So finally I am here with my review of 'The Long Road' by Dr. Vivek Banerjee or Ben (as he is popularly known in blogging circles). First of all I would like to thank him for sending me a review copy. It was rather a surprise for me when he asked me to review his book just after my first review.
Thankfully enough his book reached me despite the delay by the infamous postal department of our country. There after there was a slight delay on my own part in reading the book as I had halted all book reading activities till The Book Reading Challenge started. I hope Dr. Banerjee won't mind that.
The first time he asked me to review his book I was a bit skeptical. The reason being that despite not belonging to the medical profession I have seen the life of medical professionals from very close quarters. I was uncomfortable with the idea of reading a book about medical professionals and finding it to be just another love story like Sanjivani and Dill Mill Gayye (two famous serials which were supposedly about doctors aired on Indian TV channels) turned out to be.
Thankfully the book is not only a love story. It has a love story, no doubt, but it also gives you an insight into the life of doctors and the much revered profession of medicine. The love story runs side by side but the book also talks about the joy of conducting the first surgery. There is also the conflict between the ambitious Sarika and happy-go-lucky Rahul. The reservations of attic living Hina who wishes to break free of the shackles and get a better life and the born rich Ranjiv whose sole ambition is to be on the wrong side of his dad.
The story is predictable at times but it is so because the author has taken real life incidents and put them into words. The titles of the chapters are something that could have been done away with as they give away the suspense even before the person starts reading the chapter.
The character of Sagarika could have been used a bit more in the starting to keep her in the readers mind. I had almost forgot that she was also a part of this book until she suddenly popped up towards the end of the book.
This book could have been set in any scenario. It could have been about people working in the IT industry or as teachers or as bank employees. The characters of this book face the same dilemmas that many of us face in our own lives.
The book would make a nice weekend read. Not too long or overstretched and just conveying what it needed to. A nice read in all. :)
hmmm Ankit good :) looks like Long road r on my list soon
ReplyDeleteAnkit, thanks for liking the book. The tell-tale headlines have been changed and a bit more muscle given to Sagarika in the 2nd edition which should be out this month.
ReplyDeleteThis is quite a similar review to mine :) good that all these things are removed, make it a much better product.
ReplyDelete@Amit That is the whole point in getting the book reviewed. Helps the book and the author in the long run. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteYes, but it also requires gumption on the part of the author to go ahead and make those changes. A lot of authors are so closely attached to the material, they lose the objectivity in the story. In those cases, reviews may not help. Glad it worked out for the better in this case.
ReplyDeleteLoved the book. The parts based in Mumbai are well done. Could identify with most of the characters and situations.
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