Panoti in Blunderland by Pawan Jangid

 OMG..I don't know from where to start with this book..Okay let me start with quoting the blurb of this book :

"A loser larger than life.

A life full of blunders.

A dream bigger than his aukaat.

A friend faster than excuses.

And an enemy deadlier than death."

To be very honest I bought Panoti in Blunderland with the other stuffs I was ordering online in order to qualify for free delivery plus it was on sale then and also I was fascinated by the quirky name and the blurb of the book.

Paneerchand Okaatmal Tikka- I bet many Indians won't stop drooling over this delicious name. But pardon me for bursting the bubble, it isn't the name of a dish but the name of the protagonist of this book. Yes, you read it right, I repeat, PANEERCHAND OKAATMAL TIKKA a-k-a Pan-O-Ti is the espouser of the story. The storyline isn't new but the way it has been narrated is exceedingly hilarious. From the very first page(even the Preface), the author starts playing with witty sarcastic lines.

This book is a concoction of bundles of emotions. If there's anything in the world of literature to be labelled as antonym of fairy-tale, then this is it. This is the story of struggle, hard work, real friendship, attempt at true love, fall and then rise of the main character Panoti. The book promises to take you to the roller coaster ride accompanied with feelings of sadness, happiness, love and real friendship with laughter as a constant companion.

The author is brilliant at the usage of alliterations, similes and metaphors to speak the story. With the end of this book, you will eventually come to realize author's weird obsession with the letter 'P'. All the 33 chapters of the book is named with a letter 'P', his best friend's name is Parakaram and his 'girl-of-dreams' is also named Pari. (I don't know why it feels as if I have cracked some code, LOL!). I must mention it is the debut novel, and the only novel released till now(since 2016), of the author.

Verdict : The storyline is definitely not a new one but I enjoyed reading it due to author's smart and witty portrayal of the story. In the midway somewhere, the story sort of lagged and I felt dragged but, no big deal, the story catches up the pace later. Overall, it's a light hearted and a hell of an entertaining pick. Certainly a Thumbs Up from my side.

To grab your copy, Click Here.

 

It's All in the Planets by Preeti Shenoy

It's rightly said "Never judge a book by it's cover" and soon you will discover why I'm starting my blog with these lines..

To be honest I was really fascinated by the cover of this book and it's name which lured me into buying this book. If you are a non-believer of destiny, then It's All in the Planets is a book that will make you want to believe in destiny and that nothing happens without a reason. It was my first book of Shenoy and to be honest I didn't like it much. I found it to be extremely and unnecessarily elaborative. The book speaks of four characters-

1) Aniket, a 27 year old techie
2) Trisha(Trish), a supermodel and Aniket's love interest
3) Nidhi, a 34 year old woman who quits her job to pursue her passion in pottery and writing
4) Manoj, Nidhi's fiance` who earns well and is upset about Nidhi quitting her job and following her passion

The two love stories go on simultaneously. The book is written in dual perspective(Nidhi's and Aniket's) and hence initially same situation and dialogues are repeated twice which, I suppose, is redundant. 

Throughout the story Aniket remains awestruck by Trish's beauty and Nidhi seems no longer happy with her then lover and now fiance`. Nidhi and Aniket started off as complete strangers to each other on a train journey and soon become good friends. The audience is left to wonder how one thing led to another and what happened when is all a game of destiny. Darshita Sen is an extremely popular astrologer. Her role play in the story is short yet significant. Subbu, Aniket's best friend, also plays a important part in the story.

The story ubiquitously revolves around the title of the book. Every chapter of the book is a narrative  from Aniket's and Nidhi's view alternatively. And I quite liked it how each chapter started with a horoscope prediction which gave us an idea about what might happen in the chapter. Having heard and read so much about the achievements and acclamations of Shenoy, I really wanted and wished it to be a great read but to my dismay it wasn't. I really wanted to quit reading it midway but I read it until the end just for the sake of completion. Amidst all the boredom aroused by the book, there is an interesting twist in the second half of the book which leads to 'still-a-much-predictable-end'. 

Some points that Shenoy was successful in delivering through this book were :

• It breaks the stereotype of the society- women being younger to men in a relationship.
• A very warm and beautiful relationship is depicted between Nidhi and her step-mother.
• Through Nidhi,s character, Shenoy inspires us to follow our passion and not just simply earn money by draining our energy into something we don't love.
• Also the book makes us recognize the difference between a lover and a soulmate.

To conclude I would say, the book hasn't failed to struck the chords of disappointments in me. But if you are new to reading novels, then you might enjoy it as the language used is extremely beginner friendly.

To grab your copy, Click here.

And then there were None by Agatha Christie

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, aka Agatha Christie is considered to be the Queen of Mysteries in literature for all the obvious reasons.She continues to hold this title even after her death due to her phenomenal work in literature, most of which are categorised under Suspense and Mystery genre. 

And then there were None is one hell of a thriller. The whole book is based upon a nursery rhyme which is a modified version of an American's children counting rhyme. It's disturbingly funny how a plot of a book revolves around a childish rhyme which doesn't seem crazy at first but when you dive further into this mystery, a macabre series of murders is related to it. The rhyme goes like :

"Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one of them and then there were five.
Five little soldier boys going through the door;
One stubbed his toe and then there were four.
Four little soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little soldier boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun;
One got all frizzled up and then there was one.
One little soldier boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none."

 The novel carries a story of 10 people, once culprits are now turned victims, who have committed atleast one murder throughout their life, which has gone unnoticed in the eyes of the law. Eight people who are strangers to each other are lured to the soldier island(an island that claims lavishness yet it is very mysterious). Upon arrival, they are greeted by the butler and his wife(the housekeeper). The identity of the host is unknown(and hence his initials U.N Owen, pronunced together sounds like unknown). These ten characters are very distinctive in themselves yet they share the burden of committing a sin of the same category- MURDER and so are binded together by same fate yet in different ways. All the murders in the book are foreshadowed through this poem.

The most charismatic thing about this novel, according to me, is that these characters as well as the readers know very well the ways murders are to happen but nobody could tell who is the murderer until the end. The story is well-spun and gripping. The language of the book is extremely comprehensible and it promises the readers to keep them on their toes without a slightest of disappointment. No doubt this novel stands out to be an all time International Bestseller. This book was written in 1939 and it became so popular that a movie of the same name based on the book got released in 1945. Even after 70 years of the release of the movie, the audience still could not get enough of this story so in 2015, a television serial came out by the same name based upon this book. The show too was an instant hit. This is the kind of book which one shouldn't miss reading. I assure you this book will make you want more of Christie. 

Grab your copy of the book now.Click here.