TTS Verdict: Clichéd as it may get, Faiyaz writes of the reality of relationships in urban cities which many of us tend to ignore. Read it for damn-aah-yes moment recalls from your love life.
Rating: 3/5
Publisher: Sanbun
Price: 150 INR
Four friends. College buddies and relationships. Graduate and face the harsh realities of life. Contact falls through. And then not surprisingly, a happy ending. Wake Up Sid, but multiplied by three. A Bollywood flick ready novel with justice done to characters to a certain extent.
Ahmed Faiyaz’s Love, Life and All That Jazz (LLATJ) focuses primarily on love and relationships in urban cities and how certain events in life can effect those links. With quite a selection of character backgrounds, he makes the reader aware of the most common personality forms one comes across in a city—the rich Casanova (Vikram), the middle class guy with family problems (Tanveer), the ambitious chap with dreams of the West (Sameer).
Insecurities in long distance relationships, religion being an obstacle in love, infidelity—these are all part and parcel of the common man’s life, no matter how much we ignore it. As the happiness turns to feeling low, personal losses, sorrow and heartbreak, LLATJ explores how an individual coops into his/her professional life insulating oneself from the negatives.
Though it may seem clichéd that the characters find a turning point around the same time and the book ends with past love interests coming together, Faiyaz has actually depicted, believe it or not, a reality. As a matter of fact, I have seen some really dramatic patch-ups in relationships!
For a first time writer, Faiyaz has done a pretty decent job, but felt like he was running out of gas towards the end, as he couldn’t keep up with the pace he started LLATJ. Chapters started becoming shorter, the gap of incidents became lesser; suddenly more was happening in a lesser duration. Now you understand why I referred the book to Bollywood flick ready material?
However, do pick up the book, as I’m sure you will be able to relate to it, directly or indirectly. Hoping there is another one in the pipeline that continues the story ahead, certainly with more maturity as a writer. Currently Faiyaz is working on his second book called Another Chance.
Sahil Khan