The Forever Years by Vivek Kumar (Book Review: 3.25*/5) !!!

  

1^st Book of 2021

It took me quite some time to finish the first book this year all because I was going through some personal pain and issues. Somehow, I am here writing the 1^st review of this year of the book named “The Forever Years”. The book is written by the debutante author, Vivek Kumar, in around 270 pages. I ordered the Kindle edition of the book from Amazon and I hope, the paperback of the same shall be available soon.

 

The book talks about a young boy and his journey from moving to a hostel from his home and how the experiences of living alone shaped his life. The title of the book corresponds with the situation the protagonist of the book is in. Earlier, I thought why the book is named so when the plot is completely different from fishbowl but later I understood the reference of fish with the boy while reading and getting deeper into the journey of the character.

 

I have lived in a hostel for around 7 months and hence I was able to relate to few of the anxieties, trouble, fun and several other emotions that the protagonist goes through in this story. If you have been from a lower middle-class or middle-class background or even if you belong from 2^nd tier city in India, you will be able to relate and comprehend with the incidents and psychology of the characters in the story. I liked how author was able to keep the situations lighter and funnier in some segment whereas he was also able to explore the dark truth of living alone too.

 

Talking about the characters, I must say the protagonist is very nicely developed in the story and you would be taking him with you even after finishing the book. I must also applaud author for including multiple characters in the story along with their funny nicknames. Haha! It is not easy to write a story with multiple characters in picture where everyone has certain chemistry with each other and the same needs to be explored continuously.

 

The book gives the same vibe as the series like Gullak or Panchayat where you can feel rural India closely where the small things as celebrated as the biggest happiness of life whereas the big problems are also solved considering them to be just another thing in life. Read it not in a single sitting but as a filler while reading several other books. It is written in such a way. Also, there are many elements in the book which shall make you feel nostalgic as it made me for couple of times.

 

Now, talking about the drawbacks, I found the narration quite weak due to which it took me time to complete this book. The chapters are short which is a good point but I couldn’t find the story written seamlessly. It is like several short stories woven and converted in a single story. Secondly, there are many characters but except the protagonist, you will not find much depth in any other character which is a turn-off for me as a reader. Lastly, I felt that the book is based since school times hence it could have been written in such a way that even the kids could read it but due to some intimate scenes in the latter part, this becomes a book for say 16+ readers only.

 

Overall, I give this book 3.25* out of 5.

 

Thanks.

 

WRITING BUDDHA