Book Review: The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian

Book Review - The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian

Published -  2015 by Westland Ltd.
Rating- 1/5 

Summary -  Source: Book's Back Cover

Paperback king, Aditya Kapoor's life is straight out of a modern man's fantasy. His literary stardom is perfectly balanced by a loving wife and a spectacular career. With everything he touches turning to gold, Aditya is on a winning streak. 

Shreya Kaushik is a student with a heart full of ambition. Young, beautiful and reckless, Shreya speaks her mind and obsessively chases after what she wants. And what she wants is to be a bestselling author. 

What happens when their worlds collide? Is it possible to love two people at the same time? Can real ambition come in the way of blind passion? Can trust once broken, be regained? 

Master storyteller Ravi Subramanian, delves into the glitzy world of bestsellers and uncovers a risky dalliance between a superstar novelist and his alluring protege. 

My thoughts on the book... 

Like a chain-smoker looking for a cigarette, I went looking for a book in the newly opened book section in a grocery hypermarket. With not many options to choose from and less time on hand, I picked Ravi Subramanian’s latest book. Reluctantly. Because I try to stay away from ‘overhyped and over-marketed’ books by the new lot of Indian authors. But since my twitter feed was filled with extremely positive reviews of this book, I decided to take the risk.

Paperback king (cringe) and successful banker Aditya Kapoor meets Shreya Kaushik, an aspiring author when he visits IIM Bangalore to talk about his literary achievements. Shreya criticizes him for selling a book like a ‘product’ and questions the quality of such books by calling it ‘mediocre’.

Feeling offended, Aditya says “I am sure you haven’t read my books? Read them and then call them mediocre if you want to. Half the people, who have an opinion on current Indian authors, haven’t even read them.” It was as if Mr Subramanian was talking directly to me.

He was right. So I decided to get rid of my preconceived notions and read it with an open mind.

Back to the story: After the heated argument, Shreya decides to read Aditya’s book and describes it as ‘unputdownable’. After series of flirty messages, soon a full-blown extramarital affair starts. Later Aditya feels bad about cheating on his wife Maya but justifies his affair with Shreya. While Shreya on the other hand only cares about getting her book published by hook or by crook whether people live or die! -  In between you’ll meet a deceiving best friend, pathetic love-making scenes, Ebola, a dig on Chetan Bhagat, Ramesh Karia (Rakesh Maria) and Anurag Kashyap.

And now that I am done reading it, I have earned the right to say that Mr. Subramanian, you have written a bad book, just like I expected before getting rid of my preconceived notions.

Why?

• Absolutely no chemistry between the characters Aditya and Shreya
• Bizarre loose ends
• Unpleasant central characters
• Cringe-worthy lines
• Lazy writing
• Shameless plugs 

I wish I hadn’t trusted the glorious reviews and bought a fresh copy instead of a second-hand copy or a discounted one. The only reason to read this book would be to understand how the publishing industry works in today’s times. 

Image Source: Goodreads