Book Review : Abhisar Sharma’s latest book ‘A Hundred Lives for You’
When it comes to books, I always love to read stories that remain to flutter in my mind even after the last page is down. Stories around emotional relationships and human psyche excite me. ‘A Hundred Lives for You’ by Abhisar Sharma is one such story which takes you through an intriguing life journey of the protagonist, Abhimanyu Sharma, one who dares to tread an unconventional path. Having read Abhisar Sharma’s last two books, this one has come to impress me most. I loved the human connect about the story and I am glad he sent me the book personally.
The story starts around the time when Delhi had a nightmarish experience- Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the riots of 1984. While people were atrociously being killed, this book talks about a girl who took birth on that day. Before you jump to conclusions, let me clear the air that the book isn’t centrally themed around the massacre but it pictures out how such instances can affect an individual’s life. The killings of the night and the circumstances that were created from the blind communal hatred altered Abhimanyu Sharma’s life forever.
You have to read the book for ‘Rupali’s story’ that Abhimanyu pens down at the age of thirteen. Honestly, it gripped me. The depth of words in his story was so promising that his English teacher puts forth his name for the inter school story writing competition. We see the boy happy but his parents. While things could have turned out differently for him, a girl just spoils everything for him and he is not able to take part in the competition. This loss isn’t enough when he loses a friend in his grandfather at one of the most crucial time of his life. These circumstances change the course of his life forever reaffirming the cliché that life is unpredictable. Despite of his flair for writing he decides to bury his dreams. The young boy gradually turns into a young man who is indifferent, reckless, unpredictable and rude. Sometimes you hate him but at other times you find him charming as he challenges the rules of life. The author has created his character uniquely. Somewhere the story questions the societal pressures and vanities as well when this young boy takes his father’s criticism so strongly that he refuses admission to IIT because he wants to equal with him.
The beautiful relationship of Simran (Adopted Sikh girl) and Babu (Abhimanyu) proves that bond of love is the strongest and it wins above all. And in the last pages when the story falls in connect with the fictitious story ‘‘The Girl By The Hut’, the reader retires satiated. This creative piece of work compels you to introspect and reflect the realities and vagaries of life. In a different light, the book also sends a message that life can never be perfectly planned. One has to live it as it comes. On the positive side, it also pictures the fact that grudges, hatred, negative energy, vested interests don’t take you far and only lead into self destruction.
Except a few typo errors, the book is well edited. A few characters were not very relevant but were needful to bind the story. The presence of a strong protagonist and his unexpected ventures in life overshadow the weak portions of the book and make it worth a read. Love and friendship have been pictured tastefully in the book. One is forced to love Abhimanyu Sharma because he goes an extra mile for the two most important people of his life, for the girl he loved and his best friend.
Happy Reading!!!
Looks like a profound read.
It sounds like a good book. I received this for review, I don’t remember how, but yet to pick it up. I thought it was a boring romance, will definitely try it out now for sure 🙂