And We Remained - Book Review

Title: And We Remained

Author & Publisher: Asad Ali Junaid 

ISBN: 978-1495378928

Number of Pages: 268

Price: 249 [INR]

Genre: Fiction

The Blurb:

It is Bangalore in the late 1990's. There are tremendous socio-economic and cultural transformations taking place as a result of liberalization. How would these changes impact a group of friends in their late teens? How would they cope, find opportunities and what of their original identities would they be left with, after western ideologies are brought in and bombarded into their awareness by cable TV and new media?

Told through emails and first person account of events, And We Remained is a light and entertaining read of these friends as they experience love, heartbreak, prison, politics, drunken binges, strip clubs, sexcapades, US and Europe during their journey into adulthood.

My Review:

Characters:

      Meet Sahir Hassan, Sanndeep Gadwal, Anand Nair, Gopal V and David Williams - five students of the Engineering College of Vidyakeerthi University (ECVU). These are the five teenagers, who have seen possible variations in their engineering life. They have gone through so much, even fallen for the same girl (three of them) but still, in the end, their friendship is intact. Not exactly hero types but they will manage to make you smile.

       Meet Wardha, the girl on whom Sahir, Sandeep and Gopal have a crush on! Daughter of a Major General of Indian Army, Wardha has entered ECVU through a special merit list and has the ability to cause some serious havoc in the life of three guys, who are friends.

Plot:

      The story is about five friends and their life at engineering college and post graduation. It takes you through different phases of college life - friendship, love, lectures, bunking, canteen, politics, student body elections and back logs! Struggling through all these are our five friends, whose life becomes and entangled mess when they are accused of ragging and are sent to jail. Time there is certainly not what we can call rosy. If anything it is hell and the only thing that survives through this difficulty is their friendship. 

       The story continues about the rest of their college life which includes all sorts of fun and politics. What follows post graduation is another story altogether. Further studies, jobs, foreign trips, strip clubs, guy talks, money problem, unemployment; there is a lot to add spice to the story. And the email conversations between friends just keeps us in the loop of their life, witnessing each of their life from a certain angle.

Things that Worked:

      The narration style - unique and catchy. The past is narrated in first person and the present through email chats between the friends. There is a frequent switch between the past and present and each part gives you just enough hint to anticipate what will be next. In no way was it predictive, which was good.

       Also, the story is narrated like a conversation between friends. It makes it appear more realistic, like listening to friends talk and that made the story all more believable. There are incidents which make you laugh, like you would do when with your friends. The typical 'Guy Chats' were fun to read and gave a glimpse into the minds of boys.

       Here is a line that I loved from this book -

       The most telling sign of receding youth is not balding or a paunch, it is when you do not feel like laughing as much anymore.

Things that didn't Work:

      The frequent switch between narrations caused some confusion because in one chapter, where the narration was from Anand and he once refers to Anand, like it is someone else (Chapter 3, Page no 12)

      Sometimes, all that there was in the email conversations were the chat about girls and sex. Though it might have been the way the friends chatted, the overdose it made me lose interest at some points. But when the chapter ends and a new one begins, the interest and curiosity will be back.

      The characters lacked depth, especially during the narration of their engineering life. Though the narration was from different view points, they all sounded like the same voice to me. And Wardha! Her role, though should have been dominant considering how three out of five friends had fallen for her, is really insignificant. I really didn't understand why so much hype was given to her after all!

Verdict:

      It was a light read. The narration was different and managed to keep the interest alive, though it faltered at few points. A quick read. If you love to read about college life, friendship and fun, then this book is for you.

My Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars

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Until the next review,

Keep Reading :)

Love,

Swathi :)