Like Being Alive Twice by Dharini Bhaskar | Book Review by Dhiraj Sindhi

 

Like Being Alive Twice by Dharini Bhaskar

Book Review by Dhiraj Sindhi

Like Being Alive Twice by Dharini Bhaskar

Authors: Dharini Bhaskar

ISBN: 978-0143466765

Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Length: 330 Pages

Publication Date: 29^th March 2024

Publisher: Penguin Viking

Cover Designer: Ahlawat Gunjan | Instagram: @ahlawat.gunjan

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/3ACB5NY

About the Author: Born in Bombay, Dharini has at various points also called the UK, Greece, Delhi and Bangalore home.

Her debut novel These, Our Bodies Possessed by Light (Hachette India) was shortlisted for the 2020 JCB Prize for Literature, Tata Literature Live! (First Book: Fiction), and the Valley of Words book awards. She has been published in the anthology Day’s End Stories; is a columnist for The Free Press Journal; and has contributed to Hindu BLink, Arre, Firstpost, Mint Lounge, Vogue, among other publications.

Dharini has spent over a decade in publishing, including as editorial director of Simon and Schuster India. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, painting, backpacking, and taking long bike rides with her little boy.

Dharini Bhaskar

Instagram: @dharinibhaskar

Disclaimer: This review is only intended to initiate discussions. The opinions and views presented in this article are my own and do not reflect anything about the book's author. 

REVIEW

In Dharini Bhaskar's mesmerizing novel Like Being Alive Twice, the narrative unfolds with the delicate intricacy of a spider's web, catching the reader in its threads of parallel realities and choices made or missed. The story is anchored by Poppy (Priyamvada), a woman poised on the cusp of two divergent paths, each represented by a door—one yellow, one blue. Bhaskar's deft hand guides us through 15 chapters that alternately explore seven years as they were and as they could have been, leading us to a hauntingly inevitable conclusion: all doors, no matter how different, ultimately lead to the same place.

In the world of the yellow door, Poppy chooses Yuvi, a decision driven not by love but by a pragmatic retreat from the intensifying political climate. In contrast, the blue door offers her a life with Tariq, the man she truly loves, where they live the harsh realities of the insidious nature of authoritarian regimes that tally human worth with a chilling points system. Bhaskar's portrayal of this dystopian landscape is disturbingly familiar and eerily plausible, with its gated communities, strict social hierarchy, surveillance, smog-choked Bastis, and the looming threat of losing everything for stepping outside prescribed societal norms.

What sets Like Being Alive Twice apart is its exploration of alternate realities and the emotional undercurrents that run through both narratives. Bhaskar's masterful storytelling weaves together these parallel worlds, revealing the subtle connections and surprising coincidences that bind them, compelling the reader to flip back and forth, piecing together the connections between art, politics, and the personal lives of her characters. The narrative is richly textured with the recurring motifs; touchstones—books, paintings, anklet, sculpture, movies, and songs—serve as anchors, grounding the characters in their respective realities while highlighting the stark contrasts between them.

The novel's exploration of politics is unflinching, and the individual's relationship to power is particularly poignant. The supreme leader's rule, with its draconian points system, is a thinly veiled critique of majoritarianism, authoritarianism, and societal pressures, where freedoms are increasingly curtailed, and individual worth is quantified. Each tally determines the citizens' place in one of the gated enclaves—Palash, Kadamba, Champa—and their rank in a rigid hierarchy. Points are meticulously tracked: marry outside your religion, delay marriage, or fail to conceive within five years, and your score drops, risking exile from your Bagh. Even the points of parents dictate their children's futures, with any misstep—a forbidden affair, for instance—leading to a public inquiry and potential banishment. The unlucky subjects are relegated to the Bastis or, worse, the Door Mohalla. The Baghs, with their floral names, mask the thorny reality of life under constant scrutiny, where love, freedom, and ethics are commodities traded for a higher score.

It highlights the importance of individual agency and the power of love that transcends adversity. Yet, Bhaskar never allows the political to overshadow the personal. Poppy's relationship with her mother, for instance, remains a constant in both worlds, offering a moving exploration of how love and resentment can coexist, shaped but never fully determined by external circumstances.

Bhaskar's narrative technique is striking in its use of parallel events to underscore the differences and similarities between the two worlds. These moments of interconnectedness are not just clever literary devices but profound meditations on the nature of choice and fate.

Bhaskar brings both worlds crashing together in a heartbreaking conclusion. The novel's ending, where all paths converge in tragedy, is both devastating and cathartic; it's a sobering reminder of the inescapable consequences of living in a world divided by faith, power, and fear. It is a potent exploration of how, despite our choices, we are ultimately shaped by forces beyond our control.

Like Being Alive Twice is a triumph of narrative craft, a novel that demands to be read and reread, each time revealing new layers of meaning. Bhaskar's prose is lyrical yet precise, her characters vividly drawn, and her narrative structure innovative without being gimmicky. She has given us a story that is as much about the worlds we inhabit as it is about the ones we imagine—a reminder that, no matter which doors we choose, we are always, in some way, the same.

"You can tug at a story this way or that. Close one door and walk through another. And here's where you'll find yourself."

Happy Reading!

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In ITCOS, Awais Sophisticatedly Paints Secretly Flourishing Affair amidst Terrorism

    

"In ITCOS, Awais Sophisticatedly Paints an Awkwardly Blooming Love Life of a Woman Caught amidst the Irony of the Elites, Collapsing Marriage and Terrorism"

Book Review by Dhiraj Sindhi

In the Company of Strangers by Awais Khan

In the Company of Strangers by Awais Khan

Author: Awais Khan

ISBN: 978-9386797759

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Length: 271 Pages

Publication Date: 10^th December 2019

Publisher: Simon & Schuster India

Cover Designer: Mridu Agarwal | Instagram: @storypals

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/3Gypy2V

About the author:

Awais Khan was born in Lahore, Pakistan. 'In the Company of Strangers' is his first novel published by Simon & Schuster, Hera Books and Isis Audio. His second novel 'No Honour' is published by Orenda Books and Isis Audio. He is a graduate of The University of Western Ontario and Durham University. He studied Creative Writing at Faber Academy. His work has appeared in numerous publications and he was longlisted for the Short Story Dagger in 2022. He has appeared for Interviews on BBC World Service, Dubai Eye, Voice of America, Cambridge Radio, Samaa TV, City42, Maverix Media and PTV Home to name a few. He has been on the judging panels for Gwyl Crime Cymru Prize and the Cheshire Novel Prize. He is represented by Annette Crossland (A for Authors Agency Ltd, London).

In his free time, he likes to read all types of fiction, especially historical fiction and crime/psychological thrillers. He is hard at work on his forthcoming novels.

Awais Khan

Instagram: @awaiskhanauthor

Twitter: @AwaisKhanAuthor

Website: www.awaiskhanauthor.com

The Writing Institute: thewritinginstitute.online

SYNOPSIS:

The emotionally gripping story of love and loss in Pakistan. In the glittering world of Pakistan's elite, all is not what it seems… Mona has almost everything: money, friends, social status... Everything except for freedom. Languishing in her Golden cage, she craves a sense of belonging… desperate for emotional release, she turns to a friend who introduces her to a world of glitter, glamour, covert affairs and drugs. There she meets Ali, a physically and emotionally wounded man, years younger than her. Heady with love, she begins a delicate game of deceit that spirals out of control and threatens to shatter the deceptive facade of conservatism erected by Lahori society, and potentially destroy everything that Mona has ever held dear.

Disclaimer: This is not a review, it is only intended for initiating discussions. The opinions and views presented in this article are my own and do not reflect anything about the book's author. 

REVIEW

In the Company of Strangers by Awais Khan is an unputdownable contemporary fiction novel set in Lahore that is witnessing frequent terrorist attacks; told from the perspectives of an overnight sensation in the modelling world—Ali and a woman from Lahore’s elite class—Mona. Ali’s life is shaken to its roots when he finds out that his brother is one of the victims and survivors of the latest terrorist attack in the city. On the other hand, Mona’s college best friend Meera’s glamourous comeback to Lahore’s elite group proves to be a catalyst for her life bound with the shackles of her doomed marriage. The novel has you hooked from its very first page as it elegantly explores the lives of its characters, divulging their struggles and secrets, one at a time.

The novel goes on to talk about some serious issues at length as Mona and Ali come closer and subplots overlap to create a complex web of sharp contrasts threaded with irony. The irony is like the main character in the novel, a literary device that could be discussed extensively in a research paper. The novel sheds light on the position of women in society and also raises voice against the oppression and humiliation they face through Mona’s mother-in-law—Nighat’s epic monologue, which goes like, “They’d wipe that bright red lipstick from your lips, probably slice your lips off in the process. Then they’d shroud you in a burqa and so many layers of clothing that you’d be unrecognisable…that’s the way they like their women.” Grab your copy to read the full monologue, it’s one of my favourite parts.

Another thing that I adore about this book is the ending. Despite so many layers of internal and external conflicts that plunge this book so deep and far, Awais Khan has aced the denouement game and overall wrapping up of the novel with a mind-blowing climax. On the whole, ITCOS is an extremely easy-to-read book that also carries the sheer intensity of terror production and women’s oppression.

Highly recommended!

Happy Reading!

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Dhiraj's 2022 book montage

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It Must Have Been Love by Jigar Prajapati | Book Review

 

It Must Have Been Love by Jigar Prajapati

Book Review by Dhiraj Sindhi

It Must Have Been Love by Jigar Prajapati

Author: Jigar Prajapati

ISBN: 978-9390441068

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: 168 Pages

Publication Date: 8th December 2020

Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/3y8WHM0

About the author:

Jigar Prajapati holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. Having finished his schooling in regional language, writing a book in English seemed like a distant dream. But writing became his passion during his post-graduation in Construction Management. Now, along with being a well-known builder in Ahmedabad, he is also writing to his heart’s content.

Jigar Prajapati

Instagram: @jigar_author

Facebook: @JigarMPrajapati

REVIEW

It Must Have Been Love, as the title and cover suggest, is a contemporary romance book written with the plainest of words that stirs up a storm of thoughts, questions, opinions, and judgments regarding the characters’ actions; whether they are right or wrong, appropriate or inappropriate, good or bad. While some dramatic fragments seem to be inspired by Bollywood and daily soap operas, other segments are creative, fun, and cleverly plotted that keep you rooted in the story being told. 

The book starts with chapter zero called ‘The Beginning’ where Jigar has used author surrogate to narrate the chapter with humour. However, that doesn’t last long as he finds one of the lead characters Maan crying at the airport. The rest of the chapters are narrated by Maan, telling his story until the last chapter, which is again narrated by the author surrogate.

Maan’s story starts with his first day at college followed by the making of friends and their hostel adventures. Here, he becomes best friends with Naaz, who is a brilliant character. While they are still not sure about their feelings for each other, Maan decides to marry the girl he met in the process of matchmaking upon his parents’ insistence. This results in subsequent imprudent choices that they both are going to regret later. Maan and Naaz are pretty decent characters but confused AF nonetheless. This makes them classically tragic hero and heroine. 

What I liked:

My most favourite part of this book is the ending that starts shortly before the author surrogate takes over the narration once again. The end makes it up for the mess that has been created by these two. Again, Jigar and his wife, Mona steal the show with their humour-filled venture. 

Secondly, I liked many scenes that could be viewed independently of the storyline, character arcs, etc. These are mostly witty situations sprinkled throughout the book. For instance, Hostel Diaries, College Fun Moments, Attending Marriage and Other Functions, Friendship Goals, etc.

Lastly, I admire the fact that this book is balanced in every way. For instance, I think there is the presence of karma, which serves the characters well. There is also a balance of misery and pleasure, love and deceit, f-ups created by Maan and Naaz, etc. 

What I disliked: 

The book is written in plain language that obviously goes to follow ‘tell, don’t show’, which is quite understandable, although it leaves the onus on readers to wholly interpret and comprehend the storyline, scenes, character arcs, and most importantly, relationship dynamics with the text constrained by limited creativity and exposition.

Another thing that I didn’t like about this book is that I found Maan to be an unreliable narrator. 

Lastly, the typical dramatic stuff, particularly, the ones that went to an extent to make you believe that it’s not the choices of a person but the destiny that is to be blamed.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review: The Part I Left with You by Rahul Saini | Contemporary Fiction

    

Book Review

The Part I Left with You by Rahul Saini

The Part I Left with You by Rahul Saini

Author: Rahul Saini

ISBN: 978-9353451585

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Length: 236 Pages

Publication Date: 30^th March 2021

Publisher: Juggernaut Books (Sales and Distribution - HarperCollins India)

Cover Design: Amit Malhotra 

Cover Designer: Website: https://www.amit-malhotra.com/ | Instagram: @gul_e_abbasis

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/3yhCQug

About the author:

Rahul Saini has a master’s degree in English literature. He is the bestselling author of many novels, including Those Small Lil Things: In Life and Love and Paperback Dreams.

Rahul Saini

Instagram: @writingrahul

Facebook: @rahul.saini.1213

Twitter: @writingrahul

YouTube: Writing Rahul

REVIEW

“Love feels like a great misfortune, a monstrous parasite, a permanent state of emergency that ruins all small pleasures.” – Slavoj Žižek

The Part I Left with You by Rahul Saini is a light-hearted, chucklesome and unputdownable contemporary fiction novel that dives deep into the waters of love; while exploring varied opinions on and experiences of love, relationships, break-ups and moving on, it strives to close in on the realities of this ‘ugly and cruel world’. The book narrates the stories of three main characters – one mostly witty, another melancholic, esoteric and the third who is turning over the page she was stuck on for long in order to start afresh.

The narration of this book involves all these three characters’ POVs. It is a fine and balanced mixture of different kind of narrative techniques, including first-person, third-person (limited omniscient) and epistolary style, which in my opinion, completes any piece of literary work because using these literary devices in the non-linear narrative writing keep us readers hooked and emphasizes on little themes of the story and it is what makes a truly gripping novel such as this. Rahul Saini has handily achieved this. On top of everything, the cozy contemporary writing style worked like a charm on me.

“Artists’ lives are just endless struggles and that struggle ends only with their last breaths.” – Rahul Saini

Talking about the content, each of the 34 chapters seemed to me like a separate short story discussing a distinct subject, idea or viewpoints, or narrating a subplot, backstory or (my favorites from this book) completely different short tales – story within a story – fascinating and magnificent. What I mean to say is that these chapters have something very unique to offer from craziness to drama to dreams to arguments to philosophy to romance to thrill to sorrow…you name it. These all short stories are linked together by these three characters and what they are seeking out.

Having said that, let me briefly introduce you to the characters. Ratna is in love with her favorite author, Ronit Sukhdev. The book opens with this amazing poem titled ‘Not Gibran, On Love’ written by Ratna (honestly, I recorded this poem several times day after day, but like most of you, I hated my recordings, so it only made to one of my best friends), for she is a literature and journalism student and for this fact and a little lie, she gets an opportunity to stay with the love of her life for a few days. While ecstatic Ratna wants Ronit to be a little cheerful if not as much as her, Ronit‘s life has come to a standstill as he hasn’t yet gotten over his break-up with Nitasha. He has completely isolated himself from the world and does not wish to publish his work anymore. It has been a year since the break-up and Nitasha is finally coming to terms with her choice of letting go of her relationship with Ronit and she’s carving the way out with newfound hope.

“To learn an art is an act of meditation. You can’t keep jumping around, running all the time, trying a hundred things, understanding nothing and pretend that you are learning everything.” – Rahul Saini

The best thing about this book is that it has books everywhere. In every alternate chapter, you can find book titles, quotes, bookstores or other bookish stuff. The author has expounded a lot of powerful arguments, opinions and statements on love, life and the world that are worth knowing by heart. I would like to quote a few such lines here. However, it doesn’t make the book downright ‘serious’. Nope. Rahul Saini has totally wrung out the essence of comfort and amiability from the writing style. Ratna’s character is a witty character, for she can turn anything into humour, be it because of her lack of wisdom or her childlike behavior. She’s a humorous character indeed, but not a caricature at all! I loved everything she did and how she behaved around her crush, for whatever reason, because I can’t imagine staying with my crush and not messing up. She made me laugh and some lines made me emotional too.

The primary theme of the book is what the title suggests. While it’s not appropriate to reduce any work to a sentence, it represents an idea that ‘when two people spend a lot of time together, they lose themselves and gain each other’. This is what is happening in the book. Now, I won’t go in-depth regarding this. There are plenty of other subjects discussed and tackled in those individual short stories I talked about, forming minor themes and elements that hold the potential to make a real difference. There are also things that you would want to ignore, which are just characters being themselves.

“If creative people were happy with the world around them, they would never feel the urge to create anything new.” – Rahul Saini

Anyway, my favorite take-away from this book are those unforgettable, significant stories/chapters that provide you the food for thought. Some of these are – one on Slavoj Žižek (yeah, I copy-pasted that), another on the mirror phase, and the third titled, ‘The Shark in the Pool’. Apart from that, I liked Ratna’s relationship with her father and the depiction of how differently books are important to the lives of authors and readers. Not eulogizing, but I can’t express my admiration enough for the illustrious writing style that really got me high; I relished it, of course except for a few parts.

Lastly, ‘The Part I Left with You’ is a charming, cozy contemporary book and an absolute page-turner that you would want to read around this time to feel lighter; it has way more tales and joy in store for you than what its synopsis promises. 

“When two people spend a lot of time together, they lose themselves and gain each other.” – Rahul Saini

Happy Reading!

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Disclaimer: This review is only intended for initiating discussions. The opinions and views presented in this article are my own and do not reflect anything about the book's author.

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. ☮

Bittersweet : A Debut Novel by Rajesh Konsam | Book Review

Book Review

Bittersweet: A Debut Novel by Rajesh Konsam

Bittersweet by Rajesh Konsam

Author: Rajesh Konsam

ISBN: 978-9388424622

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Length: 200 Pages

Publisher: VishwakarmaPublications (19 August 2019)

My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/30GvVce

About the author: 

Rajesh Konsam is a young software engineer and writer. A geek at heart, he loves programming and feel-good novels in equal measure. When not writing poems, he ticks travel destinations off his bucket list. Although Rajesh hails from Manipur, he works in Chennai after completing his B.E. in Coimbatore.

Rajesh Konsam

Bittersweet is Rajesh’s debut novel, and he is working on his next. Rajesh tweets as @RajeshKonsam, runs a feed on Instagram as @rajeshkonsam, and responds well to feedback at rajeshkonsam@live.com. More at rajeshkonsam.com

Follow him on Instagram: @rajeshkonsam

Twitter Handle: @RajeshKonsam
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRajeshKonsam/

REVIEW

Narration

Bittersweet is a piece of art, an art of storytelling through stirring thoughts, authentic dialogues, songs and a creative plot. Apart from that, Bittersweet is a work of contemporary fiction following the protagonist Roshan, who is an artiste with excellent songwriting skills and limited vocal talent. Bittersweet is narrated in first-person point of view and is narrated by Roshan only. The book is divided into two parts preceded by epigraphs. The writing style is really dope and complements the genre and overall theme. The opening passage is awe-inspiring which makes you dive right into an artiste’s bittersweet life.

Location and Setting

Bittersweet sets in Mumbai, that means opportunities. As for any artist, it is not logical to holdback ideas and staying in comfort zone, author Rajesh Konsam has taken a risk, developing a different theme, setting which promotes English song composition in the country of Bollywood. But that is not the issue here because we all love listening to them and for your better experience there are songs written by Roshan tainted with sorrow, heartbreak, and some nourished by joy warmth and love. Each song holds a different story and meaning, understanding which would take some time and I tried citing them rhythmically until I got its meaning otherwise it made no sense to me.

Theme

The novel introduces you to such many characters who are striving for their choice of career. A vocalist, a painter, an actress, a composer and a songwriter. These artists are looking for opportunities to showcase their talent and hope to succeed. Any type of art needs a source of strength and confidence which come from love, appreciation, & acceptance and if these sources are crashed it gets just gloomy, it may still be considered as a craft but there remains no space for improvement thus these sources need to get refilled time and again. This happens to the protagonist, he is still bound in chains of heartbreak & anger from past five years and is not able to forgive or forget. And before he can do any of that, his love of life returns and that’s where story starts. Author Rajesh Konsam has titled each chapter very correctly for example this first one ‘Beautiful Disaster’.

Order your copy now!

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/30GvVce

Plot

Roshan thinks he is the odd one out in every aspect of life and why not? You’ll discover that in this novel. Besides he’s got this very cool family (Mom and Dad), a boss like a sister (Sheryl) and a best friend Sunny. Ragini (ex-girlfriend) is the reason for his devastating condition. And then comes this girl (Shanaya) into his life who unlike Ragini respects and appreciates his art and brings sunshine to Roshan’s life. Roshan also reunites with his old friend Alston and they get along really well despite their past disputes. The first half depicts how Shanaya helps Roshan emerging from the dark and cold phase. The second part was totally unexpected, where you ride the roller coaster and you don’t know where you will end up. There are all sorts of twists and turns which I would crave for in any contemporary fiction, it just created a magical reading experience. And finally, the story ends on good terms.

"You can't just get a free ticket to stardom. You have to earn it the hard way, sweat it out every single day, fall time and again, stand on your feet. dust the dirt off and keep moving until you succeed. You need to keep surviving, remind yourself every day that clinging on to hope is the only strategy because hope is all you have when everything else is lost."

My Views

Let’s start from the beginning, as I mentioned above, an impressive opening is all you need to dive right into a book. It didn’t consume any time to get along with the narrative, also it is straight forward. Author Rajesh Konsam has made Bittersweet very relatable. Characters are really strong and dialogues on top of that help connecting us to them at such level that it brings you the same pain as them. I felt every bit of it. At first, I thought of it as an average read but the second part gave characters and the book itself a new life. There is not just the struggle one make as an artiste, they take almost life-changing decisions. And that’s what you learn from this book and for me, there is nothing of more value than these lessons. Roshan didn’t give up and Shanaya proved to be the best thing happened to his life. Not to forget, the music aspect of the book, it is the heart of Bittersweet. There are musical references from across the globe. There are experiences all related to music, there are failures, and there is romance! Character arcs of Roshan and Shanaya are way transformative, they grow together throughout the novel.

Closure! I loved how the book is filled with life and reality, especially the second part. Shanaya and Sheryl are my favorites from Bittersweet. The way they turn darkness into light every time they appear! The novel is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness of the same amount, no more no less!

Stay Tuned!! We'll be back with an Author Interview very soon!

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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. ☮