & Distributors

GENRE – Fiction(Paranormal)

PAGES – 296

REVIEW – After a failed endeavor at writing a bestseller, Devika starts working on her second novel. This time the topic which she wants to write about was related to Sarvanpur Cult.

Even it was quite easy for her to get her hands on all the facts and information being her husband an ACP.

But soon she started receiving letters from an enigmatic woman who was already dead.

And then begins the events of horror. Devika is confused between reality and hallucinations. But being adamant she still decides to unveil the true story behind these strange psychotic incidents and the purpose of those letters.

The cover of the book is eerie and gives you vibes that the story is related to some esoteric activities. Even the title is apt.

But I find that the plot speaks more about facts related to crimes and supernatural events rather than the story.

The characters are not fully developed, even suspicion built around some characters like the daughter of the servant was unnecessary. And somewhere in between the author lost the track and it felt a little bit dragged. The ending is also abrupt and open which left me with many unanswered questions.

I try my best to avoid reading this genre because I am a weak-hearted person and after giving myself a lot of vigor, I picked up this book so obviously my hopes were high. And it will be wrong to say that this book was a complete disappointment, although I was expecting much more from it, there were some incidents which sent chills down my spine and I could feel my hair stand.

Overall it was a one time read for me.

BOOK – Wild World: The Adventures of Bali and Bhola

AUTHOR – Deepak Arora

PUBLISHER – Srishti Publishers & Distributors

GENRE – Fiction

PAGES – 192

REVIEW – Wild World jungle is on the brim of its end. All the tigers of the jungle are either killed or taken away by humans except one – Raja, the king of the jungle but he too is living his life in uncertainty and desolation after his estrangement from his partner Rani.

Jungle animals were doing their best to protect their wild world and for this, they decided to send Bali, the langur, to the city to bring back their queen from the zoo.

Bali left the wild world two years back but had come back into the jungle after getting fed up of scooting monkeys in the city. And for this adventure, he takes the help of Bhola, the bear who eluded to the jungle from the brutishness of his human owner.

Will they succeed in bringing back their queen? Will they be able to save their wild world from becoming a human colony.

Read this adventurous book to get your answers.

This book gave me nostalgia and undoubtedly reminded me the days of Panchtantra and Jungle book.

The story is captivating, the narration is flawless and fantastic, the language is easy to grasp with a strong vocabulary.

In this book, the author pointed on four major issues faced by animals due to the unsatisfying avarice of humans. The author has done an admirable job and has very meticulously portrayed the brutalities faced by animals.

The story is surely an entertaining one but beyond that, it holds some strong lessons for us.

I totally loved this book, I was so engrossed in the story that I finished it within 2 sittings.

The book is written for children but it doesn’t mean that an adult can’t read it, ‘Wild World’ has a message for all of us.

So go and buy this book and meet the animals of the wild world.

BOOK – Mirrro @ the weird wayward

AUTHOR – Manoj Kumar Sharma

PUBLISHER – Notion Press

GENRE – Fiction

PAGES – 368

REVIEW – Mirrro is set in 2030 where India as a developing country has grown up manifolds and on the verge of being World’s Super Power with the richest economy. But at the same time, perennial social problems also grow manifolds.
The story starts with a few weird incidents happening across the country from the very first day of 2030. The whole nation is clueless, no one knows who is behind these incidents.
The story indicates India’s perennial quandary from the point of view of Indo our protagonist who always wanted to solve the problems but never got any solution. And finally, he takes help from someone whom he never believed cordially.
Indo wanted Mirrro to solve 3 problems which have drastically implicated his life. And this weird Mirrro even solves those problems.

Though the theme picked by the author is uncommon but the solutions given by him in this novel aren’t empirical to commemorate.

There are too many dialogues with not enough narration. As the story begins it enticed me and I became curious to know more but as the story moves ahead everything become dull and boring. The author has given too much explanation for superfluous events.

The story has all the potential only if it was not dragged too much.

The cover and the title are catchy and lure you to read this book.
The language used in the book is easy to surmise. Even the sketches given in between makes this book attractive.

Overall it was a one time read for me.

BOOK – Until The Music Stops

AUTHOR – Naimish Srivastava

PUBLISHER – Bigfoot Publications

GENRE – Fiction(Psychothriller)

PAGES – 169

REVIEW – What if a creep started stalking you and make your life miserable and all you can do is think about that person, the strategies to keep your sanity intact and make others believe your story??

Sounds Horrendous??

Well, that’s what happened with protagonist Grace Malhotra.

Grace has an ideal life, a loving husband, a cute little daughter and everything was going smoothly until her past knocks her door. A person ( Amir Malik) from her past came back in her life to make her pay for her sins. He started tormenting her again. And this wrecked everything in Grace’s life, she started questioning her sanity and her relationship with her husband started falling.

But what does Amir actually wants? Does he really intend to harm Grace? Or he wanted to save her? Is there something else about which Grace is unaware?

Lots of questions but no solution, now what to do? Simple, read this book and find out what Amir actually wants.

The story is mind-boggling and the language is crispy. I like how the story changed with each turning page. The plot is filled with twists but I think the author was in a rush to finish the story which made this book to have a less impact on me.

In the mid, I got confused as the things going on was not making much sense to me but as the story proceeded it left me baffled.

Each and every character is strongly developed. The author has done a commendable job by picking such a bold topic.

The title and the cover are spooky and give a hint of the story being a thriller.

If you want to read a thriller pick this short and easy read.

NOTE – This book is recommended to 18+ readers.

BOOK – The Baby Burped on My Battledress!

PUBLISHER – White Falcon Publishing

AUTHOR – Sanjay ‘Kris Tee’ Tewari

PAGES – 157

REVIEW – Aren’t we all proud of our army? How they are safeguarding us and giving the whole world a message that no one will be spared if they dared to cross their limits. But what do we actually know about our soldiers? What do they do? How do they manage their transfers? When they get leaves to meet their families? How their lives are diverse from civilians?

Well, Commodore Sanjay ‘Kris Tee’ Tewari has given answers to all of the above questions in his book.

“The Baby Burped on My Battledress! ” is a collection of 21 witty and crispy short stories penned by a navy officer in which the author has shared the real-life experiences from joining training to marriage, raising kids and living in isolated areas to transfers.

These stories are not only inspired by the life of the author, but some of them are also from his father Col K S Tewari and father-in-law Col R N Bakshi.

To be honest, it was an honour for me to read this book which tells so much about the lives of our soldiers. I haven’t read many books on this theme hence it was a completely unique experience for me and I must say this book didn’t disenchant me a bit and I am glad that I picked it up.

The language used is lucid and easy to grasp, even the author has explained all the terms especially used in the Army very well. The title of the book is apt and comes from the last story. Although I feel that the book cover could have been better. I highly recommend this book to one and all.