GENRE - Non-Fiction/ Memoir WRITING STYLE - 4/5 SUBJECT - 4/5 CANDIDNESS - 4.5/5 RELEVANCE - 4/5 SUGGESTED TO - Adults and Senior citizens.
“Are we really getting the full quota of a day or was it just a mirage of sorts, a virtual feeling of 24 hours. After all the most of the time, we were living in the virtual world.”
– Menon Unnikrishnan, When Waves Fell Silent
About the Author
Mr. Menon Unnikrishnan has studied English literature & Rural development. He has worked for three decades in All India Radio (Akashwani), often traversing from place to place due to his vocation. Two of his productions have earned national recognition for program excellence.
What influenced the idea of this book?
Retirement or Service Menopause as addressed by the author, the term which means the time when one departs the workforce they were engaged with. It represents the end of something, right? But here the author turned the very symbolism of this word and grabbed it as an inspiration for starting the making of this book. This book is a collection of all those remembrances and years spent, recollected while serving the last 100 days of superannuation (encompassed with the Corona times) which starts a day before Christmas.
Everyone has a different reckoning about this phase of life as some look upon it as the end of young and carefree time, walking towards old age, beginning of a dangling life and some (including the author), shatter the stereotypes and contemplate it as a recourse of new outset of a better and easy-going life.
What does this book comprise?
In this book, author Mr. Menon Unnikrishnan converses about his experience of working in the Media Industry and what impact it induced on his individuality and customary life. The author is of the personality who believes in “as long as we are alive we are working, whether on ourselves or the things we cherish.”
This industry has leaped in 30 years, including changes associated with the working technique, inward system, core principles, and many more. The author has disseminated numerous personal experiences of his work life, some of which he is proud of, while some are pessimistic. In one instance he shared how he couldn’t completely enjoy any of his holidays without getting troubled with work & work calls, and I felt every working person of any era can relate to this. Many situations described here are easily relatable which I appreciated while reading the book.
When Waves Fell Silent remarkably exhibits how human life has to redefine its purpose and significance from time to time and how retirement (a world-famous term) helps people to see it differently, to live for themselves for once and final. Isn’t it ironic the thing we count as an ending is actually a beginning waiting to be grabbed by someone hopeful?
While reading this book, getting intrigued by the theme, I looked into other books with the same topic but what differentiates this book from all other retirement books out there is the fundamental idea. The denotation here is a journey of human emotion from one part of life to another, keeping aside the factors related to money or investment. It talks about mortal sentiments, job life, home, roads that lead to the office, the colleagues, regular work, the identity one is leaving behind, and such little things which one may not pay heed to in haste.
I recommend this book to
This part-memoir illustrates a mixed relationship between human beliefs along with life’s continuity and how it shapes our journey to the end. I would suggest this book to all those people who have worked in the media industry and have perceived system changes and are inclined to know what it brings out of people. Even beginners or those who are interested in working in the same field and reading nonfiction can read this, given their knowledge of vocabulary should be intact as the author has used rich language throughout the book.
My conclusive criticism
The title of the book was the initial thing that caught my attention. It felt surreal and real at once. This topic was new and unusual for my taste and I grabbed it as an opportunity to rediscover my liking. I rejoiced to go through day to day life of the author and got to know a lot about how things work in this field. If I felt down or stuck at some places it was because of some over description done, as I am not a fan of slow-paced narration. This book is straight from the heart of the author with a tinge of fiction, making it an appealing and engaging read.
The author may consider it as a tale of an unknown Indian but isn’t every tale untold until the author holds the pen, and all that life lived starts flowing through it. I have shared below some of my favourite lines from the book, which put me in a trance of thinking and gave me a comforting impression.
“Is it true that the beginnings always and at all times commence at the end of something?”
“Aren’t evaluations judgemental and tainted by individual perceptions and assigned priorities?”
“Perfection and satisfaction, the latter is a direct result of the former. And yet, is perfection ever a reality.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of When Waves Fell Silent using the link below.
Also, check out some other books that talk about retirement, post-work life, and elderliness.
Silver Dreams by Kusum Choppra