The Helpline

From the book blurb

Rachel works at a suicide helpline, and it is her job to help people move on with their lives and come out of depression. So when she gets a call from Samir, who feels suicide is the only answer to how he feels after facing failure at every step in life. Rachel takes it upon her to teach him that even though there is darkness everywhere, there is still a ray of hope, a small source of light that can shine in anyone's life. However, as Samir begins to question, who is Rachel, and what exactly is the hotline? Samir's own identity is a question in this novel as it addresses not love but the pangs of failed love and coping with them.

Author

Uday Mane is an Indian writer and social media enthusiast. An avid reader, he loves to collect classic books and enjoys tweeting about various aspects of life.

To know more

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

You can buy here

Characters

Samir, is going through a tough time. He is only twenty years old and when he thinks life is perfect, an unforeseen tragedy hits him. Then, he becomes suicidal.

Riya, is caring, friendly and motherly. She is matured beyond her age.

Neha, the perfect friend. She is understanding and always stands by as a friend.

Rachel, a good listener and advisor.

What I think

To begin with, the cover page conveys it all – Motivations for suicide. The title gives an idea what this story is all about – The Helpline – Lending a helping hand for people who are suicidal. The book blurb is perfect. It is simple and yet sounds mysterious. It creates a hype, blends with the title and cover page.

The narrative is crisp and lucid. There are no unnecessary details. An element of mystery and suspense is managed throughout. While the first few pages makes us ponder into the protagonist’s suicidal tendencies, the rest of the book is an assured page turner.

The books has about 250 pages. A nice way to kill some time on weekends. I completed in two sittings. It is one of those rare books that talks about something beyond love.

The Helpline turns out to be an unforgettable one because it touches points like poverty, importance of education, role of parents in a child’s life, childhood innocence, teenage confusions, pure friendship, taste of first love, physical disabilities and its effect on immediate family and friends, jealousy, societal-familial-peer pressure, terrorism and its impact on general public’s life and so on.

As I always say, I love books that take us through protagonist’s life since childhood. It is the best way to understand them and empathize.

I appreciate the author for offering a brilliant book. This is very different from the general Indian author books. Of course, this is also a love story; but not “just” a love story.

In short, The Helpline is really good.

But...

Sometimes, the shift between immediate past and the childhood days becomes a little confusing.

Should you read it?

This book will tickle your intelligence and teases you brilliantly.

Go for it…

Indulge!

Rating

4.5/5

Thank you

This book review is a part of The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program. To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com