I Played A Game With Life - Book Review

 

I played a game with Life

By S. Richardson

Review By Ila Garg

I Played A Game With Life, a novel by the debutant writer S. Richardson is published by Parlance Publishers Pvt. Ltd. The cover designer Jimmy Eric, has well portrayed life in the cover. The front representing day and the brightness while the back contrasting it and depicting night, darkness. The moment I saw the cover, I knew I have to read this. The title is intriguing equally, tempting me further to own this book. So when Richardson sent this book to me for reviewing, I was glad.

The blurb reads as, “Will one young man’s hurts, disappointments and pressures lift him up to greatness or will he submit to mediocrity?

Sam, a typical guy, living life happy and carefree, but has an ambition that far exceeds what a normal Chennai boy can aspire to. Encountering ‘Life’ itself in a dream, he’s convinced into playing a game with it. A game that ends when Life's travails get so hard that Sam is pushed to tears.

A girl enters Sam’s life when he least expects it. The moment he sets eyes on her he knows she’s going to play hard to get. Sparks do indeed fly and before long the two find themselves in a world of romance.

Though Sam’s attitude about living life is to be happy and cool, he finds all of that being tested. Circumstances push him into a world of discomfort, guilt, heartbreak and confusions.

Amidst such emotional turmoil, he manages to grip on to hope and still enjoys life. One event after another pushes him to an edge.

Does Sam find a way to win the game? Or will he spiral into what so many people who've given up the fight have fallen into? You simply need to be part of his life to find out.”

As I read through the novel I played a game with Life, I could actually feel as if I am watching a movie. It has a great potential. The story moves on a comfortable pace, easy language ensures that readers will not find in difficult to read.

Prologue of the novel is written with a clear vision, enhancing the interest of the readers. And this interest is maintained well till the end.

Initially there is nothing different that Richardson offers us in the book. It’s the same old tale with slight twists. But gradually it captures. The Hindi words used could have been a little crisper. The flow of words was good yet the incidents and character introductions were a little fragmented.

The story revolves around the main protagonist, Sam his never ending woes with his family, his newly found love Amritha, an uber cool super rich girl, his friend Harish & his girlfriend Preethi and some relatives and his professional life which is in a terrible mess as no one is in favour of him becoming a Hollywood Actor. A person with big dreams and ambitions to fulfil finds himself at crossroads when his father doesn't supports him in the cause and his struggle to set things right becomes a tough task. Some sparkling revelations later on turns his life upside down and then people around him set out to make life easier for Sam, especially his best friend. It's a story about lost hopes, fading ambitions, silence of an innocent soul, intense love for a girl and in the end the price he pays for each and everything. But somehow it’s worth it.

This 245 page book contains 46 chapters. Well written yet dragging at some points. Readers might find the end too predictable. At some phases, I felt the story is going way too beyond reality. It was more of a melodrama created for the readers to enjoy.

The too many insecurities in Sam’s love life is just one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens in I Played A Game With Life. Another reason that would keep you glued to it would be to discover if he actually wins the game with life or not.

To find out whether he survives the absence of his ex-girlfriend and moves on with Amritha or not, will he be lucky in his career despite the turmoil, how he sets everything right towards the end; you will have to read the novel, I Played a Game with Life.

Ratings: 3.2/5