It Started with a Friend Request by Sudeep Nagarkar (Book Review)!!!

     

    This is the first phenomena on my Blog where I am reviewing a book before its release. :-) I am done reading Bestseller author, Sudeep Nagarkar's 3rd book of 212 pages right now. After "Few Things Left Unsaid" and "That's the way we met", "It Started with a Friend Request" is the 3rd book by Sudeep N. It is set to release on 17th July, 2013. And exclusively, this is the very first public review of this book. I feel honored to be a part of this book right before its release which has already been listed as Bestselling in the Pre-order section on almost all the E-commerce websites. The book is been published by Random Publisher which is Sudeep's publisher since his 2nd book. But now, all the three books of Sudeep Nagarkar is been published by Random House India. He is no more an author by Srishti Publication. And since he has tied up with RH India, we can see his progress. He is in media, television, newspapers, festivals etc. 

About the Author:-

Sudeep Nagarkar is the author of two bestselling novels - Few Things Left Unsaid (2011) and That’s the Way We Met (2012).

Sudeep’s books are inspired from real life incidents. They have been translated into regional languages and continue to top the bestseller charts.

He has a degree in Electronics Engineering from Mumbai University and is currently pursuing management studies from Welingkar Institute of Management. He is also a motivational speaker and has given guest lectures in various institutes and organizations. He resides in Mumbai.

Synopsis:-

Why don’t we feel the moment when we fall in love but always remember when it ends?

Akash is young, single, and conservative with a preference for girls with brains than in miniskirts. One day, he runs into free-spirited Aleesha at a local discotheque. A Mass Media student, Aleesha is a pampered brat, the only child of her parents who dote on her. This brief meeting leads them to exchange their BlackBerry pins and they begin chatting regularly. As BlackBerry plays cupid, they fall in love. When they hit a rough patch in their life, Aditya, Akash’s close pal, guides them through it.

But just when they are about to take their relationship to the next level, a sudden misfortune strikes. Can Aditya bring Akash’s derailed life back on track?

It Started with a Friend Request is a true story which will make you believe in love like you never knew before.

   

   Coming to the review, Sudeep Nagarkar is one author who has understood what his pet readers expect from him. Hence he is continuing to write love stories which is the bestselling genre among Indian readers. And in this genre, he is one of the authors whom people wait for. If all of you remember, I gave his first book 3 stars while his 2nd book which was a sequel to the first one grabbed only 2.5 stars from me. I was disappointed with the length of the book and the simplicity. Now after reading his latest book, I am happy that he has kept the story short and have done his best to tell lots of aspects in few words. His narration and language has improved a lot since his first attempt. But still, I find that not every sentence is crisp and perfect as it should be. He has great thoughts but as soon as he starts writing them, he writes like a Desi Guy and not like an epic writer. This section is where I would ask Sudeep Nagarkar to improve himself. Rest he is on the right track.

            

          The story is wonderful. As the title says, I presumed that its the same crap which some debutante write about how Facebook stalking helped them get a girlfriend with whom they went through misunderstandings and patch-ups. But I was wrong. Sudeep has just mentioned in one paragraph that they added each other on BBM and directly met after that. Thank God! I could not have survived any cliche by him at this stage. There's no monosyllabic or mono-sentences chats pages after pages but a sweet romance story which will make you imagine the protagonist after every sentence. Even when there's a mention of the messages that the protagonists send to each other, they are more than half-page long which makes it a mini love-letter than a boring usual conversation that we ourselves do with our partner on daily basis. :-)

            The surprise that Akash gives to Aleesha in theater is something that's very fresh and new. I have never read it before. That's the first thing that I liked in the book. Tamanna's first note for Deep in her Galaxy Tab is wonderful and the notes that are mentioned after that are also fine. The surprise and the twist that the story takes in the last 1/3rd part of the book is what made me feel that the book is above average and can be called a Good Book and an assured recommendation to all the love story lovers. The components such as of friendship, love, companionship, simplicity, love-making sequences, romance, sex, hanging-outs, trips, picnics, outings etc are satisfying in the book. A little corporate insight is also given but I won't say that the total justice is being done to it. Author could have kept it as the base but its just a part.

            I liked Tamanna-Deep's sequence more than Akash-Aleesha's and it seemed to be more matured than the latter's. Coming to the drawbacks, as I said above, the sentence formation can be much better. Author is unable to convey all his feelings exactly in words. The difficulty that he faces in doing this is often visible in the writing. I found 2-3 grammatical mistakes in the book but its fine, it is avoidable. And Mr. Sudeep Nagarkar, you can write "Bastard" if your story demands rather than writing it as "B******". It does not make your book vulgar or abusive. If it's story's requirement, you can definitely write anything that's a taboo in society without caring for anyone. And next time when you write a love-making scene, do take help of a co-author as in all the 3 books, you have described the scene almost in the same manner. Rest, I would say that you have improved with every book that you have written. Cover page by Saurav Das is wonderful and lovely. The lyrics of your book's theme song is touchy but singer isn't satisfying. In all, I would give this book 3.5/5 and strictly recommend it for everyone who love reading Love stories by Indian authors. Go for it.

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!