Ramona | Manoj V Jain | Book Review

Ramona Manoj JainPLOT: 3/5
CHARACTERS: 3.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 3/5
CLIMAX: 3/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5

Few Musings

I am a binge reader. I sometimes read 2-3 books in a span of 2 days. Remember this – for binge reading to work, all the books should be different from each other and should give you the necessary variety.

I was on such a binge reading bout when I picked up “Ramona”.

It was great for my binge readathon because it was a short, sweet and breezy read.

What is the story all about?

“Ramona” is a sequel to Balraj, also written by Manoj Jain.

It is, however, written in a way which makes it a standalone read as well. So even if you haven’t read Balraj, you can go ahead and pick up “Ramona”.

It tells us the story of a middle-aged woman who was deserted by her husband a few months back. Inder simply left without saying proper goodbyes and without a warning.

Ramona, as a wife, was shell-shocked on discovering Inder’s absence, but with time, had come to terms with her new life.

This is her story and is told from her point of view.

Ramona is strong-willed and independent, and she provides inspiration to the people who are often left clueless after a great loss.

Ramona is a character-centric book

“Ramona” is an extremely character-centric book.

There isn’t much in terms of a plot. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the plot is almost non-existent.

The only reason why Ramona makes for a good read is that it brings closure to the readers who were once invested in the story of Balraj.

Ramona is strong-willed and independent, and she provides inspiration to the people who are often left clueless after a great loss. The side characters of Ameeta and Shaurya are also pretty decent.

What about the author’s writing style?

Manoj Jain’s prose is monotonous. The book doesn’t offer much in terms of entertainment too.

Even though the book is a novella, there isn’t much happening in it to term it so. It’s more like a one-sided monologue from Ramona to the reader.

Was the climax good?

The climax was quite predictable because I knew the story of Balraj.

The stories of the two characters were destined to collide and therefore there wasn’t any element of surprise in the climax.

Entertaining, eh?

Even though the book was an easy light-hearted read, I wouldn’t say that it was entertaining.

There wasn’t much in terms of a solid plot. The book was more philosophical than entertaining.

Also, it was kind of dull with mostly Ramona reminiscing about the years gone by and missing Inder.

Pick it up if

Pick this book up if you have read Balraj and would like to know the other side of the story.

Skip it if

You don’t like short reads. You did not enjoy the previous book. You don’t like books which can be best termed as slow reads.

Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy at the links below!

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