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Book Review: Love Bi the Way


I would like to start this review by saying that if you are going to buy this book simply on the basis of it's cover and blurb, you would be grossly mistaken. They are ambiguous, non-appealing and meaningless at best. There is no way they both would give you an idea how good this book is content-wise. Two beautiful successful ladies in their late 20s headline the plot and they each have got a scarred past. One of them, Rihana, the more vivacious and extrovert among the two, is a successful painter and she seeks solace in 'men' and her often-went-wrong 'sexual misadventures'. Her roommate, Zara, is more intelligent among the two and has been at the wrong end of a 'false' marriage with a gay man. Zara is a businesswoman and makes all her decision in life with aplomb. They both complement each other completely but are also unaware of each other's fateful 'past'. Their maid, Nandini, her daughter Gudiya and her abusive husband 'Harish' are also an integral part of this tale and so is Tiger, their only 'faithful' male companion and happens to be a dog. There are some recurring characters in Maharani of Jodhpur, her son Shaurya; Javed Habid, the 'deceased' mentor of Rihana; Kanhaiya, Zara and Rihana's driver and Rohan, the famous criminal lawyer who helps both Rihana and Zara sort their present and past. And now I have mentioned their names to you, I have realized that they almost make up for the entire plot of the book and thus all of them are important. Kudos to author that she hasn't introduced a single character in the book that we feel is 'wasted' later on.


Bhaavna Arora is the author of two previous bestseller books and thus is entrusted by Penguin Books and their team of professionals who make the book a technical triumph. Although I have got my issues with cover and blurb but they certainly have found some logic in their doings. But what impressed me most in this book was it's language. It's witty, charming, smart and cosmopolitan. Some of the conversations that take place in the book between Zara and Rihana are absolutely fun to read and although you wouldn't go LOL or ROFL but to a serious reader, they will definitely bring about a chuckle or at least a durable smile on his face. Make no mistake, it's a serious book that discusses issues such as 'homosexuality', 'child abuse', 'domestic violence' and 'alcoholism' and stirring a plot congested with so many issues with eclectic language is an achievement of sorts. I congratulate the writer for scoring this victory. The other aspect I put much emphasis upon is 'character development' and all the main characters have been meticulously thought and drawn upon. There is a certain depth in plot and sexual innuendos which are now almost part of every other Indian English novel, although are present aplenty, they don't make 'unwanted' and 'unnecessary' presence but only the timely ones and author makes you wait for them. This lends weightage to the feelings that Rihana and Zara come to grow for each other.

It's a fast-paced book that makes you want to read it. I shall assign it a rating of 3.5 out of a possible 5.



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