It took me a long time to decide whether or not to write this review. Usually, when one doesn't like a book, one just tosses it off and moves on. Life is too short for things that you don't gel with. Like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, we are better off finding our own groove and leaving behind the ones where we don't fit.
But here is the thing. With bad eyes, here one is, sitting and writing a review. Because, in this book, one kept waiting fro that one spark of brilliance. Mugalte was the story that provided it for me. Sadly, also the only one.
The thing about any piece of writing is, that while reading it, we should be able to feel the characters right there - in front of us. Their emotions become ours, their words play in our heads. This is why its so hard to let go of a good book. We live a good book while we read it.
In this case, the only voice that keeps playing in the head is that of the writer. The writer just never leaves the stories alone!
It is not the personality of the characters that shines through his words - it is the personality of the writer.
For the first time, I realised that writing a story is like a mother creating a child. When you see a child, you know that s/he comes from a parent, you can just about see the shape of the mother's jaw or perhaps her eyes. But what you see and experience is the child - an individual with its own soul, and its own personality. That is what is missing in Nikhil's writing.
So why is one taking the trouble to write a book review? Because 10 years later, I want someone to read this review and say "You were so wrong."
Nikhil has a lot of great stories inside him. His writing style is fresh and his own. The only thing I would like to see, as a reader, is the crafting of the story.
In short, I am writing this review because I believe in this writer, and some day, I want to read more by him.
