Something you should know in the beginning itself, I haven’t ever read Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. I, of course, know the story (its difficult not to know that if you are living in the 21st century), but I haven’t ever even read a summarized or translated version of it. So I’m no one to comment on how well does this story adapt the original play.
This also means that I went into reading this novel afresh. I knew that there will be star crossed lovers, familial rivalry, and probably a tragic end, but beyond that I was venturing on this journey with a clean slate.
Ronit & Jamil is written in a play like format. However, there are no scenes, as in the content of the play are monologues rather than dialogues set in a dramatic way. This for me was a bummer. As I haven’t read the original Romeo and Juliet, I was hoping I’ll get a taste of that epic in a modern day setting which I would relate more to.
The settings are modern day, so you do have the exchange of text messages, hanging out on beaches, etc., but the conflict is the traditional one.
I also need to point out, I listened to the audio book. The narrators are great. What bugged me throughout though, was that they read out what I’m assuming was written in footnotes or the trivia written within parentheses. So while a narrator is reading out an angry monologue of Jamil’s father, with all the voice modulation the lyrical verse requires, there will be a little note read out in a monotonous voice telling you that ‘Laila’ is the name of Jameel’s mother. Also, at many places, the author has borrowed lines from the original Romeo and Juliet, but the magic of those lines being merged in Ronit and Jamil’s monologues was broken by the reference being read out in the middle of the monologue. This is something that wouldn’t happen if one reads the book themselves, as we often tend to skip such stuff or read them after finishing the section.
Over all, it wasn’t too bad cause it was short. So I could enjoy the lyrical writing style without being overwhelmed by it. Also, if you read this one, watch out for the end, it will be a pleasant surprise.
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