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!

Tantra - A book review

Some time ago , I received a copy of Adi's new book 'Tantra', however the rush that life is , it took a while for me to actually write a review for the same.

So on nice breezy bangalore morning, finally the review for the book, but before i begin a huge thank you to blogadda for giving all the new authors a great platform to share their work and for "bookaholics" like me a chance to read these new authors and new genre of work .

Now on to the book, i would admit superhero / fantasy thriller is not really my fav genre (i am THE queen of chick lit) and have not even read / seen any of the harry potter / twilight series till now. So this was an exciting new adventure for me. 

Most of the book revolves around the world of 'Tantra' - supernatural , a world where there are vampires  both good and real evil.Yes the author has done some good research, there are pages describing the world of tantra mantra of good power and evil power, maha ratri, Krura ratri, Moha ratri & Kala ratri (apparently the four most super powerful nights)

And in middle of all this there is a delhi aunt doing every thing to ensure our heroine marry a nice rich dilli da munda and settle down happily ever after, and our heroine even has few make out sessions with this hot dilli guy .

So its a super natural with a twist, a very 'common' girl Anu aggarwal who is supposed to be a paralegal by day is actually a vampire by night and is back in India (delhi) on a mission to kill. 

Coming to what i liked about it - the author clearly knows its subject well, the level of detail about all thing occult  dark and mysterious is commendable. There is little or no recent popular literature about Indian mythical stories, so attempting to write this genre requires some guts and author should be complimented for the same.

Also personally i liked the fact that the story is not all about super heroes , super power and fight of right vs wrong, there is a dose of 'real life' via all the non vampire character like the aunt , cousin etc.

And now onto the part which clearly needs focus - Editing, like a said earlier the book has lot of details on tantra that keeps you engrossed for a while but after a point  it gets a little much, this 330+ page book could easily would have been edited smartly to about 270 odd and probably would have tighter , more interesting plot.

And the author is clearly working on this as a series (there is a link to fan site which gives codes to unlock scene from next book in the series at the end of the story) so most of the character are left 'hanging' there is no closure on the reason why she came to delhi from Newyork, all the smaller tracks of stories that developed during this story,it would have been better if some of them were closed

My rating : 3.5 stars (extra 0.5 for constructing a credible super heroine) , definitely worth a read

Book: Tantra

Author: AdiPublisher: Apeejay StyaPages: 335Price: Rs 195

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

The Bankster - Review

Who knew retail banking could be so thrilling ?

Well, Ravi Subramanian in his latest writing "The Bankster" makes it so. Touted as 'John Grisham' of banking, Ravi does spin a intricate web of fraud and deceit with indian banking background. An IIM B alumnus, Ravi has spent around two decades in banks and it shows in the novel, he paints a realistic picture of indian baking in today's context which is extremely competitive (healthy & unhealthy) and most of the character employs both fair and unfair means to stay on top. Ravi has gone into detail of retail baking Greater Boston Global Bank (GB2) and explains the nuances of banking in detail for common reader to understand how things work in bank.

There are three subplots in the novel which happens in different part of the world, Angola, Kerala and Mumbai and  are seemingly unrelated. How these three stories starting with trading of blood diamond in Angola , a new bank account opened at  a branch of global bank in Mumbai and a nuclear power plant in Kerala  and people in it cross each other's path and are part of a bigger plot is the story. The Author has kept the suspense level high till last few pages and as a reader i was trying to guess the real culprit till very end when all gets  revealed (some might complain a little abruptly) 


The story dealing with a global bank, NGO is real and the incidents are typical of what you would read on daily basis in newspaper. Its to authors credit that he has used simple incidents to spin a story which is intriguing and engaging.

I really liked the characterization, all character appears real, their languages and mannerism, makes it easy to visualize. The plot is tight and relevant to today's world. Ravi's research and ease of writing makes it an interesting an easy read. there are certain quirks (like looking for free wi-fi in europe:)  ) and the 'hinglish' language which you and i use on daily basis helps you relate to the characters. Although some of the character could have been better developed, there are characters walking in and out of plot and are key to the storyline for  a while and then simply disappear in background.

All in all an entertaining read. If i really have to nitpick, could have edited tighter (358 pages currently)  and reduced 30-40 odd pages (in detail explanation of how ipad functions & syncs with other apple products is not really required) and some of the character could have been better developed or there was no need of introducing them but it really doesn't take anything away from the story. My recommendation do pick a copy it will keep you entertained for few hours.

Indian fiction has really come of age and it shows in this novel. The plot  is tight and dialogues and characters are very believable. This was my first novel from Ravi Subramanian, i am definitely going to read rest of his previous work and look forward to what he writes next. Overall i would rate this book 4 / 5. 

P.S. - Thank you blogadda for sending this author signed book for review, absolute pleasure being part of your book review program  :)

P.P.S. - If any movie producer or writer is reading this, please pick this book, there is a 'hero' girlfriend, drama , suspense and good dose of glamour, enough twists and thrill to make it an    interesting bollywood story :) :)

If you want to know more about the author, you can check him here

Website: http://www.ravisubramanian.in/index.asp

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Authorravisubramanian

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SubramanianRavi

The book is now available at flipkart @ 40% discount , grab a copy !

This review is a part of the "http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" Book Reviews Program "http://www.blogadda.com"BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books