Trapped In Love Again - Book Review

Trapped In Love Again

By Yogesh Achtani

Review By Ila Garg

Trapped In Love Again, a novel by the debutant writer Yogesh Achtani, is published by Mahaveer Publishers. The cover designer Sunill Kaushik, has well portrayed the element of humour and unusualness in the cover. It'll give the readers a slight glimpse of a typical modern day love story. The title is attractive too. Use of bright colors and a funny cover image, add to the reader’s interest. The blurb talks about few people and the turning points in their lives and what all happens in the entire journey with clarity.

The blurb reads as, “Miserable and dejected, Sameer lights up a cigarette despite Arnav's warning about the ill effects of smoking including impotency. He just wants to blow his worries in smoke. 'Who's bothered of impotency when you can't even manage to get a girlfriend?'

Arnav, alias Mac is a 'happy go lucky guy' pursuing his graduation in Pune. Fresh into college, he feels a splurge of energy gushing through him on seeing the free life. With emotions running high, Cupid strikes the very first day of college and for Arnav, it's love at first sight with Sally. Despite hitting off well from day one, their relationship isn't a smooth ride.

Trapped in Love, Arnav finds himself in lurch after being ditched by Sally, and finds succor in his new friends, Sameer, Atul and Ronit. Sameer has a penchant for Sally's friend Aspree but just like Arnav's case, it's a one sided affair. Thus just as him, his new friends too are a bunch of losers in the field of love.

All their attempts to woo their beloveds fail in quick succession. The turning point comes when they embark upon a social service camp to a village under the aegis of NSS.

Now what would be their future plan? Would they continue to woo their beloveds or would they work for a social cause for the village?

Will Arnav's one sided love story continue, or he would be “Trapped in Love, Again”.

Would they be successful in whatever they undertake? Or would their cruel fate follow them everywhere? And most importantly, will they ever find love at all?”

Trapped In Love Again, revolves around a young group of boys and girls namely Arnav, Ronit, Sameer, Atul, and Aspree, Smita, Sally. Love strikes on the very first day as if a scene straight from Hindi Masala Movie. Arnav falls for Sally's beauty and from there on a love story starts to gather momentum but with a few speed breakers in the process. As soon as their love had blossomed, it declined with a faster pace. Few misunderstandings lead to an end of their love.

However, not further revealing the plot, I would like to mention that this isn’t a love story purely. It has so many subtle plots woven in it. Apart from romance, it has given a balanced space to fights, misunderstandings, friendship, naughtiness, and the intricacies of teenage group, & ofcourse the desperation to explore the unexplored.

The book has more to it than meets the eye. Initially there is nothing different that Yogesh Achtani offers us in the book. It’s the same old tale with slight twists. But gradually it captures. The first half is a usual college love story but later on the story changes track. Characters, their visualization and the sensitive village matters have been sketched to perfection. Although the second half gets a little too serious, yet it retains the romantic and humorous flavor.

The too many failures of Arnab’s life and dejections, is just one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens in Trapped In Love Again. Another reason that would keep you glued to it would be whether he finally could help the villagers or not and gets his true love.

This 240 page book is well written and moves beyond the regular romance novels. The book has a few grammatical errors, punctuations missing and several spelling errors too. Apart from this, it is very entertaining and brings to forth some real life problems too which haunt few parts of our country with a different touch to it. It’s a light read, however the subject is sensitive. At some points it becomes dragging (the conversations, mainly) but at others it is fast paced too. For me it was a quick read, as I completed the novel in some 2 hours.

To find out whether he survives through the incessant sufferings and moves on with his new found friends or not, will he be lucky in his love life despite the rejections and turmoil, how he sets everything right towards the end; you will have to read the novel, Trapped In Love Again.

Ratings: 3.2/5