Book Review – Eighteen The End of Innocence by Sudham

Doesn’t the book title reminds you of the famous Bryan Adam’s song –  Eighteen ’til I Die..? Sure it does to me.

I wanna be young the rest of my life
Never say no, try anything twice
Till the angels come and ask me to fly
I’m gonna be 18 til I die..

Well though it is often said that one shouldn’t judge the book by its cover but for a book lover who is out there to select a book amongst hundreds of other books, the first impression that happens is by the book front and back cover. Front because it carries the title of the book and back cover for it has the snapshot of the book story/content. This book has a beautifully designed cover that makes the book more appealing so has more chances of being picked up.

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Book Title – Eighteen The End of Innocence
Authors – Sudham
Genre – Fiction
Publisher – Frog Books/ Leadstart Publishing
Published in – 2015
Pages – 237
Available Formats – Paperback
Price – Rs. 160 for Paperback Edition
Available Online at – Amazon.com & Flipkart.com

The Plot:

It is a teenage life story of Raghu and his two friends Aadi and Shalini. The book takes the reader through some very relatable instances most of us have had when we were in the teenage. A series of mysterious blank calls intriuges Raghu the protagonist of the story. While he is busy coming of age with boyish indulgenes like friendship, studies, introduction to drinking and girls, he gets to know Shalini ultimately falling in love with her.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• Proofreading at some instances could have been better.

• Using local language is acceptable when used only at some instances. This novel had way too much use of Hindi wordings which in my opinion might be difficult for a non-Hindi reading person to comprehend.

• Swear words v/s slang words: I feel there is a fine difference between the two. Use of swear word was I felt could have been avoided to make the well-written story to a higher level.

• There are a number of teenage incidents that author has weaved in the story but these incidents especially the ones which teenagers can learn upon have been left without the learning part.

What Worked for Me:

• The story and many incidents narrated in the story are very relatable to most people who grew up in 1990s era.

• Small chapter size.

• This book’s story has been narrated so seamlessly that one wants to go on reading from one page to another. An apt book to read in a single sitting.

• This story of Raghu makes stirs emotion like happiness and sadness inside you.

About the Author:

Sudhām is a passionate marketing professional turned novelist. Before he left his job as the National Marketing Head of India’s largest FM Radio Network-92.7 BIG FM.

Born and brought up in Delhi Sudhām is an avid blogger and has blogs named
 www.keyedinthoughts.blogspot.com, a blog that showcases his poems, short stories and musings and www.abrandviewstory.com, a blog on brands and marketing that views the world from a marketer’s lens.

‘Eighteen’ is his debut book as a novelist.

Verdict:

My rating for this story book and  a potential film script would be 3/5.

It is not completely a fictional story but a story of every teenager in some way or the other. This novel reminds you of Chetan Bhagat authored books as it is simple in language and has friendship as a highlight. If you wanna smell nostalgia or wanna brighten up a boring day by an interesting read, this novel can be a good choice.

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