happiness and food

Blogadda has been kind to me and I am loving the attention(finger’s crossed). This is the fourth book on my book review list and I could not be a happier book lover and reader. I have said this a zillion times on this blog and otherwise, yet for the fear of repetition, I have to admit that following passion is what every human being should aim at. The author of this book, Vikrant Khanna is a sailor by profession and a writer by passion. One must always listen to what the heart says.

Plot & Storyline: Three stories intertwined and packed in this novel are about two couples and a naval experience gone bad. Set up over a ship’s deck and on an island, the two men narrate their love stories to each other and how marriage changed things. Ronit, a Delhi boy is in love with Aisha, a Mumbai girl and then they get married. What follows is not what is a peaceful life. On the other hand is an old love story (more than three decades older) of Shekhar and Shikha. From being childhood sweethearts to husband and wife, their lives too take an unanticipated turn.

An important message that the book calls out is that relationships change and go through their crests and troughs. The stories are simple, will make you smile and could take you back to your own love lives. If you have been a hostler or a naval cadet, few instances in this story will make you smile and laugh too. I think the love stories could be turned into a TV soap and if Ekta Kapoor is willing to produce, it will run into more than a 1000 episodes. The story has got romance, the saas-bahu-nand angle, husbands and their habits, friends, kid who can drive you nuts and yes even some college fun – in all fun masala daily soap.

What could have been better: Throughout the novel a couple of things did not make a lot of sense to me like “throw in a couple of gifts here and there ” and wives can be kept happy, the hatred among the people who at some point in time loved each other so much but can’t stand the sight of each other any longer, females want to succeed and if a guy wants to be on top of all he that he does is a trait of femininity etc.

Shekhar and Shikha’s story becomes too ideal for the real world and Rohit and Aisha’s seems unreal to me. Even the author admits that marriage is not just between two people but two families and I would have loved to see some thoughts over this piece. The naval hijacking experience could have been elaborated more. I wanted to know more on that angle and knowing that this relates to author’s profession, my brain wanted more of that side of the world.

The end seemed a little hurried and it came too quickly that I had projected.

Tactical Details: The cover page is lovely green in color and the two gold bands indicate the genre beautifully. The writing style is simple and would appeal to the generation of today. The stories keeps going back and forth into past and the chapter titles call out the location and setting of the story which is a good thing. The font and size are also good to read.

Overall Verdict: When I applied to review this book, I was curious to find out the author’s take on the subject. I am sure he must have had his set of challenges picking up a tag line when he is himself a married guy. If you like the genre and want to grab a quick read, this should be worth a pick. It’s a fast bed time read  and will also leave you thinking if you expect too much from your relationships. I would give this book a 2.5/5.

Book Details:

Name:  Love Lasts Forever

Author: Vikrant Khanna

Genre: Fiction/Romance

Publisher: Srishti Publishers

Publication Year: 2014

Number of pages: 248

Price: 150 INR

My rating: 2.5/5

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

I am participating in National Blog Posting Month – NaBloPoMo, and this is Post #8, a pledge to write daily during November to hone my skills, challenge myself, and taking this blog to the next level. Wish me luck and share ideas that you would want to read 🙂