Rafflesia The Banished Princess by Gautam
Apurva Sharma, Appu is a introvert, shy man who has very few close friends and is battling with the demons of his past and his bad luck that seems to be following him wherever he goes. We first meet him at Leeuwarden, The Netherlands where he is working on a project for his company. The story moves between present day and his growing up days simultaneously. We get to see a young Appu who is drawn by nature, flowers and animals. He is full of innocence and one of his first best friends is Pinki who is very protective of him even at the age of five. We are told later that their friendship is over after Pinki's father moves away somewhere else.
As he grows up, he meets Rahul, his father's best friend's son and they form a deep bond like brothers which stays with them all through life's troubles. Appu also forges deep bond with a few colleagues. He is closest to Misha, his office colleague and Sujata, wife of his friend and colleague, Jeet. Appu is a very sensitive boy right from the time he was young and his struggles with poverty and bad luck make him extremely introvert.
Another character is Rahul, Appu's best friend. He is an exuberant person who faces the harsh truth of life young when his mother commits suicide and a few years later his father remarries. Rahul and Appu have a bond that bring tears in the eyes of everyone around them. Rest of the story is about Appu, his struggles in life from an early age due to his family's financial condition, finding a good job, getting married and then another shock for him. We also get a glimpse of the happiness life can have for him but can he step ahead and embrace it?
The characters are good, well presented but the story takes time to pick up and loses momentum a few times. You feel somewhat lost at times but the author makes a good comeback in the later part of the story. Although one can say that all bad things seem to happen to Appu but his resilience is remarkable. The only question that remains is that why wouldn't Appu confide any of his feelings in his best friend? That part is a little inexplicable because he himself is hurt when Rahul didn't confide in him about his therapy for depression.
The biggest problem with the book is its editing. There are many mistakes, grammatical and printing. If that were corrected, this could have been a better novel. The author, Gautam has written a good story which is worth a read. He is not trying to paint a rosy picture of poverty or the hardships of his characters' life and that really works in favour of the book. There are some great moments and the open ending is also something different and good.
P.S. I received a copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Apurva Sharma, Appu is a introvert, shy man who has very few close friends and is battling with the demons of his past and his bad luck that seems to be following him wherever he goes. We first meet him at Leeuwarden, The Netherlands where he is working on a project for his company. The story moves between present day and his growing up days simultaneously. We get to see a young Appu who is drawn by nature, flowers and animals. He is full of innocence and one of his first best friends is Pinki who is very protective of him even at the age of five. We are told later that their friendship is over after Pinki's father moves away somewhere else.
As he grows up, he meets Rahul, his father's best friend's son and they form a deep bond like brothers which stays with them all through life's troubles. Appu also forges deep bond with a few colleagues. He is closest to Misha, his office colleague and Sujata, wife of his friend and colleague, Jeet. Appu is a very sensitive boy right from the time he was young and his struggles with poverty and bad luck make him extremely introvert.
Another character is Rahul, Appu's best friend. He is an exuberant person who faces the harsh truth of life young when his mother commits suicide and a few years later his father remarries. Rahul and Appu have a bond that bring tears in the eyes of everyone around them. Rest of the story is about Appu, his struggles in life from an early age due to his family's financial condition, finding a good job, getting married and then another shock for him. We also get a glimpse of the happiness life can have for him but can he step ahead and embrace it?
The characters are good, well presented but the story takes time to pick up and loses momentum a few times. You feel somewhat lost at times but the author makes a good comeback in the later part of the story. Although one can say that all bad things seem to happen to Appu but his resilience is remarkable. The only question that remains is that why wouldn't Appu confide any of his feelings in his best friend? That part is a little inexplicable because he himself is hurt when Rahul didn't confide in him about his therapy for depression.
The biggest problem with the book is its editing. There are many mistakes, grammatical and printing. If that were corrected, this could have been a better novel. The author, Gautam has written a good story which is worth a read. He is not trying to paint a rosy picture of poverty or the hardships of his characters' life and that really works in favour of the book. There are some great moments and the open ending is also something different and good.
P.S. I received a copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
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