Namaste to all my readers,
Decided to pick up a few books and review them as the backlog of pending reads and books had been constantly increasing. Life has gone from busy to super busy in just a span of couple of years. I had my daughter, new role at my office and with my own writing, reading was taking a back seat. So, decided to pause my writing and do some pending reads and reviews
I decided to pick up Jagadish Nadanalli's My Father's Girlfriend. A very interesting cover, and then I learnt Jagadish is also an engineer. I tell you, engineers will be the next super leaders of the world with their creativity.
The first thought that crossed your mind when you read the blurb and see the cover is of the movie 'Mere Baap Pehle Aap'. I have never been critical of books inspired from movies or even each other, in fact I appreciate it, I just want to witness how imaginative and creative the author has been to keep their work unique. Jagadish certainly excels in this area as the book is certainly very different from the movie.
The theme of the book is comparing love stories between two eras. The era which was devoid of social media hence love would take its own sweet time to blossom, and then the current age where breakups may happen even on Messengers.
The good part about the book is obviously the telling of the earlier love story. Author has captured the era and essence of friendship and love very well. Another good aspect of the book is his depiction of Bengaluru. Till now I have only read fiction where city is a vessel for story telling but this one kind of makes it its soul, something which I have often seen Bengali writers doing with Kolkata so this was definitely a plus. The character of Devdas seems to have come straight out of a TVF show and is essential to keep the flow of the story smooth. I also liked the author's depiction of software companies, the projects, deadlines, politics and how the support of few you love keep you afloat.
On the downside, personally I liked more the father and his girlfriend and their story, but because a lot of time is taken to establish the story of the young ones, the ending with the father and his girlfriend seemed a bit rushed. Also, would have loved to see some more acrs which author started, get some closure, like the office politics, or Devdas and Paro, Ganesh. Not saying, its a bad thing to leave them as props in story and not touch them later, but some conclusion would have added some points.
On the whole, I would call it a breezy metro read(I miss the metro rides all affected because of COVID). A book you can buy at the station and then finish it while you reach your work/class etc. Its a feelgood book, which has a happy ending and is a light read, something you can also enjoy on a beach or just a lazy Sunday.
All in all, I would give the book 4/5 stars
You can buy the book from Amazon
https://www.amazon.in/My-Fathers-Girlfriend-Jagadish-Nadanalli/dp/8194607574/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=My+Father%E2%80%99s+Girlfriend&qid=1622516428&sr=8-1
Happy Reading!
