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Book Review: 'In Love and Free' by Jagdish Joghee

It's been a while since I came across a quality work of literature that could provide me with enough brownie points. A quality work of literature need not be complex in nature or its constituting elements. It could be a emblematic of simple story narrated with subtlety, nuances, intrigue and just enough emotional charge. One such work I found in Mr. Jagdish Joghee's debut novel viz. 'In Love and Free'. Central Idea of this book is 'infidelity' and that's one topic Indian authors of Metropolitan cities are exploiting relentlessly. And this is not to suggest it's only a tier-1 or tier-2 cities' phenomenon, it's rather an age old infatuation and false thrill that put its practitioners almost always in danger. Our book's heroine Ms. Shruthi is a very strong character who has been fantastic with her studies, family, husband and kids. She has got money, she has got career and she lives without a care in the world but she unintentionally (first) falls in the trap of her maneuvering and opportunistic neighbor, Rahul, who first comes across her as a chivalrous guy and free from all evils but once he leads her into the path of adultery with free flowing abundance, he appears in front of us a 'thinking' madman. As Shruthi finds out subsequently that Rahul might as well have killed her first wife and tricking another, Meera with Shruthi herself, She gets to feel the extent of filth and treachery she has gotten herself into. Rahul starts blackmailing her with his girlfriend Deepa and when Shruthi doesn't relent to his call of ransom and physical needs, he reveals their sexual adventures to his father and ever-faithful husband, Madhan. In just a stroke of luck, Shruthi having everything in life, finds herself luckless. How she recuperates from this unfortunately saddening ordeal forms the crux of book's climax.

I have just narrated you the plot here in brief and it's really pretty brief in totality too. Book is only 104 pages thick and it's flow is effortless. Book deals with a serious issue in 'infidelity' and enough space has been provided by author to the elements of love, loyalty, forgiveness, mental toughness and importance of family to tackle it successfully. Writing is flawless from grammatical point of view and I couldn't find it straining at any juncture. Blurb is absolutely 'to the point' and just enough informative to give its readers a feel of what to expect from it. Character development is one area where I must congratulate the author for a book as thin as this one introduces and let us know the lives and deeds of all its main characters with finesse. Proofreading and editing are upto the mark and make it for the 'impressive' debut for the author.

Verdict: A simple story with a serious societal issue at its core and enough emotional charge in its narrative that will surely provide the readers with moments to ponder upon. This is really what a quality work of literature is expected to do.

Rating: 4/5

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