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A romantic thriller by Ravi Subramaniam portrays seduction, imbalance and a restitution.
Ravi Subramaniam’s characterization is with insight and the characteristic features which exceed the limitation are subtly depicted, that of Shreya’s devastating obsession to always win, Aditya’s Achilles heel being his vulnerability.
Each character stands out though one of Shreya Kausik holds the reader in awe. The extent she goes to fulfil her passion renders a toothless wonder as the jaws fall apart not knowing what gets inside. How could she? How would she ? the reader exclaims at her behaviour tantalising. Terrific as a shiver travels down the spine.She has a conviction”relationships with the right people always pay in life”.
The women in her comes with an aplomb as she aggressively manipulates men with her bodily fascination. being her supple body, her flawless skin, her shapely private parts which are exposed in phases to attract men, seduce them as they go behind her like a dog that follows the bitch. They are Melvin, Aditya, Sanjay whom we know and there would be many more whom we do not come across. I quote my own lines to illustrate her idiosyncrasy
Zeal turns into passion
passion into ambition
while ambition overwhelms
there is a wish to rule the realm
the aspiration takes over
transforms into an obsession all over
while there deep into the center
the appetite becomes ravenous in genre
it takes over in a massive usurp
justifies itself in a strange deserve
the means is not important as found
the end surfaces in an abound.
Aditya Kapoor comes with a bang. The foremost writer, who enjoys a film star status is entrapped by Shreya.His strand of white hair as seen in the mirror cautions him then and there but lust overtakes reason. He succumbs to her tricks not knowing she is extending her body to him for the sake of becoming a celebrated writer. During their conversations, while in the midst of their escapades, author and when Aditya loses his manliness to her coax and cajoles she talks of her manuscript and dies to know the way he would help her in promoting the publishing of her book. author and a senior banker is taken for a ride literally and metaphorically by the novice banker and a first time writer.
The other characters support the plot as we find Maya,Aditya’s wife a lovely lady, a great educationists and a paragon of virtue loses herself once by turning foul mouthed being due to her disappointment The contraction Of Ebola virus by her is so sudden and before the reader could realize what happens, she is in her deathbed. It gives way to a suspicion that this part is purposefully brought into by Ravi Subramaniam to kindle the pathos and create a space for Aditya to repent.
Ebola and as such, there is a lot of references to the contemporary. writers like Chetan Bhagat, Nirav Sanghavi along with Vaishali Mathur of a publishing company are topical allusions They are brought in for various reasons. Ravi Subramaniam delves into publishing process too. It is technically sound and happens to be a lesson to writers.
Sanjay, on the other hand, is a silent villain. He discreetly plays the evil man by having two faces, one of a good friend and the other of a jealous person. As often, envy outlasts and wins over the righteous that face which had been carefully masked is torn in the end and lies tattered
The narration is in an easy flow. The indulgence in the sensual description of the relationship of Shreya and Aditya could be there for the commercial part of the book. As is evident the erotic becomes a requirement for a book to sell for that matter even to get published. Ravi Subramaniam has played on the skill splendidly exploiting the snare of voluptuousness. His book would become a real hit, no doubt. But it is repulsive to those who value the story element and the language potential. So saying, I have to bring the word “fuck”, used almost in every page would make a serious reader lift the eyebrows in disgust.
The title of the book “The Best Seller She Wrote” and the picture on the cover tell us about the cynical perversion that Shreya inherits and exposes and the weakness of foremost author Aditya that lands him in partial ignominy
It is a beautiful read except for these few shortcomings.
I would grant A+ to “The Best Seller She Wrote”
I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Blogger.