WRITING STYLE: 4/5
CANDIDNESS: 3.5/5
HUMOUR: 4.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4/5
To be able to write humour is a gift and after reading “Mrs Funnybones” I can surely vouch for Twinkle Khanna in this department.
Reading her book is akin to having a dose of the laughing gas as throughout the 233 odd pages journey you can never really stop laughing.
Needless to say, she is one of the funniest Indian writers I have come across in my reading lifetime.
From what can be gorged from the bits and pieces of this book, penning this book or as a matter of fact, penning anything down was never Twinkle’s idea.
It was in fact suggested by an acquaintance who knew Twinkle to be a girl full of humour and suggested writing as an outlet for her creative energies. Thus came her phenomenally successful DNA India columns.
“Mrs Funnybones” is a similar attempt, and is a very successful one at that.
Twinkle writes about her daily life including her family consisting of the prodigal son, the baby, the man of the house and the mother-in-law.
She also writes about her work, travels and even about some socio-economic topics of her choice. Her writing thus spreads across myriads of topics and offers multi-hued opinions.
The book is written mostly in a diary-like style which is complemented by the interesting and equally amusing illustrations at the start of and in between the chapters.
A chapter starts when her day begins which is followed by timely updates on what is happening around her.
I liked the casual and personal approach in her writing which puts the reader so much at ease.
What also appeals is the fact that there is an underlying feeling of humility and humbleness all throughout the book.
She writes not as a tinsel town resident, or a yesteryear star or a star wife but as any normal working wife and a mother of two and this is what as a reader, clicked the most with me.
Her issues are not that the make-up is not quite set or the hairdresser is running late but that the baby has pooped and needs to be changed and that the in-laws are over for festival and need to be pleased and pampered.
The notes at the onset of each chapter are amusing and full of worldly and street smart wisdom which will come across as handy to almost every woman.
My only qualm with the book is that the length of the content (taking into the account the spacing and font sizes as well) does not justify the pricing. The cover of the book is an added bonus.
It is quite appealing and acts as an icing on the cake in addition to grabbing some big number of eyeballs. All in all, “Mrs Funnybones” is a fun read and I will, therefore, recommend it as a must-read to all my light non-fiction readers.