CONCEPT: 3/5
WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5
“I smile and feel nostalgic as I serve them the snack. One day I plan to write a book with a title, “Gandhi girls and tooth fairy adventures”. I just hadn’t thought that the book would end so soon.”
–Hureen Saghar Gandhi, Page 6 and Beyond.
My Musings
There are some books that are full of surprises. You look at the cover and the blurb and form an idea about the book. But when you actually sit down to read it, much to your amazement, the book turns out to be something different altogether.
I recently came across one such book, Page 6 and Beyond, and was quite happy that it turned out to be such an unusual and refreshing read. Read on to know more about my thoughts on this book.
What to expect?
Page 6 and Beyond can be loosely explained as a series of humorous stories that the author serves to her readers as a mirror to her life in America.
Hureen Gandhi, with her two daughters and husband, lives in Northern Virginia. In this book, she quite candidly takes us on a roller coaster ride that is her world. From a recently created school Whatsapp group to her constant adventures and misadventures with people around her, the book serves as a guide to life in America.
Combined with her wit and charm, and an applause-worthy attention to detail, she manages to create extraordinary stories out of the most ordinary of things.
The chapters and their content
The author has divided the book into a number of exciting sections which undoubtedly add to the appeal of the book.
Page 6 and Beyond is mainly comprised of two sections – anecdotes from her school Whatsapp group and tiny tales from her daily life.
The reason why this particular Whatsapp group features so consistently throughout the course of the book is that it was the mastermind of the author herself. Also, the main onus of running and micromanaging the said group fell on the author’s dainty shoulders.
The author’s writing style
When it comes to the writing style, there is a decent dose of entertainment packed in those 280 odd pages. But unlike what the blurb claims to be, the book didn’t have me “laughing out loud” as I devoured its many stories.
What did amuse me though, was how interesting some of these stories were. Since I am a mother too, many of the stories that revolved around children and the never-ending challenges of raising them up were quite relatable.
Another noteworthy aspect of this book is the author’s ability to bring in a variety of topics in her stories. From Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign to the stormy blizzards that plague Northern Virginia, from travel bucket lists to stubborn Facebook friends, from over-enthusiastic home cooks to ill-disposed dentists, this book has it all.
It is this variety that lends Page 6 and Beyond its unique flavour and appeal.
The Illustrations
A very important component of the book is the illustrations that do an extremely good job of complementing the stories. At the beginning of each chapter, there are these amusing illustrations that pave the way for what is to come up next in the pages. Just like the stories themselves, the illustrations are witty too.
It all boils down to the entertainment quotient
Page 6 and Beyond is one read that can be termed as mildly entertaining but only for an extremely niche category of readers. The book, in itself, is a good read but I am really not sure about the kind of appeal it will have for different categories of readers. Overall, it’s a light read that I would recommend to people looking for a different kind of book.
Pick up the book if
- You are looking for a light non-fiction.
- You are looking for a light humour.
- You enjoy reading stories about real people.
Skip the book if
- You don’t like light and casual reads.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy Page 6 and Beyond using the link below.
