A Girl, A Stolen Camera and A Borrowed Bike: The Tale of a Journey
Nikhil Singh Shaurya
2018
Notion Press
pp. 78
The book is exactly what it is titled: tale of a journey, undertaken by a girl, who comes across a stolen camera and borrows a bike. The story had potential and would have made for a better read if it was longer. Some of the portions were quickly brushed over. I don’t know if this is because there is a page limit to how much can be written or the author just lost the patience to write in the detail. It is a bit disappointing to read a travel based story without appropriate descriptions of the places, the scenic beauty or the amazing culture of the local people.
I give the author credit for taking on the challenge of writing from a woman’s perspective. I have to admit I know no woman who thinks like the protagonist. I guess this would be based on what the author has been told by some of his friends. The characterisation is cliched and weak. There is not much background detail in building a character sketch. There are similar loose ends in the plot. For instance, after borrowing the bike that the protagonist makes a huge hue and cry over, there is very little mention of her actually using it. Having said that, I am hoping this is a book that many young college goers read for two reasons. First, at least they would read something! It is a short book, the story is relatable for college going students, and I think they would find some familiarity in the popular places mentioned in the book. Second, I think they would do well to come across a woman who is not bound. As cliched as it may be, we still haven’t had enough of such writings and we never know what some woman somewhere might find inspiring.
For the author, I think I read that this is his first novel, and for that I think his effort needs to be lauded. To be able to write this along with medical school is not small feat. The footnotes and quotes in the book were just not needed and I stopped reading them completely after the first two chapters. I don’t know what the purpose of these was anyway. Second, there were some minor typos but not so many that they would be distracting. Finally, I just wish Shaurya and some of the other authors would get decent editorial feedback on what potential a story has. This one could easily have been a longer read, and a better one.I loved the cover though.
Nikhil Singh Shaurya
2018
Notion Press
pp. 78
The book is exactly what it is titled: tale of a journey, undertaken by a girl, who comes across a stolen camera and borrows a bike. The story had potential and would have made for a better read if it was longer. Some of the portions were quickly brushed over. I don’t know if this is because there is a page limit to how much can be written or the author just lost the patience to write in the detail. It is a bit disappointing to read a travel based story without appropriate descriptions of the places, the scenic beauty or the amazing culture of the local people.
I give the author credit for taking on the challenge of writing from a woman’s perspective. I have to admit I know no woman who thinks like the protagonist. I guess this would be based on what the author has been told by some of his friends. The characterisation is cliched and weak. There is not much background detail in building a character sketch. There are similar loose ends in the plot. For instance, after borrowing the bike that the protagonist makes a huge hue and cry over, there is very little mention of her actually using it. Having said that, I am hoping this is a book that many young college goers read for two reasons. First, at least they would read something! It is a short book, the story is relatable for college going students, and I think they would find some familiarity in the popular places mentioned in the book. Second, I think they would do well to come across a woman who is not bound. As cliched as it may be, we still haven’t had enough of such writings and we never know what some woman somewhere might find inspiring.
For the author, I think I read that this is his first novel, and for that I think his effort needs to be lauded. To be able to write this along with medical school is not small feat. The footnotes and quotes in the book were just not needed and I stopped reading them completely after the first two chapters. I don’t know what the purpose of these was anyway. Second, there were some minor typos but not so many that they would be distracting. Finally, I just wish Shaurya and some of the other authors would get decent editorial feedback on what potential a story has. This one could easily have been a longer read, and a better one.I loved the cover though.