When I read ‘Battle Hymn of a Bewildered Mother’ by Khullar Shroff, I knew I would be reading every book this author publishes. Good Indian authors are rare. Good Indian authors who do not base their books around their character’s sweat and the dusty roads of India, are all the more rare.
The best part about Shonali Khullar Shroff’s books (or at least the two books that she has published so far) is that she writes about the world she belongs to and so the characters (even though they belong to the top 1 % of the Indian high society) are extremely easy to relate to. Also, her accounts of the Indian high society, their mannerisms, their take on the world, is so unapologetic that you don’t feel “why the hell am I reading this story where the biggest crisis is the daughter claiming that she hasn’t got anything to wear as the Burberry clothes she owns are so yesterday’s fashion?”
And if you end up wondering this question, then why the hell did you pick up a book called “Love In the Time of Affluenza’?
The book is witty, fast paced and with just the right amount of details. The writing is funny, with one chuckle per chapter guaranteed.
The only issue I had with the book was that it had a really abrupt end. Or may be I liked it so much that I didn’t want it to end. but I do feel there was scope for a couple of more chapters. Not that the author left loose ends, but perhaps she could’ve tied the ends more tightly. Then again, may be her intention was to give the readers a feeling of taking a peak into one slice of the characters’ lives and as their life wasn’t coming to an end, the end of the book wasn’t supposed to seem like ‘the end’.
Overall, an amazing book. you can read this book whenever. It could be the breather between two heavy classics, an escape from the horror you just finished or the horrid reality itself, or just the book you pick up when you want to read a good book. Needless to say, as the book is based around Indian characters, Indian readers will find the book much more relatable and funny. However, if I were to recommend ten books by Indian authors to someone who has no clue what or where India is, this will be one of them.
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