Title : Two pronouns and a Verb
Author : Kiran Khalap
Blurb : The story about Arjun, Dhruv, and Eva.
Arjun, the hero from the epic Mahabharata, plagued by self-doubt, destined to kill his cousins, share his first wife, get consigned to hell instead of heaven because of his covert arrogance about his marksman skills.
Dhruv, the hero from mythology who is unshakeable, settled as he is as the North Star, unshakeable in the lap of Lord Vishnu, one of the three reigning deities of 330 million Hindu gods and goddesses.
Eva, Greek, Hebrew, Italian. Giver of life, harbinger of good news. Eva, the first love in their lives. They, the first love in hers.
My View : The cover of the book looks simple having a vacant drooping coop which doesn’t connotes anything about the story. The kooky title “Two Pronouns and a Verb” gives a blur hint about the three main characters which will reside in reader’s mind while reading the book’s blurb. Among the three personalities who are pronouns and who is verb will be clear once reader will sail the book voyage at the shore of its story. I very much like the choice of the title.
The book starts with an intriguing prologue and kindles the feeling of curiosity in reader’s mind. The story begins with illuminating the two characters Dhruv(water and fire) and Arjun(earth and water). In the beginning, childhood of the two characters Dhruv and Arjun are unfolded in the story who lived in Wada in Pune with Dada an Ayurveda practitioner. On one side of the railway track a calm character is portrayed in the story and on the other side a frenzied character is sketched by the author, which adds a charm to the story.
The story spins along some interesting events in the first few pages and then soon the next character is introduced in the fifth chapter of the book named Eva(air and space). The story twirls and weaved around the questions of their (Dhruv, Arjun and Eva) life and the questions are all uncovered as the story trundles.
The articulation of the sentences in the book is laudable. The author has adopted simple writing style which is easy to go through. The narration of the story is lucid and thus providing a smooth flow to the story. The characters are well painted by the author in the story.
I love him. He loves me. I love her. She loves him. I hate him. He hates her. I love you. Who are you? Who am I? The book has a series of questions and unspoken words on the first page which will prod a reader to flip through and the prologue makes such an impact on reader’s mind that reader couldn’t restrain from moving on to next pages.
The only downfall I had located in the story is that it paced slow at times but the pace goes normal and then doesn’t create the feeling of boredom in the reader.
A story which painted with colours of affection, attachment and friendship.
Rating : 3.5/5
Reviewer : Megha Biloniya