Title: When
Strangers Meet..
Author: K. Hari Kumar
Publisher: Srishti
Publishers
No. of pages: 206
Price: INR 100
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About the story: This is a story of every Indian child
today, especially those who live in urban areas and have options of loads of
colleges to become an engineer or a doctor. Author has narrated one such story of
spoilt Delhi lad, Jai who lives with a dream to become an established actor in
Bollywood one day. First he fights with his girlfriend who knows that her
boyfriend is going on a wrong track. But he doesn't care for anyone at that
moment. His father tries to get him a seat in some random engineering college in
management quota.
After such a mental torture to
follow his father’s path the boy leaves home to pursue his dream. When he
reaches at the metro station he has to wait in resting room due to delayed
trains. There he meets Hussain and Iyer. Iyer is a character based on tamil
civilian. The author gave him a look and character of typical Madrasi who used to give free advises to
others. Somehow Iyer starts to narrate his own story to the boy and he finds
Iyer’s story very similar to his own disastrous life. By the time you will find
all this drama very annoying and uninteresting to read it further. Because it’s
a very simple story which you don’t want to read in form of a novel.
But going after few more pages the
author regains his pace. Now you will decide to finish the novel to discover
the end of the story. Iyer’s story ends before your expectations and the main story
again come to present. And suddenly it unfolds the suspense. It leaves you
stunned about the possibility of such an end. I really could not find the motto
of introducing Hussain’s character in the story. After too much introduction
author has used Hussain only to unfold the mystery which leaves you unsatisfied
and unanswered.
The story is not so suspenseful but it’s a simple and easy to predict story-line. Such type of end can only happen where
some of you leave your passion and dreams for a career chosen by your parents.
And if it happens in almost every family in India then readers really don’t
want to recall their not so happy life through a novel which they read for mere
entertainment.
My review: If you search my blog you will find an article on
Indian novels which cost less than hundred bucks where I had written about the
quality of content in such novels. The English used in this novel can be
reached to a level above as Indians’ level of English has attained a new height.
But after all it’s a debut novel. Two words which describes this novel: ‘good
attempt’. Every author improves himself with his every book. We know some
popular Indian names whose work has reached abroad.
The only reason for which I
recommend this book is Iyer’s tale. Author has become successful in finding
your point of interest and this tale doesn't let you leave the book in between.
If you have stuck in a traffic then go for this book, it will help to reduce
your frustration with its simplicity. Happy reading!
Rating: 2.5/5
The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve.
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