Book Review: ‘Tea for two and a piece of cake’ by Preeti Shenoy
by Ushnav Shroff on Oct 4, 2012 • 10:50 PM 1 CommentLanguage: English
Pages: 259
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9788184002799
Price: 125 INR
‘Here you have it. Tea for two and a piece of cake, plus, of course, conversation. These small
moments are what make life worthwhile,’ she says, her eyes shining and taking the years she
has lived off her.
‘Tea for two and a piece of cake‘ is the author Preeti Shenoy’s third attempt at story-telling and there are obvious signs that she has improved over both her previous novels. The story is written in the first-person view of the central character Nisha who is a twenty-six year old plump and plain-looking woman. She cannot believe her luck when she is married to the suave Samir Sharma, only to be abandoned eight years later with two children. She then finds a younger man Akash, but they both tentatively wait to see if the relationship is worth its course.
The story line of the book is not unusual but the way in which the characters are portrayed brings us into the story, making us want to know, to get more curious about how the tryst would end. A really interesting aspect of the book is that each of the chapters have their name taken from different songs, which have been provided at the end. I don’t know why, but personally, I got a really good feeling when I realized this. It made me read the book again – this time, seeing the various chapters for what they were, for the song that they represented and the message that they implied.
‘Tea for two and a piece of cake’ may seem like an unusual yet quirky title for a book, but Preeti Shenoy impresses with the way she takes on simple topics and turns it into something heart-warming. Definitely not the usual love lost and found type of mood, it is a bold and unconventional book- one that compels us to think about our beliefs and insight of different things in life. A familiar story with an uncommon ending.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
If you find the book interesting, buy from Amazon or Flipkart here:
Ushnav is basically from Mumbai and spiritually from Trivandrum. He spends his time juggling between an engaging life at SIMC, Pune and thinking of and putting down ideas for short stories and his novel. He is a ‘poetic photographer’ and a thespian of words.
1 comment
abha chawla says:
Oct 28, 2012
HOW COULD A TALE SO OFT REPEATED BE SIMPLY ENGAING ????/……