Book Review – Dystopia
Author: Manoj V Jain
Publisher: The Write Place
Book Blurb –
Children start their travels in the blissful kingdom of Shambala, a beautiful land, where they are protected and taken care of. They enter Shambala as little infants, trusting their parents and caregivers. The children continue on their journey, skipping along the path till they reach a dark forbidding gate, which like some powerful vacuum sucks them inside and into the next kingdom of Dystopia. I am their guide there and I will oversee their journey in this new land.
In his latest book, Manoj Jain discusses themes of childhood pain, growing up, teenage angst, role identities, and parenting.
The story, guided by the spirit of Dystopia, is set in a small dinner party, a reunion among five friends. During the course of the evening, they uncover the source of various past wounds and resolve why a young girl had to kill herself at eighteen.
About the Book –
This book is about a school group gathering, who have moved into their lives with time. Everyone has a story of their own to share. The writer has made efforts to understand the ‘Dystopia’ of the gathering. Everybody share where they have moved or going through. Each shares their stories remembering the old school days in a get together held at Teesha’s place. While drinks and conversation they keep talking over their old times. Then all of a sudden they remember a girl who had committed suicide during those days and starts celebrating her birthday. This turn in the story was absolutely unnecessary and it ruins the remaining story with an impractical drama. A girl whom almost all have forgotten now all started missing and celebrating her birthday. As per my understanding, the storyline is more towards ‘NOSTALGIC’ than ‘DYSTOPIA’.
My Critique –
The writer Manoj V. Jain has tried to write something on relationships. The title of the book ‘Dystopia’ whispers it all. However, there is nothing new in the storyline. Every character is revealing their part of the story that they wanted to share on the drink table. During the discussion, they remember their old friends, teachers, and parents. The kind of scene writer tried to create is most commonly seen in parties, that way there is nothing new in the book. The symmetry of the book is a big concern. When the conversation among the group is on and its peak, the writer takes you to the past and philosophical narration of the past life of its character which creates boredom and breaks the reading rhythm. There is no positive or negative excitement in the story, hence the reader has to maintain his/ her own enthusiasm to read further which is a big drawback. The storyline must be written in an interesting way. Also, the book’s title needs to be chosen carefully. A beautiful title could have been given to this book but from the title, it seems as it is written considering a specific group of readers. The chapters are also too big, which could have been broken into multiple ones with a more precise storyline. Overall I found this book average.
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