happiness and food

Obrokranti Banerjee’s girlfriend is nothing that you can imagine. She will keep an eye over him, call him 50 times a day and leave hundreds of missed calls and text messages if he is in a meeting and had informed her about it. She won’t give him his due space at any cost and then make it sound as if everything was Obro’s fault. Sounds exaggeration? Well, it is not. Radha is Obro’s girlfriend and other than the name she has, there is nothing divine about her. Trust me on that!

Positives: While many authors are picking up the clichéd love story time and again, My Clingy Girlfriend is not yet another run-of-the-mill kind of love story. It’s very different and brings out the need for space in a relationship. Through the life of the protagonist Obro, the anecdotes and the situations will help you reflect on this one basic need in any relationship. At least for me, I wasn’t as amused but indeed intrigued by the author’s ability to share the true meaning of a love relationship between a guy and a girl and when to draw the line. Madhuri Banerjee has undertaken a unique way to send the message to readers about relationships that become suffocating without those involved even realizing when that happens.

My Clingy Girlfriend is well narrated and weaved from Obro’s point of view. As you read the book, you will like Obro and what he wants in life is like any other normal office going, hard-working 20 something guy. The conversations, the tete-a-tetes and the office situations are well represented and Mumbai is of course the city of dreams.

What could have been better: Personally, I was disappointed in the stereotypes regarding men and women. Radha’s character was made to be so that the reader eventually hates her and I felt that from page one when she sends across 75 missed calls to Obro. While Obro’s characterization was so well done talking about his background, family, habits and choices, I felt the deal could have been fairer for Radha.

The Bengalis and Punjabis were spoken of openly and yes, many assumptions are true but could be not as well. Those were the instances that I found funny and were a great read. The story in itself shouted out loud from the title that Radha was going to be the Clingy Girlfriend, but I would have loved some balance. At a couple of times, it went too much to handle.

Talking of women’s right to equality and the need for respect, this book did not specifically steal the show for me. Not cos of the story line or expression but the poor light in which this one woman is shown and how openly stereotypes for women are spoken of.

Tactical Details: Cover page, language, font size and quality of the book – thumbs up!

Overall Verdict: For those looking for fun quotient and women bashing, this book is for you. It’s a quick read and of course, one to finish in one shot. For someone like me who was expecting a lot more from Madhuri Banerjee, I would go with a 3/5.

Book Details:  

Name:  My Clingy Girlfriend

Author: Madhuri Banerjee

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Westland

Publication Year: 2015

Number of pages: 249

Price: 295 INR

My rating: 3/5

Thank you Writer’s Melon for sending the book across!