PLOT: 2/5
CHARACTERS: 2.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 2.5/5
CLIMAX: 2/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 2.5/5
There are many people who hate Chetan Bhagat, his books and his style of writing. I would not go as far as saying that I’m a fan but I definitely respect the man.
He broke the traditional norms of writing and created a unique style which appealed even to people who seldom read. His USP was to write about his life in plainest English and this strategy worked.
Then came a plethora of me-toos, with their dumb stories and an even dumber language. But the craze for such books hasn’t faded and many readers still love these.
I found Ayaan Basu’s book, The Storm in my Mind, belonging to the category I’ve mentioned above.
It is the story of a confused engineering student, Aryan. He meets Anushka in a yahoo chat room and falls in love with her. They become very close but when she rejects his love, it creates a storm in his mind, a storm of confusion.
A few years later, they get in touch again, get close and she rejects him again. He then falls in love with her friend, Kaira. When everything seems to be going fine, Anushka returns for the third time and tells him the truth about Kaira.
What does Anushka tell Aryan about Kaira, which leaves him shattered? With whom does Aryan fall in love eventually? You have to read the book to discover Kaira’s big secret.
I wouldn’t say The Storm in My Mind was bad altogether. There were parts of it which I really enjoyed, especially a few narrations about Kolkata, a city I love.
The parts of the book where Faiyaz, Aryan’s best friend, appears are good.
But there are too many reasons why I wouldn’t like to read this book again.
For one, the structure of the plot is a disaster. Second, the protagonists lack charm and you wouldn’t miss them after you finish the book.
The writing style and language too offer very little to talk about.
A very important thing which I look for in any book is the way the characters are treated. I couldn’t feel the pain of the protagonist when he loses his love or the happiness he experiences when the love of his life returns.
The good thing is that The Storm in My Mind isn’t too lengthy and can be finished off very quickly.
I wouldn’t recommend this book to my readers and the reason is very simple – I didn’t like it myself.
I don’t know about the storm in Aryan’s mind, but the book surely created a storm in my mind when I read it (pun intended).