Author: Faraaz Kazi
Format: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN: 9788122311648
Code: 9565R
Pages: 303
Price: Rs. 175.00
‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ by Faraaz Kazi is truly, madly, deeply a story of love. It’s a story every teenager, every early adolescent youth will invariably connect with. Faraaz has been successful in weaving a story rich in emotion and other matters of heart.
‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ has two major protagonists, as the writer has tried to showcase throughout the book. But as a reader, the character of ‘Sahil’ has also been touching in a way that can’t be restrained and obviously not given not-much-importance-to. Along with Rahul and Seema, Sahil also stands out by the virtue of his unconditional friendship and helping attitude towards Rahul during the latter’s difficult times. The story is spreaded over two countries – the significant part in India and the less significant part in the city of Pennsylvania in the USA.
Rahul and Seema’s love in ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ has been perfectly portrayed in the line of reality. Things that actually happen in schools in initial years in college have been described with ease by the author. His writing is effortless, the words seemingly flowing out naturally from within. Faraaz has been successful to show the immaturity that hounds the young lovers. What Rahul felt for Seema was genuinely from his heart, but the wavelength failed to reach Seema the way Rahul would have wanted it to. Seema misunderstood Rahul as a result, all the while situations being out of the two’s favours and often, been doctored with.
Writing: This book being the author’s first work, not everything was seemingly perfect. But then again, the most striking part of this book was the author’s writing style. The starting few pages of the book were tough to go through, because, as a critical reader you may not always expect a book to start in a way so much unconventional and out of the way, covered in deep layers of melancholy and endless lament. Faraaz shuttles expertly between both the classical and contemporary styles of writing, and in style he did that throughout the book. At times, his style suited the environment that has been created in the story, and at few other times, it felt out of the place. The frequent use of quotations from poets and lines from much clichéd popular Bollywood songs was more of a prosaic move from the author, and it hurts the reader’s rhythm and flow at times. Since the author seems to target the new generation (as they say, the yuppie generation) with ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’, his usage of Bollywood clichés and role playing may score well enough. But at the cost of mass-popularity, it is sad to consider that the author may lose the chance of being taken seriously by critical readers.
Overall, ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ is recommended for everyone who has fallen in love at some point of their lives. Emotional aspects in the story have been so well handled by the author that it is bound to make some mark in the reader’s mind.
[P.S. The title of this book reminds me of the very famous song by Savage Garden with the same title. The featured image in this post is a tribute to that masterpiece.]
Overall rating: 6.5/10
If you want to buy author signed copies of ‘Truly, Madly,Deeply‘, all you have to do is to follow this link:
15 comments
Ismail Sheikh says:
Mar 24, 2011
Lovely review. Have read the book, would have given a better rating though ;)
bastab says:
Mar 24, 2011
Thanks Ismail.
I have been doing book reviews for a long time, and have got some specific rating system of my own. I stick to that, no matter what.
Will like to hear more from you.
Thanks.
Safal Srivastava says:
Mar 27, 2011
Don’t you think the author should have paid more attention to the plot which appears to be wafer thin.
Book Reviews at BookRack says:
Mar 29, 2011
I loved how well you’ve written this review !
Naazneen Khan says:
Mar 31, 2011
I never thought it was about the plot. It was more about a collection of events strung together. The subtitle itself says it ‘Memoirs!’ And this is one of the rare books that works without a strong plot ’cause of the true foundation behind it.
Sitaram Mhadik says:
Apr 5, 2011
Interesting review. Have heard a lot about this book, one of my friends had recommended it to me. Will definitely read it soon.
mohit says:
Apr 5, 2011
Must be an enjoyable read Truly madly Deeply by Faraaz Kazi. loved the way you wrote it. I find your review very genuine and orignal, this book is going in by “to read” list.
Interview: Faraaz Kazi, author of ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ « Between The Lines says:
Apr 14, 2011
[…] of Bhavna Rai) here. As he promised I received a copy of ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ and here is my review of the same. Really one of the most talked about novel this year, it was a privilege […]
unusual says:
Apr 17, 2011
great writing skills brotha! you are really talented.
Mehmood Sheikh says:
Apr 18, 2011
Nice nice.
Pravin Khare says:
Apr 23, 2011
Beautifully reviewed. The book is deserving of praises.
confusedyuppie says:
Apr 27, 2011
must say i liked the novel though i thought it could have been finished better. but a good time pass read nevertheless!
Nish says:
May 10, 2011
Nice review. I didn’t think much about Saahil and his friendship, but on thinking back, yes, that part was nicely written
Interview: Faraaz Kazi, author of ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply‘ « Between The Lines says:
Aug 27, 2011
[…] of Bhavna Rai) here. As he promised I received a copy of ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ and here is my review of the same. Really one of the most talked about novel this year, it was a privilege […]
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Jun 10, 2015
Enjoyed reading this, really good stuff, appreciate it.