Love Chameleon - Book Review

Love Chameleon

By Nidhi Saxena

Review By Ila Garg

Love Chameleon, a beautiful anthology of some magnificent poems by the debutant Nidhi Saxena is published by Partridge India – A Penguin Random House Company. Both the poetess and the book, Love Chameleon, seem to be promising!

The blurb reads as “Love Chameleon is an anthology of contrarian poems penned over 20 years wherein the poet uses the metaphor of the "Chameleon" to elucidate the complex themes of love, lust, loss, longing, sexuality and outdated social mores. The book is paradoxical in that it blends several contradictory elements to make a powerful whole - it is at once intrepidly bold and sensual, movingly sensitive and absurdly hilarious. The poems are further multi-layered in that they exist at the level of words but also convey higher meaning at another, more metaphysical level. In the end, the book truly captivates by its sheer candidness matched in equal measure with a witty and vibrant play of words.”

The title Love Chameleon indicates the book must be about the changing colors of love, and indeed the poetess left me in awe with around 80+ poems centered on one metaphor of Chameleon. It explored the various facets of love from desires to longing.

I was amazed while reading these poems as Nidhi Saxena has managed to pen down the depth of emotions with such a seamless effort. She did a wonderful job with emotions in her book, Love Chameleon.

The book starts with a short and sweet prologue that gives this anthology the necessary kick start. The poems are then divided in 5 parts – Love Chameleon, The Irreconcilability of Parting, Longing Sutras, A Heady Concoction with a Queer Mix, and Et Al.

All the poems are so well written that it gets difficult to pin point my favorite ones. Yet, I want to quote few lines from the poem titled ‘Love Chameleon’:

“Love, the Chameleon,

        Changes color,

        Every Now and then,

        To suit the terrain.

         It can elude or delude,

        Agitate or pacify,

        Yearn or satisfy,

        Make or destroy.

        The mellow yellow of togetherness,

        A burst of violet when impassioned,

        Turning green with ravenous chameleon envy,

        And with betrayal, a full-blooded vermilion,

        The bright orange of frivolity,

        The beautiful romantic crimson,

        The deep blue of longing,

        The ashen grey of separation.”

The 150 page book makes you feel connected. You can’t help but visualise the words that you devour while reading. I finished this book in one go, though I kept picking it again and again and re-reading few poems. It’s one of the best poetry collection I have read in recent times.

Nidhi has created a masterpiece. After all, it took her 20 years to give it this form. And believe me, it was worth it. I must say the vocab and choice of words added to the plus points of the book, making it stand out. It also gave it the necessary flavour. I'm enchanted by the poetry in Love Chameleon. Every poem is penned down gracefully. Many congrats to the author for coming up with such a delightful read.

Nidhi Saxena managed to keep the reader’s interest maintained throughout! The pace of the each poem is smooth. The language is easy to comprehend despite the enriched vocabulary. The readers won’t find it difficult to read through the poems and comprehend them. The USP of this book is not only the beautiful cover and the sketches inside, but also the captivating emotions imbibed in the poems.

For a debut writer, Nidhi Saxena has given a good start to her career. I recommend this book to all the poetry lovers. Also, I would like to applaud the courage of this author to come up with a poetry anthology in such times where poetry is almost losing its essence.  

Ratings: 4.25/5

Buying Links:   Flipkart | Amazon | Landmark

The Thorough Check - Book Review

The Thorough Check – Travails of an Indian Muslim

By Vadassery Thaiparambil Rakesh

Review By Ila Garg

The Thorough Check, a thrilling narrative by the debutant writer Vadassery Thaiparambil Rakesh is published by Frog Books (an imprint of Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd). The paper and print quality show that it is a publication house that we should keep an eye on. The cover is apt as much as the title is and hooks the readers. It will instantly make you want to grab the book and read on. The Thorough Check is gripping crime thriller which is adorned by an equally illustrative cover design.

Born in a sleepy village of Kerala, amidst the greenery of paddy fields, overflowing ponds and canals, croaking of frogs and the mysticism of snake worship, Vadassery Thaiparambil Rakesh did his B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the Govt. Engineering College, Trissur. Bitten by the world of magical realism of a Garcia Marquez, Thriller tales of a Maclean or an Archer, nationalistic fervour of a Tharoor or a Nilekani, he finally took his dive to the deep ocean of writing. The Thorough Check is his literary debut.

The blurb reads as, “So much has been talked about to quell the great religious divide in India. But it pervades like a dust storm all across the society, politics, business, and intelligentsia. Here is an honest attempt to see the nation first, a nation that cannot afford to talk divisive after sweltering for hundreds of years under foreign rule and their loot.

This is the story of a police officer, who puts his life at stake in protecting the country. Narrated at the backdrop of some scintillating scenes of love, passion, and adventure, it keeps the readers glued to the content. The earthly appeal, scenic locales, and the contemporary relevance, make it a darling for all age groups.

The book creates yet another “Tryst of Destiny,” this time in the twenty first century. The protagonist achieves what the creators of this nation could not, a change of heart of the hardliners. A must read for the world citizens of tomorrow – Vasudaivakudumbakam.”

Needless to say it is a story centered on terrorism. The basic plot moves around the line of terrorists planning an attack in Gujarat that will shatter the city to the core. The protagonist is an undercover policeman working under the orders of State Police of Kerala. He is sent to the state of Gujarat for an assignment to find out the answers to all the mysterious activities which were being detected on the coast of Kerala and had their links in Gujarat. The case was complex, of course and the way it unfolds kept me hooked. The story is good, however it lacks the narration. The first person narrative is a big put off. The readers will find it tasking to read through the book due to the language errors.

Right from the beginning, readers will have to concentrate and ensure that nothing distracts them to keep pace with the story. The writing skills of the author demand time and attention from the readers to catch the flow. However, I liked the way the author developed the characters and built up the necessary suspense. Initially, it was a slow read but once the story picked up the speed, I quickly read through the remaining pages.

The 171 page book is divided into 44 short chapters and it manages to a good read. Not exposing the story much, I can easily say that readers will enjoy it despite the language difficulties. The plot that is different from the mainstream romance makes you keep turning the pages to reach the climax and unveil the suspense of the terrorist attack.

For a debut writer, V.T. Rakesh has presented a nice book with a different storyline. The suspense and thrill kept me glued to this book.

‘Yay’ Factors: The story line and the suspense that is built up is intriguing.

‘Nay’ Factors: The language and narrative.

My Verdict: To find out whether the protagonist is able to uncover the conspiracy or not, is he able to find the answers that he came looking for in Gujarat, can he save the country from the terrorists, what will happen when the terrorists get to know about the person who is stopping them, what role do the women characters play in the story, how complex the situation is; you will have to read the novel, The Thorough Check.

Ratings: 3/5

Buying Links: Infibeam | Landmark |uRead | Crossword |Flipkart

This (Unbiased) book review is a part of "The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program". To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com. Thanks Nimi Vashi for giving me the opportunity to read such a nice book!