The Journey of Om

When I get a request to review a book I take it up immediately and the same should have happened with this mail also.

I am representing the author Chandru Bhojwani, whose book ‘The Journey of Om’ was recently released. I would like to know if you would be interested in doing a feature on the given book.

An excerpt “The naked flames danced gracefully around me as the pain flowed, through my veins. The grief and sorrow enveloped me and I descended into it without resistance. Coldplay strummed their beat as their melancholic lyrics rang so very true.”

I sat on this mail for 15 days for the simple reason that the Name of the book & excerpt were not exciting me (it gave me an impression that the book would be a spiritual journey) and I kept thinking that what if I accept the offer & am unable to finish the book. I have already failed one author in a similar way. Against my better judgment I had accepted to read “Invest the Happionaire Way” , I say against my better judgment because I knew I had no interest in investment & I knew I wouldn’t be able to read but still I accepted the book and till date I feel I have failed the author. Anyways as far as this book is concerned one fine day I changed my mind and accepted the book.

This is the story of “Om” i.e. the name of the central protagonist of the book. His journey in the book starts with the betrayal of his girlfriend. When he finds her in bed with his friend, his life goes for a nosedive and he falls back on his friends Mona & Arun to come out of depression.

Mona his best friends has her own issues to handle. She has been looking out for that someone special & feels that she has finally found someone through online chatting. She leaves her well paying job & uproots herself to chase her dreams! But is she falling for something which isn’t there?

Arun, a sports commentator wants to marry her steady girlfriend Rakhi. But Rakhi’s father thinks that with his unconventional job he wouldn’t be able to provide a good life to Rakhi. He puts up a proposal in front of Arun, will he accept that or will he chose his self respect.

Eventually all three lives blend into one with each one giving & taking support from each other. What eventually happens in this tale of relationships, friendships, love & betrayal is for you to read.

The book keeps moving in past & present and talks about human emotions & the turmoil’s we go through to keep ourselves happy. If you ask me the general theme of the book would be depression but the book isn’t depressing. It makes for an engrossing read. Well narrated the book involves you. Though I would warn you to not to look out for happy or cheery moments but I would also tell you that it still entertains.

My only complaint to the author would be the ending. I hate open endings & this is what I get here. I feel that everything needs a closure & specially books which talk about relationships. The fact that we are left to assume & wonder irritates me.

Another complaint or rather suggestion that I would offer to the author & publisher is to advertise the book with

a) A better cover
b) The way they are projecting the book isn’t right! As in my case the 1st impression which you get is that it is something spiritual which is not the case. The book is all about relationships and that is exactly what they should be projecting.

Overall an engrossing tale of love, relationships & friendship. A timepass pageturner!!

Author: Chandru Bhojwani
Publisher: Cedar Books 
Price: Rs. 175/-
Pages: 287

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