Title: Truly, Madly, Deeply
Author: Faraaz Kazi
Paperback: 258 pages
Publisher: Mahaveer Publishers (November 10th 2010)
Genre: Romance
Read: Paperback
Stars: **/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
What happens when the most popular guy in school falls in love with his beautiful female equivalent?
A pompous Rahul is head over heels in love with Seema, a shy lady from the same school. After a whirlwind of innocent encounters, their teenage romance blossoms but the two never confess their love for each other. Friends and even a few teachers approve of their relationship which is no secret to anyone thanks to Rahul’s flaunting nature.
Seema, on the other hand, finds it difficult to handle the unnecessary attention she gets due to Rahul’s ostentatiousness. What follows is a series of misunderstandings and ego clashes causing them to drift apart.
Rahul loses his popularity, his numero uno status, his sanity and ultimately his love. By the time he realizes what he has lost, it’s too late. He takes desperate measures to woo her back and win back her love. But will Rahul ever get back Seema? And will Seema ever realize how much Rahul loved her and all the misunderstandings that transpired between them? Is there really any room for misunderstandings in love? In today’s world, can a person’s first love ever be his last?
My Review:
I won this book on Freado.com; Thanks Faraaz Kazi for offering your book as a prize.
Cover: Dark and sad.
Paper and font: Smelt like a textbook! :( And the print was readable even on the next page.
Readability, language: : Simple language but be warned its draggy with lots of philosophy. :(
Why did I choose this book: Had to read the book that claims to be "The only book written by an Indian author to be nominated in the 'Top 100 YA Global Fiction List'."
Truly, Madly, Deeply is a story of young love. Of Rahul and Seema who fall in love in school. What follows is the joys of teenage love but also misunderstandings and heart-break as two people learn to understand each other and withstand peer pressure.
The title is appropriate for a teenage romance for it is only at that age that we use the words truly, madly and deeply to describe love. With age and maturity we realise love is much more than that but as a teen we believe true love to be mad and deep.
Purple and blue make for a dark cover; I would have preferred a more upbeat cover but Kazi is trying to tell a dark story and that may have been his reasoning behind the cover. However a more warm cover would have been a better choice if you ask me. The cover reminds me of SRK sitting on a bench in KKKG but without the bright sunshine and green grass.
The blurb does spark an interest in the story though the testimonials and announcements about the books nominations could have been placed after the blurb rather than before. It's as if Kazi thinks I would require convincing to read the book (after reading the book, I think he's right).
It's not often that a teenage romance gets written by an Indian author set in India, so Kudos Kazi for doing the unconventional. The story of the chain of misunderstandings between Seema and Rahul is entertaining and I found myself reading the whole book just to figure out if they managed to work out their differences and have a happily ever after.
Kazi switches between the U.S. and India as a morose Rahul has flashbacks to his love-story. Studying in the U.S. Rahul is a quiet to-himself chap who mops about and avoids making friends. But incidents there set-off the playback of his life and he drifts to India in his mind, reliving his romance. Kazi inserts a poem just before every flashback. The poems he has chosen are beautiful but it was irritating to have them pop up in the middle of chapters with no real connection to the story. Next time Kazi maybe you could put these poems at the start of the chapter? Also I couldn't understand the necessity for flashbacks from the U.S. of A., a straight story would have been better.
The two main characters in the story Rahul and Seema, are typical teenagers except for the philosophy they keep spouting. Theirs is the typical teenage love story with it highs and lows, jealousies, scheming, back-biting, egos, one-up-man-ships and such. That said it is a rather true and cute lovestory that took me back to my school days. Rahul and Seema's friends who make up the support structure of the story are just that - supports - they add little to the story. I wish there had been more of a role for Sahil, Rahul's one friend in the U.S., as he made for an interesting character.
The storyline by itself is fine and even interesting but Kazi could have written the story in half the number of pages he has used. There are long descriptions that are not required along with philosophical discourses that make the book a drag. And the end is too abrupt and hazy. A more crisp story-telling would have does wonders. Also the book could have been formatted better and some language errors avoided with a better edit.
Truly, Madly, Deeply is a test of patience for a reader. I wouldn't say its a bad book, rather its just fair with a lot of scope to have been better. Pick it up only if you are someone who likes lots of life and love philosophy. Definitely not worth a second read.
About the Author:
Truly, Madly, Deeply is Faraaz Lazi's first book. He is a certified soft skills trainer and three-time post graduate! He runs a social media agency, Digi Imprint Solutions and lives in Mumbai. You can find him online at www.faraazkazi.com.
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
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