Book Review: A Lot Like Love by Sumrit Sahi

A  Lot Like Love

Author: Sumrit Shahi

Publisher: Rupa Publishers

Rating: 2/5

It has been rightly said that love is a rumour, everyone talks about it, but no one truly knows. Though it is sublime, yet it is difficult to understand the antagonistic side of it. There came a movie titled ‘A Lot Like Love’, starring Ashton Kutcher, in 2005 that made all the lovers go crazy behind the plot. However, ‘A Lot Like Love’ by Sumrit Sahi fails as a perlocutionary act. It fails to impress or leave a lasting impact. With the bountiful use of full stops (pauses), the hurdles in reading seem never-ending.

The story revolves around Arnika, who is attractive and diligent. She joins Shadab’s school and on the very first days gets a chance to meet plucky and amorous, Shadab. They say infatuation is a drug and our two protagonists get addicted to it. The story moves forward owing to several dialogues (rather one-word dialogues) and with literally no twists or turns and ends up in a clichéd climax.

Shadab’s suave or affable personality doesn’t strike the right chord and his chemistry with Arnika lacks the strength. There is no doubt that the narration is simple and understandable, but the use of too many contractions and colloquial language acts as a turn-off.

It comes as a disappointment when a nationally acclaimed writer pens down something as frivolous as this piece of literature. With almost nothing to ponder upon and absence of freshly brewed content, this story is a setback. Nevertheless, Rupa doesn’t fail to impress with fine-tooth comb editing.

Apparently, it is the need of the hour for all the aspiring authors to think out of the box and write about something other than college romance before the genre becomes redundant. They should realize that writing a book is an art and not compulsion. How bluntly they mention in acknowledgement that they are grateful to the readers for making them rich! Is this what all it takes to inscribe your thoughts on a piece of paper?

Overall, the narration type is definitely not my cup of tea but it may be liked by new readers or by those who are on the lookout for short- light romance.

Buying Link: Amazon