Book Review #1 - The Guardian Angels

The book blurb makes it eminently clear that it belongs to the romance genre and goes on to describe the personalities of the main protagonists Aditya and Radha.

He is the son of a billionaire; she is the daughter of a socialist, he is quiet and unassuming; she is a firebrand and spirited. And given this kind of background, the reader is immediately piqued as to how love blossomed between these two diametrically opposite people. I know the old cliché, opposites attract, but we all know that is not quite true in real life.

Destiny is a word that’s very close to my heart and when I read on the blurb of Rohit Gore’s The Guardian Angels I simply couldn’t miss the opportunity of reading this book. Though the plot sounds very Bollywood inspired, it is totally worth it!

The book begins with how Adi and Radha become friends when they were twelve years old due to a bullying incident which changes their lives forever. Right from the get go, both of them feel a unique connection with each other and even at that young age realize that this was just not friendship. As time goes by and as they get to know each others’ lives better, they clearly see that they populate entirely different universes. But fate and coincidences manage to conspire in a manner in which their parallel universes intersect each other. There is nothing else than read with bated breath that the reader can do waiting in anticipation to see how the story would unfold. And on more than one occasion both of them end up saving each others’ lives (at times literally).

It is easy to see how they always gravitate towards each other in their thoughts. What starts as friendship in their childhood soon becomes something more which neither of them are ready to put a name to. I loved the banter between Adi and Radha. There was this passion in their exchange. There was no Adi without Radha and vice versa.

Shuttling between Mumbai and Michigan, the story takes us through Adi’s and Radha’s lives from when they are twelve years old till they are thirty years old, almost two decades. The author has managed to subtly weave multiple events from the social milieu of the time period in which this story is set in. The beauty of his craft is that he manages to weave these events happening in India very subtly but very strongly into the narrative. He could have chosen the easy path of making it a normal love story like any other, but the fact that he chose this period and he chose these events speaks volumes for his smarts in capturing the audiences’ imagination. At many places the story is very emotional and romantic, dreamy yet realistic. 

And another thing which speaks volumes for the craft of the author is the fact that he shifts the narrative between Adi and Radha quite equally. Almost half the story is told in first person where Radha maintains a journal/diary where she records her feelings. And given that she talks to the diary in first person means that these parts of the story unfold from her viewpoint. That to me is a masterstroke which Rohit Gore has achieved with this book.

The well researched characters have enough strength to draw out a smile and also a couple of tears through the course of the story.  It doesn’t take much time to finish this book but it is one you’d definitely not regret reading. This book has Cricket, friendship and romance but it also has socialist V/S capitalist ideologies, a balanced treatment of friendship and love, but the most surprising part was the hold that author had on the story all through the book. There were many moments the story could have broken off into a lame usual boy meets girl, but Rohit continued to maintain my interest in this well written and paced story.

Not even at any point of the story I felt it was unrealistic or dragged; whatever was said and written was very relevant to explain each other’s helpless situation and was engrossing too. The ending though was not a happy-ever-after (which I always prefer :P) but it was very a sensible one!

On the whole if anyone wants to read a realistic romance with believable characters, they can easily go for it! Gore has carefully weaved a great chemistry between the two protagonists. The fiery banter, the unspoken jealousy and hidden tenderness will not only engross you but make you smile thinking of someone you once knew or know.

Rohit Gore's writing style is easy and engaging. It was very easy to fly through the pages. He has done magic with the back blurb and cover design of this book. The blurb is amazingly written which gives you enough hints for a yet another different love story. The title and the cover design go hand in hand which caught my eyes at the very first sight.

This is not a story which travels on a single plot. It has many dimensions and colors. I loved the narration and its simplicity. The author has not mentioned in the story that Aditya & Radha are a couple or are dating but as you keep reading you understand the feeling and get the depth of their feelings. It’s the perfect title for this novel I feel.

So much details yet so fast the story spanning over two decades covering life of two people contained in 328pages .This is real stuff, all praise to writer and his style that he achieved such a feat of weaving a story so compelling. May I keep getting surprises from your future upcoming books too.  ;)

The Author

When he had written to me asking to review this book, he had mentioned a line “Dear Ayesha, I hope you like this novel a lot!’ and I am so glad that he stuck to it. It really didn’t disappoint me.

He is a novelist based in Pune and this is his fourth novel after Circle of Three, Focus Sam and A Darker Dawn. I haven’t read them but I am looking forward to reading them in near future. He is also a management consultant with an IT major. You can read more about him at his site http://www.rohitgore.com/.

My Ratings – 4/5. 
It’s quite a good read. I won’t be surprised if I start reading it again after few months! :D

Book – The Guardian Angels

Author – Rohit Gore

Genre – Fiction  Romance

Publisher – Grapevine India

Published in – July 2013

ISBN 13 – 9789381841280

ISBN 10 – 9381841284

Pages – 328

Price – INR 125/-

This book review is a part of The Write Tribe's Book Review Programme

Check: http://writetribe.com/the-guardian-angels/