QUARTER LIFE CRISIS
BY ANSHUK ATTRI
This story has been due for a long
time now… about time someone wrote something along the lines of something that
is almost pandemic among the clueless youth of the modern world, self included.
It is a surprise no one thought of penning something like this earlier, though
I have read one book along similar lines, though not quite on the ball, as this
one is. I am referring to the modern youth, and his or her attitude towards
life in general and career & family to be specific.
THE PLOT
The plot is fairly simple – though fascinating.
It is about two people: one a young man, the other a young lady. The young man
is completely clueless about his life; has got into an Engineering degree
course without an iota of planning or thought; in the 4th year, he
has little idea or interest in what to do with the rest of his life. To put it
simply, this poor man is clueless. He is even more clueless about his lady
love, beyond the obvious fact that he is genuinely in love, and totally committed
to her. The lady has none of the above problems – and is a beacon of strength,
unlike the half-wit she loves.
The long and short of it is that
things get out of hand in the personal sphere first – and the lady lands up
getting pregnant. To make things interesting, she categorically refuses the option
of abortion, though she is all of 21 or thereabout. Despite the fact that she
has a clear definable life goal & a workable plan for it – she is adamant,
as only a woman can be; trust me. The good point, or should I say the only
redeeming point in the gentleman, he is a true gentleman. He stands by his lady
love, and vehemently supports her, once he sees that there is no changing her
mind. Tremendous maturity on his part, the way he accepts the reality, and
wholeheartedly supports her.
The family of the lady, on the other
hand, has some other ideas; they are just not willing to listen to either of
them, or the lady’s plan to have the child. The two lovers plans were well
known to both families, as they were together since long, but the lady’s
parents will not accept this – given the gentleman’s cluelessness of his
direction & life. The gentleman & the lady are clear- lets get married immediately. But that is
easier said than done, as the lady’s family will have none of it.
The gentleman’s family, though
understandably distraught over this nasty surprise, gets over it fast enough –
aided by a strong elder sister of the Gentleman, who is critical yet supportive
of the two. She even tries to intervene in the Lady’s family, to no avail. Eventually,
this family rises in solid support of the two lovers, a phase which has been
handled remarkably well in the book. The book takes off from this point in the
second half, for a series of genuine heart-warming, at times melancholy,
surprises as the main characters show uncommon resolve, faith and patience… for
what happens next, read the book!
THE ANALYSIS
There isn’t much to analyse in this
book, to be honest; I don’t mean that as a criticism. This is a human interest
story, a story on human lives and emotions. This is not a situational story, or
a circumstantial one full of twists and turns and / or action. This is a book
of Human Emotions, Life, Life Choices, Reactions, Family, and about Building a
Life by Overcoming Ones Weaknesses. This is a book of how a clueless man finds
himself; this is a book of choices – on how the choices you make impact your
life as a whole. This is a book that teaches a standing life lesson, to be
honest, in some ways.
The book does, at one level, serve to
raise some pertinent life questions to the discerning reader, as to the
importance of one’s choices, the importance of having a clear definable goal in
life; of being on the right side of social norms; of having the strength to
face the consequences of going against the norm; of being committed about
everything in life; and about how things can go wrong if commitment is lacking
in your approach or your attitude towards anything. It does all of this without
being judgemental!
The story is intense and slow-paced;
the author deserves credit for writing an engaging story despite it being a
slow story. The way the intensity of the relationships portrayed in this novel
has been brought out with clever wordplay, and a minimum of fuss and needless
over-dramatization is what impressed me the most. Further, this intensity has
been quite successfully maintained throughout the entire novel, without any sacrifices made on any aspect of the novel.
The charectarisation is adequate;
quite good, in fact. The character sketches are near-flawless in the
consistency of their reactions over time and range of situations, which is a
tremendous achievement in a novel of this genre. The behaviour of each
character is fully believable and seems practical in the light of the overall character;
not one scene seems forcefully done, or out of place. The best part of all is
the female characters, all of which are shown as strongly-etched, which I personally
liked. The language is simple and functional, not flowering, yet it succeeds to
create a moving image in your mind. All in all, rated 4 stars out of 5…
A woman always preserves life and gives life and protects life which is the fruit of her natural love whatever the circumstances. A man trying to be pragmatic in society destroys life and annihilates love. He is the loser ultimately.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely true! Thanks for the pertinent observation!
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