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Monday, November 2, 2015

Book Review : The Bestseller She Wrote (Ravi Subramanian)




















Vendetta. Revenge. Both are best dished out hot. But sadly, over a period of time they lose their charm. And when you realize that you have spent hard earned money to fuel someone else's vitriolic tirade, it really hurts. Nobody wants to be taken on a ride. Not even by a bestselling author. This book is just like that one night stand that leaves you feeling repentant and with nothing to latch on to.

Going through the first few chapters, I realized Subramanian has his guns trained on one of his contemporaries. Ok , I already had a whiff of the scandal from a newspaper but reading it cleared my doubts about the individual in question. After all not many folks have earned the distinction of being branded 'The Paperback King of India'. Or have two of their books turned into motion pictures. Want more hints? He and his wife worked in Hong Kong for a  few years. His first book is on the life of an engineering student ( well not exactly the first one but it is the most famous book ever written about engineering students). Hold on,. This is when it gets really brazen. How many author's have been asked to judge a dance reality show ? Still clueless ? Then read the book till the end. One of the last chapters mentions him by name !! Did the publisher actually sleep though the editing ??

Back to the plot. There is nothing really new about it. A middle aged guy falling for the charms of a sexy manipulative chick. Haven't we all read/encountered such situations in real life ? Well, this one is just given some sheen and sparkle by making the lead protagonists look movie star gorgeous and sprouting author 'gyaan' here and there. Also, the action is punctuated by some well written sex scenes. Most Indian authors suck when it comes to writing about sex but Ravi Subramanian clearly demonstrates his mojo in such scenes. The climax is reveals a twist in the tale but nothing good enough to salvage the book.

Apart from that, there is not much in the book that I would specifically like to mention. I read it in a couple of hours as I wanted to be done with it. But I had loved the author's last publication 'God is a Gamer' and even re-read it. It was much more promising ( read the review HERE ) and thrilling.

My advice - Forget about this one . Grab a copy of 'God is a Gamer' if you have still not done it !!