There are few books you pick for their title, some for their cover page, some for their synopsis, some for their overall presentation in case when you are not aware about the Author. This book that I have just ended up reading has a title quite difficult considering the average readers in India which most of them won’t understand. What impressed me to pick this book up was the synopsis which arose quite a curiosity within me to read about this protagonist- Aarti who is basically from Kashmir and another girl, Priya, who is there to teach her about life against envy, jealousy, greed and treachery. The name of the book is “Ballad of a Belle” which basically means a slow romantic/sentimental song of a beautiful girl/woman (if I go through the dictionary meaning).
The book is almost 300 pages published by Addyyan Publication written by the debutant, Rahul Tushar. Talking about the writing style, I must say from nowhere it can be said about the author being a debutante with the way he carries the story from one plot to another without any of them sounding less interesting than the others. With each page, the story only keeps getting better as the protagonist of the book finds herself in new relationship and challenges of life with one constant always- Priya Majoomdar, her friend. The narration is very well handled which manages reader to stick with the book until its finished. I read this book while traveling to my office in Mumbai Local and I must say, it really became hard to keep the book in bag without completing it as the excitement after each page has always been high to know what happens next.
The characterization is handled very insightfully as each and every character in the book seems to be having their own story in the back-end which is also given importance along with the tale of the protagonist- Aarti. The characters of Aarti, Priya, Sanjive, Dilip, Arun, Stan and Sheetal remains ingrained in your mind even after hours of finishing the book which says a lot about the skills of the author. Another great thing that has been handled is the way author discusses about the Kashmir’s fact in the initial phase of the book then to the Corporate politics and in the end about the politics involved in mega-projects handled by big businessmen in India. All these social phenomenon is very nicely discussed in the book. The equation of Aarti and Priya is the USP of the book out of many colors and themes that the Author have tried touching.
Spoilers Ahead…….
Now talking about the drawbacks of the book: - The cover page is kept quite dark matching with the story of the book but I would have suggested author to add little more colors to it as the book is not only about darkness in the protagonist’s life. Secondly, there are too many deaths in the book which becomes irritating and unjustified after a point of time. It seems author is doing it only to add more darkness in the protagonist’s character. Thirdly, the way protagonist gets into each relationship so easily without giving 2nd thought to her already hell of a past is quite surprising. Fourth, the ending could have been positive after all that the protagonist had suffered in her life. Fifth and the last, the book is priced quite high.
Overall, the book is a quite nice read and I have big expectations from the author’s 2nd book “The Sinful Oracle” which has been introduced at the end of this book. I give “Ballad of a Belle” 3.75* out of 5.
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Thanks.
ABHILASH RUHELA
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