Book - A Knotty Affair - A Story of Unexpected Twists in Life

#AKnottyAffair  #BookReview

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Title: A Knotty Affair

Author: Dhaval Birajdar

Publisher: Leadstart Publishers

Pages: 288

Price: Rs. 165

My Rating: 3.5/5

Blurb:

A Knotty Affair’ is a story about a thirty-year-old software engineer, Viraj Sargaokar. 

Born into a middle class family that lives in the suburbs, he joins a south Bombay college, where he encounters a culture divide between him and his rich classmates, who ridicule him in various ways, making his college life a hell. 

With a father that is a disciplinarian and a professor in the same college, Viraj’s only consolation is his mother. His mother thinks the world of her son and stands by him through all his struggles. 

Viraj is fascinated by a classmate Ruhi, a beautiful good-natured girl, who be-friends him and treats him well, unlike the rest of his classmates. 

Life changes drastically for Viraj, when his honest professor father is accused of bribery and arrested. 

Will Viraj be able to prove his father’s innocence? 

Will Viraj survive the rigours of college life and overcome his shortcomings?

Review:

A Knotty Affair - as the name suggests (or one might assume) is not about an affair between a boy and a girl. Instead it is talking about the affairs in ones life and how it shapes the future. The cover art is also very different - I would love to understand the significance from the author.

Talking about story, it revolves around Viraj, who has been struggling his whole life due to stammering issues. The whole story is about how he copes up with various situations in his life and how the relationships in his life shape him into the person he eventually becomes.

The book is divided into various sections of his life. Author has called them 'defense' not sure why but they are well split. Honestly the blurb doesn't do justice to the story line, his college life is only a small part of the story, rest all revolves around his later years. Which are rather interesting. I liked his involvement with Ruhi and how unexpected twists in life gives him what he desires most.

The characters in the book are partially well narrated. The character of Viraj is very well developed however for others it could be better. Especially for Ruhi, she is the second most important character but her initial narration doesn't do justice.

The writing style is very simple and at times you might feel that it is a little too ordinary, but everyone has their own ways of writing and I respect that. 

Talking about cons, to start with there are a few (not many) grammatical errors.

There is some part of court case in the book (as mentioned in the blurb, Viraj tries to prove his father's innocence). Having judiciary people in my family I know how wrong certain aspects were depicted. So that was a down-side for me. However, given it is a fiction book, anything is possible and we cant complain.

Another downside for me was the end of the book. It is a happy ending but I found it bit abrupt. Happens with most of us but I would have preferred to have a much smoother end. 

Overall, I liked the story and while reading it I didn't feel bored at all. Some parts were rather predictable but one can't help guessing what will come next. 

My rating to the book - 3.5/5 and if you are in need of a quick read, you can buy it from here.

The review copy of this book was shared with me by Cyclops Literary Services

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