Thursday 15 January 2015

Book Review - Mom In the City - By Kausalya Saptharishi


Mom in the City is the story of how a single mother manages to re-establish her life when the world suddenly starts to crumble under her feet. Ira is flummoxed when she finds herself all alone with her little son Abhi in the US after her cowardly husband leaves them both one fine day, without preamble. The book traces Ira's personal journey where we see an initially devastated woman pick up her courage, make clear cut decisions and re build her life.

The author has very beautifully brought out the challenges faced by Ira in all aspects of life - career, finances, society, support system and parenting. But if you ask me for the winning point, I would give it to her for capturing all the emotional turmoil that the single mom goes through. Be it the anxiety pangs that grip Ira when she thinks about being solely responsible for her child, the loneliness that sweeps over when she sees other women being duly supported by the men in their lives or the heart vs mind clash when her college crush suddenly re-enters her life, Kausalya captures them in such a genuine manner.

The story is fast paced and written in impeccable English. It does have some bollywood style twists in it but that serves to add traction to the story.This book is also hailed as a first in the Mommy Lit genre in India. Though it is classified as a 'chick-lit', I found it quite profound for the realistic issues it deals with. I am a reader who detests reading heart rending reality of any kind but Kausalya has packaged it so well that it made me empathize with what she has written without getting depressed about it. This book was certainly time well spent for me. Do pick it up if you are searching for the next good read. This one will most probably not disappoint you.

PS: I had initially planned to post a couple of book reviews together as one post. But given the little time that I have to grab to write by sacrificing precious sleep at 11 PM while the little one sleeps(knowing fully well that he will be up in a while to be fresh and active until until 3 AM. Sigh .. Another post for that), I have decided to publish as and when I manage to write at least one review. 2015 may turn out to be a year of short posts but I do hope to keep up the frequency and ensure that I do not go into a blogging hiatus. Wish me luck and determination. May my love for writing prevail over the time challenges!!


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