About the author:
Preeti Shenoy is an author and artist. She believes life is the biggest teacher. She is an avid blogger, whose poetry has also been published. This book is her second published work.
Preeti Shenoy is an author and artist. She believes life is the biggest teacher. She is an avid blogger, whose poetry has also been published. This book is her second published work.
My thoughts on the book:
So we have the protagonist, Ankita. She’s a 20 something girl who seems to have issues from the past that haunts her present. In the prologue, we start with her sitting on a chair outside the doctor’s office, mulling over how they’ve come a long way to get her treated. Now that start is perfect. It’s that conflict that pushes the story toward an ending, and makes the reader wonder why she’s at a doctor’s office in the first place. But then, in the next paragraph, it appears as if the protagonist is still traveling to the doctor’s office. And we’re taken through a drive. Major confusion here and that doesn’t do the story good.
So we have the protagonist, Ankita. She’s a 20 something girl who seems to have issues from the past that haunts her present. In the prologue, we start with her sitting on a chair outside the doctor’s office, mulling over how they’ve come a long way to get her treated. Now that start is perfect. It’s that conflict that pushes the story toward an ending, and makes the reader wonder why she’s at a doctor’s office in the first place. But then, in the next paragraph, it appears as if the protagonist is still traveling to the doctor’s office. And we’re taken through a drive. Major confusion here and that doesn’t do the story good.
The story begins as a flashback. We’re
shown letters that Ankita sends to Vaibhav and Vaibhav’s reply. As the
story moves, we come to know that Ankita’s parents are very old-school (for the lack of a better term)
and don’t approve of her being with other guys, even if in a group, or
allow her friends who are boys to call her at home. So they begin to
sneak around, doing what they can to stay in touch. Guess love is like
that.
The story moves to Ankita’s life at college. This part of the story goes well. It’s kind of like settling in, finding new friends, etc. She
gets elected into the school’s office bearers group. The campaign part
is fun too. The story goes smoothly till the second guy comes into the
picture. Abhi, the guy who she meets at an inter-collegiate event,
begins to woo her. Now, good for her part that she tries to tell Abhi
about Vaibhav and stuff, but if she is really in love, then it feels
really strange that she’d start feeling for Abhi so suddenly. Especially
with her talking to Vaibhav and pretending all is well all along. Fast
forward and Abhi proposes that Ankita stay in the same city and college
so their relationship continues, but Ankita refuses because her parents
would not understand, and more so because she’s got into the best
college in another city. She even refuses to guarantee that she’ll stay
in touch with him because she felt it silly. (If she could stay in
touch with, and sneak calls with Vaibhav earlier, this casual brush off
for someone who was right near to her and who she “loved” felt very out
of character.) The events that follow leave a big mark on her, and she leaves the city on a sad note.
From this point, and her new college life
for her Masters degree, the turnaround in her character is quite
stunning. She becomes very, maybe even too competitive, and starts
seeking perfection. She has affections for one of her new classmates,
and kisses him. When her academics seem to be going well, her parents
find her “love letters” and turn on her. In front of her, they burn the
letters. From here, her mind cracks and she begins to lose it. The
problems arise and she leaves going to college. Her parents take her to
psychiatrists to try and solve her problem, even trying to force her to
return to college. She’s taken to NMHI where she finds someone who’s
willing to listen to her, understand her problems and help her get past
them. And we move to the ending which culminates it all.
What I liked in the story
is the simple language and narration. It’s a quick read if you have
some time on your hands. It’s inspiring to the extent that it tells you
problems are temporary and you can get past them if you believe. Yes,
the story does have elements of a love story, but it isn’t completely
one.
What I didn’t like in the story
is that you are left much confused. The prologue is conflicting, and
the characters very shallow. It’s difficult to think that when your
daughter is excelling in the field she’s chosen, any parent would react
in that cut-throat way to finding a love letter that HAS a date and is
known that it’s long back and target their daughter’s mind health, no
matter how strict they are. You don’t get to know why Ankita begins to
lose her mind suddenly, if it’s one thing or a combination of different
things. The title is only justified with an epilogue that happens
fifteen years later. You start to think the plot somewhat quarter or
half way into it, so knowing what might happen leaves you disappointed,
and also makes our feeling of sadness or sympathy with the protagonist
less.
Overall,
I think this is a one-time read. I can’t for the life of me figure out
why the book is as popular as it is. I don’t think it is a bad book, but
it’s confusing why it is titled so. It’s a really nice message, I
agree, but the story doesn’t bring it out like it needs to.
Book details:
Title: Life Is What You Make It
Author: Preeti Shenoy
ISBN: 9789380349305
Genre: Romance
Publishers: Srishti Publishers
Price: Rs. 100
Books T-V
~ Titles beginning with T ~
~ Titles beginning with U ~
~ Titles beginning with V ~
- Tale for the Time Being, A. Author: Ruth Ozeki.
- Tantra. Author: Adi.
- Tea for two and a piece of cake. Author: Preeti Shenoy.
- Techie@Heart. Author: Karthik S.
- Ten Shades of Life. Editor: Nethra.
- Three Spaces. Author: Heather Grace Stewart.
- Time’s Lost Atlas. Editor: Harsh Agarwal.
- Time to Kill, A. Author: John Grisham.
- Traveling Light. Author: Vickie Johnstone.
- Truly Madly Deeply. Author: Faraaz Kazi.
- Turning Points. Author: APJ Abdul Kalam.
- Turquoise Silence. Author: Sanober Khan.
- Two Brothers. Author: Ben Elton.
- Two Fates. Author: Judy Balan.
~ Titles beginning with U ~
- Uff Ye Emotions (Anthology). Editor: Vinit K Bansal.
- Uff Ye Emotions 2 (Anthology). Editor: Vinit K Bansal.
- Unaccustomed Earth. Author: Jhumpa Lahiri.
- Unsettled. Author: Neelima Vinod.
- Untruly Yours. Author: Smita Shetty.
~ Titles beginning with V ~
- Vision of Angels, A. Author: Timothy Smith.
Books W-Z
~ Titles beginning with W ~
a online friend, a skillfull poet, well done bookreview, leo
- Wanted Man, A. Author: Lee Child.
- Waves. Author: Ahila Thillainathan.
- We Need New Names. Author: NoViolet Bulawayo.
- What God Said. Author: Neale Donald Walsch.
- When Strangers Meet. Author: Harikumar K.
- White Tiger, The. Author: Aravind Adiga.
- Why I Failed. Author: Shweta Punj.
- Winds of Hastinapur, The. Author: Sharath Komarraju.
- Wings of Fire. Author: APJ Abdul Kalam.
- Wise Enough to be Foolish. Author: Gauri Jayaram.
- Words to Inspire the Winner in YOU. Author: Dr. Roopleen.
- Work It Out Without a Workout. Author: Vesna P Jacob.
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elegant writers,
a list of talents, thrills, and inspirations.
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