Book Review: The Best Seller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian

‘A best seller he attempted to write’

 

Let me start by stating the obvious – the story about a successful middle aged man falling for a younger beautiful woman ( and no I am not giving the plot away , its stated on the cover) is quiet a cliché .  

Ravi Subramanian in his 8^th offering brings  in an almost semi-autobiographical (!) ‘romantic thriller’  for  indian fiction readers . Having read and reviewed his earlier novel, I was really excited to read this book , however I am left with very mixed emotions at the end of it . ‘The best seller she wrote’ falls short from earlier works by the author.this is a slightly different genere attempted by author and at best seems like half hearted, nothing in line with his previous work. Having said that cant really say this is a total washout, there are some redeeming points as well/

So what works for this novel  ?

The characterization is real , we all know these Aditya , Maya , Sherya ,  and Sanjay in real lives . All of us have come across such characters in real life , a highly successful, the devoted wife , the ambitious next gen and a best friend. Characters are clearly sketched and helps you visualize the narration very well.

 

The world of contemporary Indian literature, where every book is a ‘product’ that needs to be marketed. From the right celebrity endorsement to encouragement on social media, this book gives you a good insight into how a book is really ‘made’.

There are references to real places , persons and events , helps create a mood for the book.

The ‘twist’ in the story is unexpected and manages to retain reader’s interest in the book

What doesn’t really work?  

The story drags around middle , about 20 odd pages are quiet predictable and adds absolutely nothing to the plot

There are some no so subtle  pot shots on  his contemporary Indian writers  – dance reality show judge,   !!

The sex scenes in authors own language is quiet ‘thanda’

The banking background , we all know the writer background in banking and he has leveraged his knowledge beautifully in previous novels, however for this book it seemed forced . The drama around layoffs due to financial pressure occupies much of novel space but doesn’t really serve any purpose. The characters and the plot could have  in any setting and it would have worked.

The ending , too Bollywoodish for my liking, everything works out nicely , Adiyta manages to rise above everything because the other party was scheming and plotting against him.  Given the book is going to be made into a movie I am not really surprised at the happy ending , but not the way it’s been portrayed .

All in all, it’s a good one time read but given the past record you would expect a little more from Mr. Subramanian . The question now really is who would be playing the protagonist in Bollywood version J

I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!