The first book was an instant best-seller- the heart
wrenching real life story of a guy who lost his girl in a cruel twist of fate
days before their engagement. It was a fairy-tale
that begun in the most unexpected of fashions and ended in the most unexpected
of ways. The book was written
simply. Ravinder Singh never had great
writing skills. But perhaps it was the
simplicity with which he had penned the book- the fact that as readers we felt
each and every moment and could relate to almost everything- that made it
special.
When word got he was releasing a second book, I admit I was
most excited. When I finally got my
hands on it, I was apprehensive, wondering what was in store now. The back-cover claims it’s an emotional
roller-coaster. I must say, they could
never have been more wrong. From the
word go, the book is a disappointment.
As big a disappointment as the first one was extraordinary. Extremely low writing skills, a narrative
lacking the mesmerising element that was the characteristic of the first one,
loose characterisation, predictable plot to the T- everything that could go
wrong has gone.
From the story point of view, there isn’t anything new. Ravinder Singh is more or less trying to capitalise
on the fan-following he gathered after the success of his first book. The book follows the same plot- boy meets
girl, they fall in love, and everything’s going good before the expected plunge
in relationship. Everything goes
downhill, except this time, the girl only leaves him (break-up). The only difference, this time, the ending has a happy note to it.
The story starts with the three friends
(Ramji, M.P and Happy) getting together at Chandigarh Airport. They are to attend a special late-night show
at a prominent f.m station along with Ravin.
But Ravin doesn’t turn up. The
three friends start reading from Ravin’s incomplete second book, and thus we
get a second peek into Ravin’s life. Ravin
(as Ravinder Singh calls himself) has an irritating obsession with himself, and
sometimes I feel he has been trying extra hard to develop a hero image for
himself. From calling his first book a
masterpiece to calling himself Chandigarh’s favourite author (or something like
that), he has done it all. Perhaps the
only reason Penguin decided to publish this one was because I too had a love
story had been such a big hit.
Otherwise, for an author with such unattractive writing skills, I don’t see
him getting to see the light of day. On
read-o-meter, I would give this book a 1.5/10.
Read it only if you don’t have anything else to read. Avoid if you can. It somewhat takes the sheen off I Too Had A
Love Story.
