BOOK REVIEW~ RAFFLESIA: THE BANISHED PRINCESS
Author: Gautam
Publisher: Frog Books, Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd
Pages: 396
BOOK BLURB:
RAFFLESIA The Banished Princess~ The curtains draw up. Lights are dimmed. The musical is about to begin. As the beautiful princess descends on stage, the mythical creatures from her kingdom come alive. Flickers of brilliant colours blaze across as mesmerizing music pulsates from one corner of the theatre to the other. A fairy tale is about to unfold... As young children, we often come across things that stay in our hearts forever. For Appu, it is a fairy tale about a beautiful princess.He lives with her in a world filled with the magical creatures from her kingdom until the real world beckons. A reluctant Appu steps into it as a striking young man and struggles to find his place. What follows is an evocative tale of love and loss, friendship and betrayal, as the story travels through the snow-peaked mountains of Arunachal to the golden deserts of Jaisalmer, the tulip gardens of Holland to the lush greens of Kerala. Does Appu find what he had set out for? The answer lies in Rafflesia - The Banished Princess because in her story, lay his!
MY REVIEW:
When I saw the book cover, I thought this story would be about princess and some kind of fairy tale. But when I started the book I found that the story revolves around the Protagonist Apoorva Sharma, fondly called Appu. Appu is an introvert guy. The book unfolds his life story from childhood to adulthood and story of his poor parents living in Guwahati, who try their best to keep him happy. He is their only hope. Appu is a brilliant student and is the topper in the University Exams. He goes to Leeuwarden on a work assignment.
Rafflesia-The Banished Queen is a book which is given to Appu by his childhood friend and this becomes his favourite book which he keeps close to his heart and have many copies of the same. Loved reading about Appu's love and respect for his father Aabir and mother Trina and his true friendship with Rahul. Rahul considers Appu's father and mother as his own and shares everything about his life to Appu's mother. This emotional bond between them and this unconditional love is rare. The story seems so realistic and really a different and fresh story. The author comfortably jumps back and forth between the past and future while revolving deeply around the main character Appu.
Appu keeps finding answers for his unsuccessful marriage and never share much about his life with others. He tries to hide his pain from everyone but Rahul understands his problems and emotional state very well even without him having to speak. I also loved how Sujata (his boudy) treats him like a son and advice him whenever he really needs it.
What I really loved in this book~
- Appu and Rahul used to send letters to each other without fail and Appu's cute talks about his cat and birds.
- Appu loved to live in his own fairy tale which helped him in staying distracted from his life's struggles.
- Aabir's love for playing Voilen. The friendship between Appu's father Aabir and Rahul's father Vikram.
- Lovely bond between Appu and his co-worker Misha.
I would say this is amazing debut by the author Gautam. Writing style of the author and the language used is simple and narration style is good too. I loved the interesting book cover and the title. I really did enjoy reading this book. The book keeps you engaged and you will find it quite relatable. I would recommend this novel to all fiction lovers who are looking for something new and for a fantastic read. I rate this book 4/5 stars.
Thank You for stopping by!
Vandana :)
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