From the book blurb
Wise Enough to be Foolish is a fictionalized memoir
that traces the journey of an Indian girls life, with all its challenges and
delightful surprises, as she blossoms from an insecure child into a confident
young woman. This roller-coaster ride of adventure, laughter and heartache, as
she balances her love life with her struggle for independence, will keep you
guessing what rules will she break next? How far will she go to find herself?
Author
Mother of two girls, amateur athlete, part-time writer, management
school drop-out, traveler, entrepreneur, in full-time employment with the world’s
largest escorted touring company and woman behind The Active Holiday Company, Gauri Jayaram is a little bit of many
things and still not satisfied! She frequently combines her love for long distance
running with rock music.
Characters
Gauri, the protagonist. She is bold,
independent and a rebel. She is flamboyant and a good student who learns the
lessons of life. She takes life as it comes and always strives hard to move on.
All
other characters like her parents, siblings, Nicky, Riya, Suraj, Zaid, Shiv,
Uday and many-many others comes into the picture with the sole purpose of
letting Gauri learn and unlearn the lessons that life teaches her.
After
all, the book is nothing but a (auto)biography of Gauri, the author herself!
What I think
The
cover-page of the book is interesting. It is well-thought out and gives you an
idea of what can be expected – A few pages from a girl’s life!
The
story spans from the birth to the first twenty-eight years of the protagonist,
Gauri. It is almost like a memoir. It is a feel-good book because I bet that
there will be a smile in your face when you complete the book.
The
narrative is lucid and very descriptive. I also observed that when the writer
has captured the thought-flow of a child to a teenager to an adult’s
beautifully. I felt as if the writer also grows up and evolves with Gauri.
The
book is motivating and empowering as well. It throws light on the sad fact that
gender based discrimination still exists in families regardless of how educated
and socially forward they are!
I
appreciate the fact that the author, in her own subtle way, mentioned about
child molestation and public molestation in our capital city – New Delhi. She
has emphasized on the fact that nobody can choose their parents, gender,
religion or economic status. These are some factors with which we are born with
and discrimination on this basis are pointless; shameful rather.
I
liked her take on Hinduism – How it is male dominated and how badly women are
treated. There is an entire paragraph on the same and it was thought provoking.
I
really started enjoying the book when Suraj comes into her life. It suddenly
becomes interesting and complicated.
The
book oozes with optimism and hope. It is nothing but the transformation of a
girl to woman to a lady!
But...
The
book blurb is concise and I wish it was more descriptive. After all, I saw a
lot of sentences which could have been quoted. It would help in attracting readers
towards the book!
The
first fifty pages of the book seemed like the random scribbling from a
kid’s/young-adult’s personal journal. It is very descriptive and seems to go on
forever. It might make the reader wonder why I should read this; why I should
know this.
In the
process of explaining boyfriends, break-ups and exes, the story loses its track
of delivering what was promised. It could have been so much. But it chose to
elaborate about attempts to find Mr.Love!
Should you read it?
This
may be slow and descriptive.
It could
even bore you at times.
But,
it will leave you with positivity.
In
short, read it if you have patience!
Remember,
patience always pays! J
Rating
3/5
Thank you
Jaico Publishers for giving away the book!
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