Book Review: A Hundred Lives for You, by Abhisar Sharma

As a writer, I’m quite certain there are genres that I’m quite fond of, and good at, and comfortable with. And when I write, I turn to those genres than experiment with new ones. When a writer changes genre, it makes me wonder if the new choice will be affected by the old one. I haven’t read Abhisar’s previous works, but I had heard of them; and good things of one in particular. So it was with that aforementioned wonder that I started reading this book.

Blogging from A to Z – A for Abhisar Sharma

Abhimanyu Sharma is 13 years old, on the verge of something special, but that something is taken away from him with a line. If that wasn’t enough to affect the youngster, a more personal loss affects him even more deeply. That moment transitions him into the future where we see a much more changed version of that boy, and one which we don’t expect. But such is life, isn’t it?

As a writer, I can relate to the young Abhimanyu in many ways and can honestly say that I’ve been in his shoes. It’s the story that Abhimanyu pens down that held my attention most in the book. I can relate to the reaction of his father. And I can definitely understand the pressure he felt and the emotions he went through at that time. Perhaps that’s why this book and Abhimanyu’s story appeals to me and engages me as a reader.

It’s set in a time when life wasn’t easy in Delhi. Though there is opportunity for the thriller writer in him to take over, Abhisar uses that setting to bring the emotions and relationships to the fore rather than go the gory, descriptive way. There are aspects to this story that sometime redefine love, and even strengthen that definition.

If anything brings this story down a notch, it might be the pace at the initial stages which fluctuates a lot. It doesn’t engage me as much at the start as it does once it’s set in a bit. And I wish the author had chosen a name for the protagonist that was not so similar to his own. Though not a negative to the book, it confused me a little.

I liked the narration, which helps to move the story along nicely. I liked the cover design too. The typos, yes there were a few, didn’t hinder the story much either. Overall, though not perfect, I can say that it’ll be a story that I re-read again soon for sure.

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The Bookworm Rates This: 4/5

Book Details
Title: A Hundred Lives for You
Author(s): Abhisar Sharma	Genre: Fiction
ISBN/ASIN: 9789382665281	Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors
No. of Pages: 250	Price: Rs. 195

Reviewed for the publisher, who gave me a copy of the book. The views expressed here are my own, frank and uninfluenced.

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(© 1^st April 2015)

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