Book Review: Diary of a Twenty-Something: A collection of Teenage Musings by Siya

Book Review

Diary of a Twenty-Something by Siya

Diary of a Twenty-Something by Siya

Author: Siya Singhania

ISBN: 978-1646506699

Genre: Poetry

Length: 170 Pages

Publisher: NotionPress (14 August 2019)

My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/2mQHaAV

About the author: 

Siya is a fictional character whose eyes the author uses as a mirror to reflect the teenage world. It is also the pen-name of said author, Anjali Roongta. Anjali is a twenty-something student living in Pune, India, who has published another book before this. An avid reader, she loves fan-fiction and her stories are a mix of real-life experiences, stories heard from others, and those developed through her own imagination—courtesy of a lot of reading. In this book, she presents a set of poetry that Siya feels are issues and thoughts that cross the minds of teenagers and young adults.

Follow her on Instagram: @siyaa20_official

Twitter Handle: @anjali_roongta
Website: https://roongtaanjali.wordpress.com/

REVIEW

Diary of a Twenty-Something is a collection of poetry from the perspective of a teenager who is a fictional character. Poetries are narrated by this fictional character in a very simple yet poetic way. These teenage musings are kind of smooth and fluid, one would keep reciting without taking a break. What I mean by simple is, the writing style and language are very simple that you would know the meaning while reading as you go but that makes it inadequate. Besides, it serves a good trait of being not at all time-consuming.

Musings are quite relatable that reminds you of how silly you used to be in your teenage years and what you have gone through in those years, those first and bitter experiences. Subjects addressed were anxiety, validation, disorders, pain, love and a lot of questions that teenagers seek answers to. There are many topics that break stereotypes but at other hand, there are also few clichés included in this book. That is when it goes a little stupid just as teenage lives and sometimes makes offensive remarks. Which obviously not everyone would like.

These are a few of the subjects I liked reading about: depression, body shaming, growing up and dream to be at peace. At once the author Siya talks about asexuality and I really appreciate that, because its real and no one talks about it so freely.

Another thing, the author Siya made it really easy like the way she explained complicated feelings with ease, for example, falling in love. Lacked that standard but it is okay. Poetries had these contemporary and modish vibes.

Personal views

My reading experience was quite content. I would really like to recite some of the poems/poetries out loud to friends and family. My favorites from this book are, Question to the Creator and Navigating Waters and there might be more but I can remember these two right now. I think this book definitely deserves a chance, grab your copy and read it.

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Will see you in the next post. Till then buh-bye. Take Care. Peace. ☮

Book Review: Snakes in the Meadows by Ayaz Kohli

Book Review

Snakes in the Meadows by Ayaz Kohli

Snakes in the Meadows by Ayaz Kohli

Author: Ayaz Kohli

ISBN: 978-9353333607

Genre: Fiction

Length: 278 Pages

Publisher: Rupa Publications India (20 May 2019)

My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/33ettfr

About the author:

Ayaz Kohli is presently serving as Joint Commissioner-GST, Mumbai. Having seen the rise and repercussions of militancy from very close quarters, and moved by the plight of the people of the border districts of Jammu and Kashmir, he has come up with his debut novel, Snakes in the Meadows.

Ayaz Kohli

Follow him on Instagram: @ayazkohli

Twitter Handle: @ayazkohli

REVIEW

Narration

Snakes in the Meadows is a saga of the onset of militancy, the suffering and the resilience of Pir Panjal ─ the ‘and’ of Jammu and Kashmir. The tale is narrated in third person point of view by the strong, powerful and robust voice. There are terms related to military, militancy and there are Urdu-Arabic words also. The structure and the narration of the book is very well-formed for accumulating all the different stories that revolve around Jammu and Kashmir and more importantly the lives of the residents of Pir Panjal over the span of 25 years. I don’t know the exact count but there are lots of tales of history too that author Ayaz Kohli has narrated that portrays the culture and the community values that of people living or rather surviving in the valley of Kashmir, Pir Panjal Range.

Location and Setting

Snakes in the Meadows, where the meadows are of the land of the hilly village of Pathri Aali. We will discuss snakes later in this review. Pathri Aali, being a village of Kashmir and across the PoK (Azad Kashmir), it suffers the constant threat of war and worst of terror. They’re being watched by Army Jawans and a little suspicion can turn into the death of villagers. As it may seem, making a living in Pathri Aali is difficult for the families so men migrate to Saudi Arabia for earning bread; leaving behind their children, wives, mothers and elders. That is why there are more locations like, Bombay, Saudi Arabia, Srinagar, Jammu and other nearby villages. Now, let me introduce you to the snakes, who are trying to destroy humanity in the villages like Pathri Aali. Saghir Khan, a smuggler and double agent happen to be put in house arrest at Saudi Arabia. In the name of Islam, they brainwash the youth and prepare them to fight in Jammu and Kashmir and form groups of militants.

Theme

Snakes in the Meadows is indeed a work of fiction but is also inspired by real incidents that the author Ayaz Kohli has written with care and intertwining it with beloved characters. The book follows many characters but Haji Mir Baksh’s family is one important family in the story which consists of a brave hero Aslam. Another main character is his love interest Ashwar. But as destiny would have it, they don’t get to choose their lives living in that land of heaven. I loved the character of Lal Jaan, an old lady who is fierce and fearless and stands for the villagers. The author also has portrayed negative characters like Saghir Khan and Major Dharam Pal Singh who are barbaric and merciless. The book shows the real image behind the curtains of heavenly land. Where those civilians suffer living the life of subjugation, misery, sorrow, horror, intimidation, unimaginable humiliation and organized annihilation. While the army isn’t of any help either because they should not trust anyone. So, they have to save themselves. The book also states the daily struggles of living in those hilly villages, the culture and how women have to make brave decisions for their families, for shielding them and for the generations to come.

Plot

The plot is the journey from simple villager’s life to the life of surviving torments. Life is not guaranteed for those who brave the situation. The civilians of the Pathri Aali need to stand together and strong. Militants are cruel as they are senseless, can take one’s life for no reason. Not every lionhearted have that luck for surviving. The sacrifice of such many lives makes a path to follow. With the help of such lionhearted leader and support of the army, they embark the mission for the destruction of snakes.

Don’t just live to narrate the stories of your cowardice. Someone will tell a better story of how you died, rather than you telling your children how you lived.

My Views

.I loved all the good characters as much as I hated those arrogant senseless characters, I mean ogres. All the tales that Ayaz Kohli has included, directly or indirectly affecting the plot are great and mesmerizing and some as melancholic. The struggles that each character is going through offers a lesson to remember for lifetime. You will learn ‘Freedom is priceless’.

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Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Don't forget to subscribe. Don't forget to subscribe for more content. Thank you so much for reading!

Will see you in the next post. Till then buh-bye. Take Care. Peace. ☮