From Where I See - Book Review

Title: From Where I see 

Author: Dr. Ajay Yadav

Publisher: Li-fi Publications Pvt. Ltd.

ISBN: 978-93-82536-81-9

Number of Pages: 401

Price: 300 [INR]

Genre: Fiction/Religious

The Blurb:

Ajay meets his childhood friend Shruti on a social networking site. He finds her struggling with intrapersonal, interpersonal, inter-social and inter-religious conflicts. Eventually the conflicts killed her. Police could solve the case but will it prevent hundreds of Shrutis from getting killed? How long will we aim 'who' killed, more important is to find out 'what' killed. Till we don't address this issue many Shrutis will keep on getting killed. We need to cure the disease not only the symptoms.

This book is an effort of the author to find the root cause and probable remedies of these conflicts, exploration of hundreds if pertinent questions like "why in one religion it becomes so easy to get volunteers to blow themselves up and others for the sake of religion? Does the religion divide or unite? Have the immature and wrong interpretations of female emancipation led to 13 times rise in divorce rates in last 5 years?"

It's not only a book; it's the path to a revolution, it's a journey towards a Utopian world. If you are open minded, have courage to accept the truth and have a desire to change the world; then be a part of the change. Let's take our first step to build a road to this Utopian dreams.

My Review:

       When I read the blurb, I couldn't help but sign up for reviewing this book despite of the busy schedule. And to some extent, I am happy that I did. Without wasting much time, I will get to the review.

The Plot:

       The story starts with police interrogating Ajay regarding the death of his friend Shruti. The interrogation is of typical Bollywood style and the behavior of the police is a little irritating. From the interrogation, you get a slight idea about what has happened. As the chapter ends, the flash back starts. Ajay and Shruti were childhood best friends but lost contact later. Years later when they meet on the social networking site, Ajay finds out that Shruti has married Aslam and has changed her name to Nagma. She is struggling with social and religious conflicts. And one day, all of a sudden, Ajay receives a call from Aslam, telling him to Shruti has committed suicide. A shocked Ajay couldn't figure out if it was indeed suicide or did something else kill her. The story progresses illustrating a lot of things - romance, thrill, religious conflicts, trauma, philosophy and much more.

Things that worked:

       The story line was new and different. The facts put across make us ponder. The characters are plotted well. Some of the scenes were interesting and drew me right in.

Things that didn't work:

       The narration! A lot needs to be improved. A good story line was let down by the not so good narration. If the narration was good and few more rounds of editing was done, then this book would have definitely managed to keep the readers hooked. Nonetheless, I appreciate the effort taken to write on a new topic.

Favorite lines:

       When we want to be the first at every place in life, even on a traffic signal, then why last at honesty?

      If any social or religious dogma harms any human mentally, physically, emotionally and financially then it is the matter of shame not pride.

My Verdict:

       The blurb attracts the readers but the narration fails to do justice to it. Could have been a promising read!

My Rating: 3 / 5 Stars

PS: This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love, 

Swathi :)