Summer has brought in not only hot weather, but also longer days, and I am getting opportunity to finally read some of the books kept in my digital library since some time which I could not do earlier because of tighter schedule and family time.
This time I picked up Being Good Enough by Rohini Paranjpe Sathe.
Unlike the previous two books that I had reviewed previously, this is a book which you just cant finish in one go. You have to take breaks to contemplate, to revisit what all happened in the previous scene and then move ahead. The cover, which again is beautifully designed by The Book Bakers, show two silhouettes, against the backdrop of skyline of a coastal city, which I later learned in the book, is supposed to be Mumbai. The cover would give you an idea that the book is a tale of melancholy as well as hopefulness, and the key characters would be a mother and her son. The cover and blurb gave me an idea of what I was going into, and for this book you have to be in a certain frame of mind to appreciate the content.
The cover reminds you of song "O Majhi Re" which could very well be the theme of the book.
The story is of Jyoti Gupta, who lives in Mumbai along with her Mausi and teenager son. She is trying to escape and run away from her past and, in a way, saving her son from all the demons of her past. Her mausi is her companion in this journey and she also has suffered a lot so they understand each other. How her past is uncovered, and how that has shaped her present, and what decisions she takes for her future is the story of Being Good Enough.
Rohini Paranjpe Sathe has paid the most attention to the protagonist Jyoti. Her character has been thought of and sketched beautifully and how her situations strengthened her for her son is displayed wonderfully. There are some memorable quotes and some memorable scenes which live with you long after you finish the book. The chapters where characters talk about Gods has been done very carefully and Rohini's maturity of thinking and writing shines in those scenes, where the conversations are neither preachy nor insulting, they just hang perfectly balanced. Her use of Hindi words while communicating is also a very smart decision and works well for the book.
I dont have major complains with the book, just a couple of minor ones. Firstly, for the situation that the protagonist Jyoti is in, there have to be certain characters which behaved a certain way. Patriarchal family, meek mother are certain characters which are expected because otherwise Jyoti wont be in this situation. The little complain I had was that almost every characters other than Jyoti is very stereotypical. As soon as the character is introduced and her relation established with them, you just know how the character will play out.
The other minor complain is that at times the book plays out like some scene from a movie, and in fact certain events look very filmy. If you have seen enough movies like Sairat, LSD, Devdas, Honeymoon Travels etc, a certain novelty factor is lost. I felt there was a chance for Rohini to do certain things a bit differently, but she toyed the well established line.
But, I wont let those two minor complains come in the way of appreciation of the book. Rohini clearly presents a very clear and definite direction to her story. The switch between time lines are done smartly, and there is never a confusion in identifying the city and the time where we are in. Its a tale which gives hope and strength which Jyoti displays despite having faced so many challenges in her life.
I would go with a rating of 4.5/5 for this book.
You can purchase the book from Amazon
https://www.amazon.in/Being-Enough-Rohini-Paranjpe-Sathe-ebook/dp/B0953XPGTG/ref=pd_sim_1/257-1148829-5487120?pd_rd_w=dlGrI&pf_rd_p=0aaff7c0-bee4-416f-a552-2342cdc17544&pf_rd_r=46MVDRPECQ746JH6D9WA&pd_rd_r=245d80cb-3958-4cfa-8b6e-7c830ec8b357&pd_rd_wg=wAawl&pd_rd_i=B0953XPGTG&psc=1
Happy Reading
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