Review of "Hedon" – Priyanka
The book doesn’t require a review. It is
already there between the pages. As Priyanka puts it “her cheeky inclusion of a
self-penned book review is interwoven into the narrative”. Adding on to that,
the book is a story (if I dare call it that), of a young Tara who crawls,
flies, dunks, rolls and stands tall in her life. She falls in love
(infatuation?!) with Jay who is 7-8 years her senior and is much like her,
understands her and shares her crazy tendencies. From there on, life moves them
apart only to grant them a few exchanges (as both of them are pretty damn
awesome with words) via email, texts and phone calls during which they stand by
each other’s dramatic happenings in life.
Tara moves from Calcutta to America to pursue
higher education. She makes many friends and each one of them leaves a mark on
her life. Her friends are interesting and form a variety in her life except for
the fact that they are all always drinking, dancing, snorting, drinking,
puffing, roaming, chatting, drinking, etc. The narrative is encrusted with
colourful smoky language which depicts the haziness that passes through her
life during her college years and the illusions she lives in flows in between
the chapters of her life.
Upon her return to India she tries her hand at
working for a publishing house much to the irritation of her hedonistic self.
But chance takes her back to Jay for another shot at a life.
The words are woven into jingly bells which
keep on resonating along. The language is fresh and lively. There is one too
many pop culture references which will make you feel like time is standing still
and you are the one who wants to just overtake it. Priyanka’s attention to details
puts the picture in your mind without any effort. While her proses are still better
than the poetry, there is a good smattering of it all through, which makes the
story even dreamier. The ending is stifling which makes you wish for more, but
the parallel running epilogue makes up for it.
Verdict:
Read it for freshness,
Cram it for writing skills,
But do not pick it up,
If you have hedonistic tendencies!
I would definitely gobble up any subsequent books
by this author.
PS: I love the cover. The book is going to be
highlighted on my shelf are a good amount of time.
PPS: Whoever did the formatting (dark pages and
all!!) deserves a pat on the back, but I still can’t figure out why 3 page were
left blank in the middle of the book. Pondering!!!
Special Thanks to Vivek Tejuja for giving me this rare gem :)
