Book Review: Becoming Mrs Kumar by Heather Saville Gupta

Title: Becoming Mrs Kumar

Author: Heather Saville Gupta

Publisher: Random House India

Pages: 352

Price: Rs 350

Genre: Fiction / Chicklit / Romance

Rating: 7/10

Format: Paperback

Initially, I was a little wary about picking up this book because I thought it would be yet another narrative by a European traveler talking about filth, poverty and may be enlightenment. But this book does not dwell too much into the predictable, and what sets the book apart is that it is less cynical and more positive.

Julia Robinson is in her early 30s. She has worked her way to a comfortable position in a top advertising agency in London. But now she is finding herself in a mid-life crisis. She is ready to be in a serious relationship but she hasn’t found anyone yet. Life has become mundane and boring, and she feels it is time to shake things up. When her boss offers her a job in Mumbai with a raise and other perks, she feels as if it is some sort of destiny. Her best friends are bewildered, her family is skeptical, but Julia feels that she needs the adventure that India will provide.

This book is unlike other books by Western travelers. Julia is looking for love and not enlightenment. She is not a backpack traveler, collecting experiences; she is an expat, who lives in a posh locality of Mumbai, in a city where space is a luxury for many. Her social circle comprises of other expats, work colleagues and people she meets at upmarket pubs/bars. Her life in one of the most chaotic and filthy cities, Mumbai, is largely cocooned. Julia finds India extremely hot and disorganized, yet friendly and exciting. She describes her fist encounter with Mumbai as (in her own words) "the heady experience of having all of my five senses simultaneously walloped by a massive sensory overload" and yet she loves "its energy, its raw vitality, its chaotic madness". After a couple of bad experiences, she finally meets Mr Right (Mr Kumar) but only when she has already decided to leave India for good. For her, becoming Mrs Kumar does not come without drama. What eventually ensues is a big fat Indian wedding.

Characterization is not the strong point of this book. We don’t even get to know Mr Kumar that well. However, it is refreshing to see a foreigner appreciate what India has to offer, and weigh pros and cons vis-à-vis her own country (which is expected when the differences are many and stark). Julia's fondness for India was surprising considering it is a different thing to appreciate a place on vacation and a different thing to like it enough to adopt it. But obviously she is in love with the country. I also felt that the whole romance is a little hurried. Marrying in such a haste looks romantic but impractical.

‘Becoming Mrs Kumar’ obviously derives a lot from the author’s real experiences. Read the author talk about her book and her inspirations here. Read another author interview here to know more about the book. 

This book was an average read for me. Some parts were interesting but some were really slow and a few times repetitive. But having said that, the book has much to offer; it is a semi-travelogue and chicklit (the single, successful woman unlucky in love kind) rolled into one. If you like reading the outsider's view of our beloved country; what they find funny, baffling or endearing, then read on. 

Review Book courtesy: Random House India

Image source: Random House India

Book Review: Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

Title: Wedding Night

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Publisher: Bantam Press (Random House India)

Pages: 400

Price: Rs 599

Genre: Fiction / Chicklit / Romance / Modern Fiction

Rating: 7/10

Format: Paperback

Frankly, I had read a few average reviews for the book, so I read it with very low expectations. And, I liked it. Sure, the story is over-the-top, preposterous and crazy. But nothing that a Sophie Kinsella fan cannot fathom or a chicklit reader cannot imagine. I can totally see a Hollywood rom-com on this story. 

Lottie and Fliss are 30-something sisters. Fliss is the older sister and has always been protective about Lottie. This book gives a new meaning to how far she would go.

Lottie is in a steady relationship and is pretty sure her boyfriend is about to propose, but nothing of that sort happens. Out of the blue, her boyfriend from fifteen years ago turns up claiming that she had been ‘the one’ for him and he never really found anyone like her. He proposes and she accepts. In her rose-tinted world, perhaps this was meant to be. Fliss on the other hand, is in the middle of a bitter divorce and does not want Lottie to do anything mindless such as jumping into a marriage without any thought. But Lottie would not listen and Fliss would not give up. Even when Lottie goes ahead and gets married, Fliss will pull all strings to stop their Wedding Night so that the marriage can still be annulled. What ensues is a crazy, roller-coaster till the end. The narration alternates between Lottie and Fliss.  

The fact is all Sophie-Kinsella heroines are crazy and over-the-top. They imagine things when there is none. Their imagination would start from one end and land up somewhere completely different. There is a whole world in their imagination. Add to that, all of them have a penchant for landing themselves in trouble, but luckily, things fall into place for them at the end. And true to the genre, they find the most deserving and charming men (and rich / successful).

Honestly speaking, this story is completely different from the Shopaholic series and yet the graph of the narrative is similar. The story takes off, the heroine lands herself in trouble, keeps falling in self-created mess, but miraculously things turn around for her benefit at the end.

There are several laugh-out-loud moments in the fast-paced narrative but very few mushy ones. It is more about the sisters than about the romantic angle, so to say. It is not in the league of the Shopaholic series or the author's last outing 'I've Got Your Number', but I had a fairly good time. 

If chicklit is your fare, you will like it; just keep your expectations at bay. 

Review Book courtesy: Random House India
Image source: Random House India

Book Review: Operation Lipstick by Pia Heikkila

Title: Operation Lipstick

Author: Pia Heikkila

Publisher: Random House India

Pages: 287

Price: Rs 250

Genre: Fiction 

Rating: 6/10

Format: Paperback

I am beginning to conclude that most of the books are good in parts, like this one. There I said it, I liked the book in parts; the second part, that is!

The cover page is tantalizing but it gives the feel of a spy-thriller, which may not be the right words to describe this book. And then the title - ‘Operation Lipstick’- and the by-line ‘mission for Mr Right’ seem more suitable for a chick lit.

In this interview, the author says that ‘she wanted to marry different genres – war writing, chick-lit and adventure’. It may be what some people would like about this book (I gather it has also made to the bestselling titles list for the month) but for me that was the key problem because where the first part was clearly chick-lit, the second part was majorly war journalism.

The protagonist, Anna Sanderson, is a 32 year old war journalist based in Kabul, working for London-based GNN, and in her own words “single and horny beyond belief”. She stays with Tim, her cameraman, who is in his late thirties; and Kim, an Australian print journalist, touching 30. The book begins like a classic chick lit, and for first several pages we follow the protagonist in her never-ending smoke and booze sessions, fantasies or confessions about men she would like to have sex with or have had, and meeting a man of her dreams Mr Delectable, Mark, at unlikeliest of places. Kelly finds out that her boyfriend Rich had been cheating on her, and she decides that this time she would not forgive him, and plans revenge. Anna, Kelly and Tim team up to pursue a big story that involves Rich in arms smuggling. The mission is christened ‘Operation Lipstick’. The mission eventually turns out to be life-threatening for all of them and clearly, much serious than they had imagined.

Anna also explores the barely there possibility of finding true love in war-torn Afghanistan where there are not enough opportunities to meet the right men. But she meets Mark and keeps bumping into him at unexpected places. She finds herself deeply drawn to him and eventually all works out well at the end.

As I mentioned, the first part of the book has a lot on sex which sometimes can make you cringe. Sample these:

“Nothing wrong with a bit of American beefcake after a main course. I was now imagining myself sucking his, what I hoped would be, huge cock.”

“But it seemed clear that I was arousing something else as there was a huge bulge in his jeans.”

But the crown should go to this piece which starts with “I decided to take a walk to think things through”. The next two pages dwell on Anna fantasizing about having sex with two twenty-somethings army men in detail and ends with Anna masturbating.

However, the book has several funny moments too.

“I fiddled with it, and it turned out that the camera was still working. Bloody mobile phones, no good for saving my life, but hey, don’t worry, it can still take scenic pictures en route! The voice recorder was also in good condition – good to record my will, I guess.”

“Stay calm. You have been in worse shit than this. Actually you haven’t. But keep telling yourself that.”

 “He held the rope, while I lowered myself down. The movies never show you how it happens in real life. My getaway wasn't really elegant or Catwoman like. I looked more like a sack of potatoes wobbling on some string.”

There are no detailed characterizations barring Anna’s. We get to know neither Mark nor Kelly or Tim.

Few other things which I would like to highlight:

• The background or the setting was promising and I loved the part that deals in Anna’s experiences as a war-journalist and her adventures. That part was quite a page-turner.
• I thought Operation Lipstick did not have a proper closure at the end. In fact, I thought it was preposterous to embark on such a dangerous mission to teach a cheating boyfriend lesson. 
• The romantic angle between Anna and Mark needed more fleshing out. Mark – her Mr Delectable – kept popping up at every place Anna goes and eventually both proclaim love for each other. Anna, a self-confessed sex-maniac, was in love with this man was hard to digest when all she did was either fantasize about him or his good looks.
• The angle on Tim was unnecessary.
• Anna Sanderson’s adventures as a war journalist have potential of developing into series (except for the overdose of sex). The author can still marry the chick lit and war-reporting genres.

All said and done, I think, the author shines in the part where the story dwells into the challenges of war-journalism, adventure and the situation in Afghanistan. I would have loved the book much better if the book stuck to a charming yet gutsy heroine and her adventure in war-reporting.

Note: There are a lot of typo errors too. When you love a book, you overlook a few mistakes here and there, but when you have mixed feelings, such mistakes just become eyesores. Don’t they?

Image source: Amazon

Book List Oct-Dec 2011

I wanted to put up the list of books which I recently acquired in last 3 months. I have been caught up in the new responsibilities of taking care of a baby but that did not deter me from attending the Book Sale by Goa-Based Broadway Book Centre and the Landmark Book Sale, while also buying several books from Flipkart and Indiaplaza.

Here is the list:

From the Broadway Book Sale: Each one bought for Rs 50. The price was a major deciding factor. I would not have bought even single one of these, if it had been for anything more. I felt this Book Sale was more suited for the college crowd. There was nothing from Indian Publishers and nothing in Non Fiction.

1. Nanny Returns by Nicole Karus and Emma Mclaughlin: I had earlier bought ‘The Nanny Diaries’ from a similar Sale at Rs 50 (the hardbound edition), so when I saw this one, I got it. I am not too fond of such books but they are fine for general time pass reading, you know, immediately after you have read some heavy-duty stuff.  

I have read ‘Inconceivable’ by Ben Elton and it was quite funny, so I bought both the books listed below:

2. Dead Famous by Ben Elton

3. Past Mortem by Ben Elton

4. From Here to Maternity by Sinead Moriarty: Bought this one for the obvious reasons. I remember reading another book called ‘I don’t know how she does it’ and it was hilarious. Hope this one is on similar lines. Yet another general time pass stuff.

5. Monster by Allan Hall: I am sometimes drawn to real life crime stories. I have read ‘In Cold Blood’ by Truman Capote and look forward to reading more on true crime.

6. The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam: I have heard a lot about “Maps for Lost Lovers” and have it too. I have not read it yet. This one is also from the same author.

From Landmark Book Sale: The discounts at Book stores are not really great. Great discounts would only be on a handful books but that’s about it. So I looked for getting something on the “3 for 2” offer. And this offer also works for you only if all the books are of similar price. I usually end up buying several magazines on my visits, I prefer buying books online. Nevertheless, after a lot of research, I got the following books. First three are on the offer, rest as indicated.

I read these 2 books long back, and I wanted them for my collection:

7. India Unbound by Gurucharan Das

8. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

9. The Pregnant King by Devdutt Pattnaik: It is related to Mahabharata and I had been thinking of getting this for quite sometime now.

10. Don’t go Away, We’ll be right back by Indu Balachandran (on a special price of Rs 99)

11. Byline by M.J.Akbar (at 10% discount on the cover price)

I was heartbroken to see ‘First Day First Show’ for Rs 99. I recently bought it for Rs 374! But that is something which you cannot plan.

I bought the following from Flipkart and Indiaplaza:

12. Dr Spocks Baby And Child Care by Robert Needlman, Benjamin Spock: Smita told me it is a good reference book on Child Care. So how could I not have it J

13. Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni, Moyna Chitrakar: After collecting several perspectives on Mahabharata, I have started expanding my ‘Ramayana’ collection. It also happens to be my first Graphic Novel.

14. The Best Of Quest by Laeeq Futehally, Achal Prabhala, Arshia Sattar: I first read about the book in Pune Mirror. I have bought books on Eunice De Souza’s recommendation earlier also, like ‘the Locust and the Bird’. Later on, I read a lot about 'the Best of Quest' in many articles and magazines.

15. Lucknow Boy by Vinod Mehta: Since I follow Outlook and the book is a memoir of its editor, I kept finding more and more about the book through his column on the last page. I found it fascinating enough. Memoirs are interesting only when they are honest and provide new revelations. There’s nothing exciting about sugar candy talk and reading something which is already a public knowledge. This issue of Outlook even featured excerpts from the book. The book sounds salacious!

Following 2 had been recommended by a friend who has studied psychology. I was discussing about reading on child psychology.

16. Developmental Psychology by Elizabeth Hurlock

17. Child Development 6ed by Elizabeth Hurlock

18. Half The Sky - How To Change The World by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl Wudunn: I had my eyes on this one for a long time but only imported editions were available which were quite expensive. I recently bought it for a good price.

Some more additions for my ‘Ramayana’ collection. These have interesting perspectives on Sita and Ram, which reminds me of a superb animation film 'Sita Sings the Blues'.

19. In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology by NamitaGokhale, Malashri Lal

20. Lost Loves by Arshia Sattar

Following are supposed to be from Ravana’s perspective.

21. Ravanayan (Issue 1) by Vijayendra Mohanty, Vivek Goel

22. Ravanayan (Issue 2) by Vijayendra Mohanty, Vivek Goel

23. Ravanayan (Issue 3) by Vijayendra Mohanty, Vivek Goel

24. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver: I discovered this book while reading an article on parenting. I found this highly recommended for all parents:

The above listed books have been bought only between October and December, and December is not over yet! One of these days, I would like to put up the list of my entire collection. I recently categorized and re-organized them.


Image Source: http://www.dailyclipart.net

Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Title: Mini Shopaholic

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Publisher: Bantam Press

Pages: 392

Genre: Chicklit / Comedy / Contemporary women literature

Though Sophie Kinsella’s 6^th book in the Shopaholic series, has nothing new to offer; yet it is enjoyable and quite a page-turner. To those who are new to this series, ‘Shopaholic’ series follows the antics of Becky Bloomwood (now Brandon), who is a highest degree of Shopaholic. She cannot resist the pull of the word ‘Sale’, branded clothes and ‘Discounts’, no matter how deep she is in credit, whether she has money or not, whether she ‘needs’ the stuff or not….she just has to shop. It is her therapy.

‘Mini Shopaholic’ is based on the premise that Becky’s two-year old daughter is also turning out to be a Shopaholic. However, when you read the book, the main storyline is still about how Becky has really not learnt anything from the several disastrous situations she has faced earlier because of her addiction to shopping. Now, with her daughter Minnie in picture, she has only increased her scope of shopping. In fact, at many instances, she goes completely berserk in shopping stuff for Minnie that are not even going to fit her for a long, long time. Despite at a mature age of 29 years and being a mother, Becky continues to behave like a teenager.

The reader also gets to know that Minnie, Becky and Luke’s daughter, has turned into a spoilt brat, while Becky lives in denial. The story is also about Becky’s surprise birthday party for Luke (her husband), and how things go completely haywire and yet slowly everything fall into place and at the end it is again ‘happily ever after’.

Luke has hardly anything to do in the story; neither does Suze, Becky’s best friend. Becky continues to shop like there is no tomorrow. The story really does not have anything off-beat, it follows the same graph. The success of Shopaholic series, despite its repetitiveness is that somewhere we all connect with Becky. She is our wildest dreams come alive on paper. We cheer for her, when she puts across weirdest logic to shop.

If you are a woman in your 20s & 30s, this book is totally for you. And if you are into chicklit, you cannot give it a miss. Even if you are not big on chicklit, you can try it as a stop-gap between books.

I will give it 8 out of 10, because I had a great time reading it, it was a super-quick read and I really felt relaxed and enjoyed it a lot. 

Mixed Doubles by Jill Mansell

Immediately after ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’, I picked up ‘Mixed Doubles, giving in to the persistent observations be everyone that I am reading too many disturbing books. So, I thought, well, I have too many chicklits also, so let me just take a break from the heavy-duty books and get on with a lighter, no-brainer.



‘Mixed Doubles’ is about three friends Dulcie, Pru and Liza, each make a resolution on the New Year. Liza wants to get married, Pru wants to stay married and Dulcie wants to get out of her marriage. The whole book is about this. As all chicklits, the book is predictable but it is quite fast-paced. You can even finish it in a day!


Liza is quite popular. Every guy falls for her, but she gets bored of them all too easily. After several flings, this year, she wants to take the next step and get married to a suitable guy. The challenge is to find one.


Pru is married to Phil, and just wants to make her marriage work, no matter how her husband is. But her husband goes on and has an affair with their housekeeper. The story takes from their. No matter how hard you try, destiny may lead you to something else, and who knows, may be it is good for you!


Dulcie is the most idiotic of all. She has a nice husband in Patrick but he is always too engrossed in work and out of sheer boredom of her routine life, Dulcie thinks she should take a divorce. Well, fate has other plans for her as well.


I have really grown out of chicklits, even Sophie Kinsela, so I found it an OK book. But all those who like chicklits, it is good one for you! 

Review: The Cradle Snatcher by Tess Stimson

Why I picked up this book?

This was one of the recommendations by Smita. I just wanted to buy a couple of books and I was looking for something which is in the genre of chiklit or quick-read or whatever. I liked the review and ordered for it.

What’s the book about?

The book is about Clare Elias, her husband Marc and their nanny. Clare, a successful businesswoman, planned everything perfectly in her life; she even ‘plans’ the birth of her children. But when the kids actually come into her world, it turns upside down, creating a havoc which Clare never expected. She never thought managing two tiny-tots would be such a difficult job. Reluctantly, she hires a nanny.

It is a fairly engaging story about Clare's desperation to go back to her work, her frustration on not being able to handle her own kids, unexpected troubles in marriage and much, much more. At the same time, the story is also about Jenna, her nanny, their evolving relationship and Jenna's own life and troubles.

Before I started the book, I thought there would be the usual angle of nanny trying to take the place of the wife. But this turns out to be different.

I liked the way in which the author lets us into the perspectives of all the main characters. There are chapters dedicated to each character alternatively so that the reader knows why that character behaved in the way he / she did.

It is quite an interesting read. There’s romance, jealousy, heart-breaks, misunderstandings, issues faced by women pertaining to motherhood, work after having babies, marriage, etc.

My verdict

Again it would mostly appeal to women. Though not really a chicklit but it is quite woman-centered in its approach. I would give it 8 out of 10. I finished it in 3 days again.

Image credit: Amazon

Review: Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

After reading a lot about Mahabharata, Mughals and some serious fiction as well, I picked up "Remember Me?" because I wanted to read a quick one this time and something light. Knowing Sophie Kinsella, I was pretty sure I would be able to finish it off quickly. And yes, I did complete it in 3 days straight (and those were weekdays!).

Why I picked up this book?

• Because I have read all of Sophie Kinsella's books and find them absolutely hilarious
• Because this was the only book, apart from the latest "Twenties Girl" that I had not read
• Sophie is the queen of chicklit

What’s the book about?

The book has an interesting plot wherein Lexi Smart wakes upto a perfect life – a perfect body, perfect teeth and a perfect husband. Lexi meets with an accident in her Mercedes, and when she wakes up in the hospital, three years of her life are erased from her memory and she goes back to the day when she had a fall, 3 years back, on the street. So she does not remember anything that happens to her after that. From here starts Lexi’s journey of discovering her last 3 years and her life, because she does not identify with the new Lexi at all.

How is the book?

Though a fat book, it is really a fast-paced one. You don’t get bored. You would want to keep moving. Though it does drag at some places, but you still want to move on to know how Lexi puts together bits and pieces.

There are some places where you do feel certain things difficult to digest, but you let it pass.

My verdict

I will give it 8 out of 10. It is a good pick for all chicklit lovers. May be it is not quite in the league of "Confessions of a Shopaholic" but the plot is quite engaging. Sophie Kinsella's first book was truly outstanding and none of her other books really ever matched upto the novelty of that. I think it happens with all the writers because the first books are generally the most passionate ones. After that you just keep on trying to match the brilliance of your first book.

Image source: Amazon