Aunties of Vasant Kunj by Anuradha Marwah (Book Review: 4*/5) !!!

  

15^th Book of 2024

Fiction is my favorite yet somehow; I always get into non-fiction but I regularly miss it even when non-fiction provides me the comfort it does when the days aren’t going well. Luckily, I got my hands upon a wonderful fiction this time named “Aunties of Vasant Kunj” written by Anuradha Marwah. This 300-pages book published by Rupa Publications is author’s 4^th release and her experience is evident in every paragraph. Talking about the cover page first, the way the designer has captured the essence of all the characters in the book by embedding related accessories is a witty work indeed.

 

Author has very nicely crafted the book which is based in a six-months’ time-frame describing the lives of three different female energies where each of them are different from the other two. Keeping Shailaja as the main protagonist, Anuradha ensures that she still gives equal importance to Nilima and Dini. Writing a book on 3 characters where each one of them have their own space is something which has been nicely handled. The way their background is provided through story-telling makes the reader understand and visualize each one of them quite clearly.

 

Anuradha has also based the characters in similar conditions but deriving from different types of situations. At one point, authoress makes it clear to us that all three have been derived out of her own life experiences which makes it even more interesting in terms on how she has broken down her tale in three different parallel stories. I enjoyed reading their individual lives in the beginning and the process in which all three of them meet each other.

 

The arc through which all the characters travel engages us throughout the story and we want to see how they move further. Definitely, most of the turns that comes in the story are predictable and old but yet the narration keeps you hooked. Not only the main characters but authoress tries to keep even the other supporting characters say something important. They are not there just to fill the spot. Either the maid, mother-in-law or daughter – everyone has something particular to say through their conversations with the main characters.

 

Written by a female based on all the female characters gives an impression that the book shall be pro-woke-feminism but thankfully, it is not so. The characters are flawed and even if their ego doesn’t let them believe it, authoress speaks it boldly to the reader. Even when Dini’s character is itself one of women activist’s yet you won’t get uncomfortable reading it because other characters around her makes her realize that this is not how it works in practical life. Sections of the book speaks on the role of father in children life, proper closure in relationship from both the ends, not going ahead with court cases against men just for the sake of it etc. I am glad authoress chose this path rather than making the book impressionable only to the woke generation.

 

We are generally habitual of reading books based on girls who are in their 20s or early 30s but here, we get an insight on how the lifestyle of women in their 40s must be. It is wonderful reading the way they have to deal with relationships, job, divorces, marriage, in-laws, kids, neighborhood, societies, judgment etc. There’s a section where two characters lose their job at the same time and the way the same scenario is treated differently and the different lessons provided with the respective cases is phenomenal. Similarly, the challenges faced by a homemaker is also given deserving prominence in the book.

 

There’s a large part of the book where Buddhism is discussed and even when it consists of humorous sections, Anuradha has ensured that she doesn’t end up disrespecting the religion in any manner. She has handled it with maturity. Similarly, she ensures that if she has mentioned a locale in the title of the book- Vasant Kunj, she makes it informative for the readers to understand how is the life in such areas where people fight for water issues and electricity usage every morning and night. Anuradha has used her wit and sense of humor to make it a funny and engaging read throughout. The only issue I have is with the length of the book. It could have been down by 50 pages easily.

 

Overall, this is an interesting read which you’ll enjoy with smile and laughs in between. I give the book 4 stars out of 5.

 

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Thanks!

 

WRITING BUDDHA