Love, Life & A Beer Can!

A simple title which won’t give much of a clue to guess what the story is about. But I would say it’s a book which you would never regret later for spending time to read.

It’s the story of Raj, an ordinary guy, an orphan who was raised by his uncle and aunt. The uniqueness of this novel according to me is that the protagonist is an ordinary boy, unlike the main characters in most of the stories which we read nowadays, who are exceptionally bright to crack exams, and get into top institutes. But Raj neither is gifted with any outstanding talents nor is he bothered to improve such in him. He represents the millions of young boys scattered everywhere around India, fond of cricket and dreams to be a cricketer and a diehard fan of bollywood which makes him wants to become a movie star.

As usual, since childhood he was being compared with the boy of his age next door and the boy being gifted with extraordinary skills makes Raj’s life more miserable. Just like everyone else’s his parents also have high expectations on him to crack the competitive exams and come up with flying colours. But Raj is neither exceptionally bright nor in thirst to improve such outstanding skills in him. In fact, he is least bothered about studies and exams as his heart and soul is committed to the dream of becoming a movie star. And the story starts with the boy landing in Mumbai, to live the dream most of sought after and how he deals with the outcome.  

Even though this is a story of an ordinary guy the book has its own charm to entice the readers. The writing style is very simple, casual and funny. The presentation is very amusing and hilarious that even in the shocking situations you may laugh out loud. More than reading a novel you would feel as if a close friend is updating you about some incidents of his past, the manner of writing is that friendly and natural.

The author excels in describing every incident in a very interesting way and adding up his own opinion at the end. Whole through the story that easy going and the care free style of a teenager’s life was expressed. Often I felt that the story is not just about Raj but represents all the guys, as the story was vibrant in a guy’s point of view about education, girls, love, marriage and their ambitions and dreams. The incidents are quite familiar to all. Raj’s college life is as exciting as it was for us, filled with joy, fun and shocks. The improper English of Shakeel bhai was hilarious and many other characters along with his were added yet with brief introductions which are only important to make the story more lively and intense. The stages of school life and charts of negative and positive points to analyze which girl to propose, the flow charts and different dialogues to explain the situations were quite interesting. 

Most of the times the numerical descriptions were enhancing the effect over the incident and the same time making it even funnier.

“Waking up around 200 people, listening to not so pleasant words from 199 of them….”

“They continued laughing for exactly 3 minutes”

“There was no water in the loo and I had waited for 1 hour and 45 minutes”

The captions on top of the chapters were gripping and the famous Hindi tag lines were going along with them superbly. I find the introduction in FB style prior to every main episode very creative. The characters are introduced along with a hint what to expect in the coming pages stimulating the urge to go further in reading yet confusing us what actually will be the next incident. The mixed agenda of the chapters were successfully woven together so that the reader will have the curiosity to keep on reading and never let you feel as if you are just reading a diary of someone.

The surroundings were not described in detail, but I’m reluctant to point it out as a draw back because the writing style was much into making the story funny and simple than adopting a rich and poetic language. Hindi tag lines were making the story interesting and familiar to all Indian hearts, but if concerned about the world market it obviously would be a draw back as those tag lines won’t make any sense to the international readers and the same feelings won’t be generated.

Overall it’s a wonderful book, a book you can read in one breathe. If you are feeling low and sad I would suggest you to read this book, it will be a very good tonic to ease yourself. Even for the people who dislike reading and find books very boring, this one would be a good entertainment. The novel is a delight to the senses and I guarantee that you will enjoy reading every paragraph of it! 

Ending the note with few lines of the book… it was hard for me to choose what to put as the book was full of funny lines like this.

“We now had to decide on a name. People poured in with their suggestions. The names suggested were sober, like Yuvraj, weird like Rhythm to gross like Yummy. As the name Yummy was suggested by Rondu, we kept it as his nickname. Rondu’s daughter was named ‘Chocolate’ by the way hence the name ‘Yummy’. He had decided that the two would get married and make a wonderful couple – ‘Yummy-Chocolate’.”

Novoneel Chakraborty - Author Interview

An interview with the bestselling author Novoneel Chakraborty, about his first novel... A Thing Beyond Forever... exclusively in Chubby Cheek's Column...

1) Did you always wanted to be a writer?

I suffered a bit while choosing what exactly I wanted to do in life because I was good at many things. But when I started penning short stories for myself, for the first time when I was 20, I knew storytelling was something I can’t do away with.

2) Are you an avid reader? What genre you prefer the most and what is your favorite book?

I’m a choosy reader which doesn’t mean I’m not an avid reader. I read anything with an intriguing plotline. I’m not a genre specific person but I do have an inclination towards thrillers. 

A book is like a person. One learns different things from different people and hence it’s futile to compare and say which one is a favorite of mine. Still, one book that ‘blew my mind off’ when I was in college was ‘The Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand.

3) Who are the authors you admire the most, and did any author in particular inspire your writing?

Ayn Rand, Haruki Murakami,  R. K. Narayan, Buddhadev Basu to name a few. 

Nobody inspired me to write but the above mentioned people and few others, instead, introduced me to an ethereal kind of thrill a story can provoke in someone. Perhaps that realization inspired (and still inspires) me to write.

4) What does "writing" mean to you?

Honestly, I love to think. Writing is an eventuality with me. And, also a means to sustain myself so that I can think more and more.

5) A Thing Beyond Forever being your first novel, what was the biggest challenge you faced while writing it?

The biggest challenge for me was to write the story exactly the way I felt about it. 

6) Was it a real struggle to get your first novel published?

I always knew it’ll be tough to get a publisher. I went with the one who responded first with their acceptance of my work.

7) What is your favorite setting to write in? Do you tend to follow a strict work schedule or write in spurts of activity? 

I try to write every day. To be in the ‘writing mode’ is important for me.  Setting wise I always write in a closed room. I can’t write in an open space or in a room with doors and windows open or curtains not drawn. 

8) “A Thing Beyond Forever”, how did you come up with this title for your book, or was it suggested by someone?

The title was coined by me. I wanted a title which gave away the exact texture of what I was talking about in the book. And I thought this title did it better than the ones I had in mind then.

9) When did you start with the plot and how long did it take you to finish writing the novel?

I started plotting and then writing almost a year and a half before it was finally published. 

10) How much is your story inspired by your own experiences?

A bit of it. Some of the character dynamics are inspired from what I have seen in life.

11) In “A Thing Beyond Forever” Which of your characters do you feel more connected to? why?

The character I feel most connected to has to be Radhika because it’s through her eyes I was able to realize the story.

12) One of the main characters in the book is Radhika. Was it hard to get in to the skin of a female character? 

In the beginning I wanted to write the story from the male protagonist’s point of view only. But when I started writing about Radhika she simply ‘took over’. It was hard but creatively fulfilling.

13) Wasn’t it a sudden and unexpected way to end Raen’s life with dengue? Didn’t you feel that his death would have happened in a slower phase or in a different way?

Raen’s death was a major plot point in the story. It had to happen somehow. Dengue was only a tool to make it happen.  I wanted to keep it sudden for the ‘jolt factor’ to be appropriate.

14) Do you feel that you did justice to the character Radhika at the end?

I think so, I did. More than doing justice to a character what matters to me is how I can ‘liberate’ a character by the end of any story.

15) Do you believe in reincarnation? What inspired you to add such theme to the plot? 

People who have read the story, I’m sure will agree,  the reincarnation was not the point of the story, nor its feasibility the theme. I have spoken about reincarnation in the story not from the point of view of the one supposedly reincarnated but from the point of view of someone who was connected to the person before.  This is a rare angle in any reincarnation story. Since I was trying to myself understand if attraction indeed is a missing link between souls, this element was bound to come in the story.

16) How did it feel after receiving the very first feedback from the readers?

I was both elated and humbled.

17) Talking about the feedback since the book launch. How has the overall response been? Was it below or above your expectations? 

I am happy with whatever feedback I have got. I have learnt in life that it’s futile to expect but fruitful to hope. I only hope.

18) Your fans from all over the globe might be sending you their wishes and feedback via facebook & email regularly. Any specific lines from your book that have struck a chord with majority of your readers?

The majority seem to have loved the discourse Radhika has with Sister Melinda in the book about love apart from few other lines and instances.

19) What has been your greatest strength which leads you in all thick and thins of the journey as an author?

That visceral streak in me which never agrees to the norm is, I feel, what keeps me alive as a storyteller.

20) Any advice you would like to give to all the budding authors out there?

We live in a world where every second we are being subjected to illusions and knowingly or otherwise these end up choosing our priorities for us as storytellers. Unfortunately, this ‘relentless attack of illusions on our senses’ corrupts the innate instinct of a storyteller that’s there in all of us. I would only request, and not advise, all the budding authors to protect that instinct of theirs because in the end this will be their best bet to connect to their original voice hidden within them.