Point of View by Susheel Kumar Batra (Book Review: 3.5*/5) !!!

  

3^rd Book of 2022

 

After going through a short story for my previous read, I thought of getting back to reading a big one which made me pick up Susheel Kumar Batra’s book named “Point of View” which is published by The Write Place publication in around 403 pages. To my surprise, I was able to sit for 12 hours in a go and complete this book at the rate of 30 pages in every hour. I believe I have done something like this after many years which has given me confidence to finish more books this year in a shorter time frame. SKB, the author, is an Engineering Graduate with PGD in Ecology and Environment and Masters in Applied Psychology. You can find him putting his experience very well in the book as you could see him getting deep into each and every topic he mentions in the sub-plots.

 

The book covers story of a very big family and talks about their 3 generations and briefs on their professional aspect as well as how they end up choosing their respective life-partners. When the book began talking about two brothers, Vinod and Vijay, I thought its going to be more about their profession and how they keep their approach in almost everything in life as per their professional choices but it really made me glad when the book changed its course and went deeper into Vijay’s romantic tale with Kalpana. Author has narrated their tale with such innocence that you could imagine the kind of love people had in the previous generations where people met and fell in love with their crushes during marriages and small family gatherings. Later on, author dives into the elder brother’s romantic tale with Kiran which is given little less space but it is enough to keep you interested.

 

Later on, book moves further to their next generation where their children are discussed and how each one of them choses their career and profession from their own point of view. There are several instances in the book whenever any new character is introduced where author deeps down in their career and work life. I must say that I never enjoyed reading about a character’s profession ever as much as I liked it while going through this one. It gives you insight about the character’s 360-degree details which helps you in imagining them well. Author talks about these characters and the families as if they’re real in nature and the book is written as a biographical account. It makes you trust the story. Author keeps it as real and grounded as possible without adding any element which could have sounded fictional or over-the-top.

 

There are very rare books where every character is treated as the protagonist but author does it well here where you understand everyone’s story considering them the hero of the book. The narration of the story is very simple which enabled me to process through it in a single sitting itself despite it being of more than 400 pages. Even though the synopsis doesn’t speak of it specifically but I found this book quite romantic as it talks about bringing many couples together. In the 2^nd part of the book, the story talks about bringing Kunal-Kangana, Amit-Kaya, Vivek-Palak together. Each of these tales have a different flavor to it which doesn’t let you get bored or find it repetitive. The parent-children bond is also very nicely described which is often left out in the stories.

 

Through discussions, author also touches upon many other factors such as the influence of Swami Ramdev Baba, Deepak Chopra’s theory of life, class system in India, psychology and its new ways etc. which helps you get acquainted with these topics too. This is a good book for the beginners who would like to read a thick book without having to worry about the tough vocabulary as author has kept it very simple for the masses.

 

Talking about the drawbacks, I must say that the book could have been summed up within 300 pages or so as I felt there are many places where author has gone over the board and given long descriptions where it wasn’t necessary. Secondly, author has written many sentences by translating them from Hindi to English in his mind which makes them sound very childish and grammatically incorrect. There should have been an editor who could have proofread the same and corrected the wordings of those sentences. Thirdly, I must say that the book is quite plain in terms of story as you won’t understand the purpose where it’s heading. Author tells a story about a family and how people came together from different mindset together but that’s it. There are no major twists, turns etc. which can give you the excitement of a page-turner.

 

Overall, the book is a light read and if you love reading stories that talks of bringing love birds together, you’ll enjoy spending time with it. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5.

PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE

 

Thanks.

 

WRITING BUDDHA