BOOK REVIEW : THE BESTSELLER SHE WROTE

I call him the John Grisham of India, and the Madhur Bhandarkar of the banking world. Like Madhur, Ravi Subramanian exposed the blatant truth of the banking world, the corruption & the bureaucracy.

But there is a BIG difference between Ravi and Madhur. Madhur kept on repeating the same subject in his films, leading to all of his recent ones being disasters.

On the other hand, Ravi changed genres. Not that I disliked his repetitive subjects. I mean, he could easily manage to pull off 4-5 thrillers on the banking industry due to so much of diversity. But still, he shifted genres. And THAT was a lovely idea.

PLOT

So we have the novel starting with an IIM alumnus who turned an author later, giving a lecture at the same place he studied. Soon we get an idea about how publishing a novel isn’t the only thing to do. That is only half the battle won. What really escalates a novel from being a mediocre one to being a BESTSELLER is the marketing and promotional activities – book launches, social media, giveaways, etc.

It is during this lecture that celeb author Aditya Kapoor happens to meet Shreya Kaushik – a student cum wannabe author. She is frank, blunt, outspoken and beautiful. And she is bent upon becoming an author.

What follows is a passionate interaction between these two. How things turn out in the end is the main plot.

WRITING

Ravi subramanian’s writing is top notch. He is way above all these IIM/engineering graduates – turned – authors. His command over language is brilliant. He knows what kind of audience he has and he writes accordingly.

”The bestseller she wrote” sees Ravi venturing into new territory, but his writing still has the same intensity. INTENSITY – that is one thing I love in his books. Every character is well laid out. Everything in the plot makes sense. Nothing is written half heartedly. There are no unwanted characters. There are no unwanted romantic diversions. Things are always to – the – point.

POSITIVES

Firstly, the characterizations are done superbly. As Aditya’s friend, Sanjay’s character is just perfect. Such characters are a high point in all of Ravi’s books – the protagonist’s friend / business colleague.

Also, one character I felt was simply awesome was that of Aditya’s wife – Maya. She is too good. The way she handles everything, her reactions, her anger, everything is portrayed beautifully and seems very natural.

As for Aditya, he is flawless. “Adityas” have always been the best characters in Ravi’s books.

But the character who steals the show is that of Shreya. She is outstanding. Also, since Ravi had said on twitter that he felt the one actress who could do justice to Shreya’s character would be Alia Bhatt, I could only imagine her in Shreya’s character. And trust me, Ravi’s choice seems perfect.

NEGATIVES

There is a bit of sluggishness that creeps midway, but that is pretty short lived. Apart from that, there are no other negatives.

OVERALL, Ravi Subramanian’s latest outing “The bestseller She wrote” is one of his finest works. With a strong plot, some really good characterizations, and a very good climax, the book is definitely worth reading. Intense, gripping and inundated with various emotions, this book is highly recommended!

No wonder he is my favorite Indian author. Way to go Mr Subramanian!

I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program forIndian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!