PLOT: 4/5
CHARACTERS: 4/5
WRITING STYLE: 3/5
CLIMAX: 4/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4/5
“Neha left me, teaching me a big thing…Neha’s law.
It states that life is not easy to live but we have to live the way it wants us to.”
Simple yet heartfelt, Technically I Love You opens in the future on 12 February 2027 that is considered to be the present day.
The narrative voice is the first person “I” who is being offered a drink but is wary of taking any more of it. After having devoured onion rings, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, quesadillas and so much more, the narrator had planned to limit himself to one sip but ends up finishing the entire bottle.
Closing his eyes only brings forward flashes of the same old dream in which a boy and girl pinkie promise each to never part ways by interlocking their little fingers together.
This is the image that is on the cover page of the book and it is with the same image in a dreamy form that the book opens. It adds to the mystery and drama of the story that proves that it has a lot to disclose.
But Gupta knows just the right means to make the reader wait patiently for things to slowly take its course.
However, that in no way means that the pace of the novel is slow or boring. In fact, it is the suspense that holds up the entertainment quotient of the book.
The pace then is moderate with sudden ups and downs. It is with this pace that the reader is introduced to Ishaani, the narrator’s girlfriend.
“Ishaani was fair complexioned and petite. Her approach to doing anything was just too polite. No one could say no to her beautiful brown eyes. Honesty was her middle name and her demands were never on the top. She helped me fight the demons of my past and gave me a new life – kind of like a rebirth.”
Fast forward to the night of 14 February 2027, and the narrator Riteish is getting laid with Ishaani who fulfils all his emotional and physical needs.
There is a lot of adult content but in a much simpler dose than the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Technically I Love You is highly descriptive and can be called, in parts, an erotic novel.
However, Ishaani begins to cry once their passionate lovemaking is over. She has her own bunch of insecurities about their relationship but what hurts her the most is that she’s not his first love. Riteish decides to finally confess about his first relationship with Neha.
He and Neha were childhood friends who had fallen in love with each other in school. This story within the story is an interesting plot twist.
It all began on 8 April 2017. The story is passionate, heart-rending and extremely touchy. It is a life-changing love story about a sincere girl and a fickle minded boy.
The story is beautifully penned and it is bound to leave readers with wet eyes. But something cruel happens and takes the two on two different paths in life.
Separated forever, it is a memory that haunts Riteish so much so that in some corner of his heart he is still in love with Neha but is afraid to let it out.
The story within the story forms a chunk of the plot that is otherwise rather straight forward. It adds a semi-autobiographical touch to the narrative as Riteish begins to let out everything about his past in the midst of choking up through tears and bottles of beer.
All throughout there is a usage of slang and curse words in the book. There are allusions to adult content and the book is clearly not a proper read for children. It is basically aimed at young adults and grown ups and it lives up to that.
The language of Technically I Love You is easy to comprehend and it is a light read. There are no difficult words that need extra explanation or pointers that need to be noted while reading through.
There is ample use of humorous incidents from school life, jokes in between classes and pranks that will draw one to remember their own school days.
At a moderate pace, Technically I Love You is a good three-hour read. But the main question remains: Will Ishaani accept Riteish after his confession?
The book is an honest attempt at presenting a beautiful story. Despite the fact that the story and characterisation is a bit cliched, yet it is the style of presentation that makes the book interesting with a happy ending though nothing very unique or out of the ordinary.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of Technically I Love You using the link below.
