Book Review // Chronicle of a Love Foretold

Monu Tamang’s Chronicle of a Love Foretold published in December, 2015 is a young adult fiction based in Raichur, Karnataka, India.

It’s the story of the Bhutanese students in India, their initial struggle to blend in with the locals in the south and how they unite as one when necessary. The book is slim and an easy read but packed with themes of love, loss, betrayal, forgiveness and uncertainty of life. 

It definitely takes you back to your college days when life was all about experimenting and trying to fit in and discovering yourself in that process, making you a better person or worse for that matter. It makes you yearn for your younger days when you were experiencing love for the first time ever, in your life.

Kinga Lhendup is a young Physiotherapist at Paro hospital. At the outset, he leads a dreamy life; working at the hospital during the day, reading and writing at night or drinking whiskey. And jogging in the morning or tending to his beautiful flower garden. It’s a completely fulfilling life. Yet, deep inside, he is a broken man. Sleeping pills are the only antidote to his insomniac nights.

Monu takes us to the college days where we discover that a guy and a girl meets, likes each other and falls in love but…but there is a third person. Somebody who loves the girl and that’s when the matters get complex and also that’s when the charm unfolds.

Kinga Lhendup is on a scholarship to study Physiotherapy in a college in India. As a young Bhutanese, fresh out of high school, he has a whole life laid before him like a map to explore. Starting from experimenting to drink and smoke, flirting with girls and playing pranks on his lecturers, Kinga is out on an adventurous roller-coaster life. Until he meets Namsa Lhazin, the girl who sweeps him off his feet.

The book sends a strong social message of the difficulties faced by a child born out of wedlock and how that impacts the mindset of the child as he/she grows up. It also gives an insight into the life of a medical student. In that process, we also learn something about the medical terminologies which helps you understand how important your health is.  

Monu has emerged a contemporary writer and has definitely paved a way for other inspiring writers. He makes you feel ‘hey I can also write a book,’ which is so inspiring! If you have a story to tell, write it. It’s as simple as that.

It’s astounding that 30 copies of this book sold in two straight days soon after its publication at DSB Enterprise, a local bookstore in Thimphu. And word has it that he already ran out of his first printed copies. Such a huge feat in itself.   

While the story is light and can be completed in two sitting, there are certain disappointments. For one, it lacks character development. We never know how beautiful Namsa Lhazin is or how good looking Kinga Lhendup is? Beautiful and handsome as to how? The reader cannot imagine the eyes and the nose of the characters. Thus, giving a full stop to the reader’s imagination of the characters. I couldn’t bring myself to fall in love with the characters, no matter how hard I tried. 

When Namsa is first introduced, she is wearing a black shrug and a frock. What a combo! The writer definitely lacks sense of fashion. A shrug is a cropped, cardigan-like garment with short or long sleeves, worn over a vest or tank top or over a dress. Isolating shrug as a piece of cloth stops the reader from further imagination of Namsa. It doesn’t make you feel invested in the life of the characters, which is so critical in a story.

A light influence of Haruki Muarkami is distinct in the book. The love making scene when its pouring heavy outside is one that is replicated from Murakami’s Norwegain Wood, I reckon.

Gaurapa’s road to recovery is something which we can resonate from the film Munna Bhai MBBS. These are a few examples of an influence from the books and film which I felt had the author influenced, which of course is very natural and forgiving.

However, it saddens me that the story doesn’t live with you, long after finishing it and doesn't make you think about it for days on end. After finishing the book, it doesn’t make you hug it because it stops you from investing in the book emotionally.  

Nonetheless, this is a good start. Monu definitely left me craving for more of such stories. Stories which are distinct in Bhutanese and close to our hearts, stories which would make us hug the book at the end. We look forward to reading more of your stories. Way to go Monu!     

And yes, the design and cover layout is of international standard. Its just so convenient and perfect for a light travel read. 

P.S : I apologise for the honest and brutal review which is done in good faith of course as an ardent reader and a well wisher. I hope the author will take it positively and come better like a phoenix rising from the ash in his next project. 

For the Love of Books - A Bookworm Tag

via

For a bookworm like me what joys could be there to read a book tag post on the lovely Jen’s blog Bows Bangles & Bakes and get inspired right away. So here’s mine:  

 

As a child, my father used to give me a word for the week. I had to remember to spell it correctly at the end of the week. And the award was a candy. :). 

He used to be a strict father then. To remember the right spelling, I used to refer the dictionary, write it down and sometimes memorize the word. In the process, I used to hoard every books and papers available in the house to get the meaning correct as well. 

Naturally, this helped me to develop my love for words which stipulated my love for reading. I remember that as an elementary school kid, I used to borrow lady bird books from the library to read at home. I nurtured this habit and till today, I have my agape love for books, libraries and a good bookshop. 

I have never said this before. I would like to thank my father for nurturing this love for reading in me. I’m indebted to him forever. 

 

I read anywhere, everywhere. I read while eating, while cooking in the kitchen, in the bathroom. I love to be surrounded by books. But the most comfortable place I usually love to read is in the bed under the covers. 

However, my ideal place to read is by the fireplace sipping steaming tea or coffee on a cold day. 

Well, this is quite tricky. Honestly, I’ve never read several books at once except for the school textbooks :P. 

I’m a nostalgic person. When I read, I love to dive into the plot, fall in love with the words, sit quiet for a while and imagine the characters in the book. So if I read several books at once, I may get lost and wouldn’t be able to enjoy the book. 

So for the fear of being lost, I prefer to read one book at a time and enjoy it immensely than be cluttered and confused with several books at once. 

I don’t have one. As long as it’s a book with a good plot and a good language, I love all genres.  

 

I have to say The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Normally I finish reading a book in two-three weeks times given my busy schedule or overnight if the book is truly a page turner and simply unputdownable. I was not able to enjoy the The Fountainhead initially and that’s why I put it away on the shelf. Again, I opened it and gave a second try. After grasping the plot I knew it was a classic book, a book which was written in 1943 and still relevant today in this 21^st century. It took me 6 months to complete the book. After which I watched the movie (1949) also, which was in black and white. My family thought I was crazy. But that’s how I show my loyalty to the book I love. 

I’m a bibliophile. It’s just that I don’t have budget to buy books. Nevertheless, I cut down on my make ups and bought The Book Thief (review here), The Fault in Our Stars (review here) and The Catcher in the Rye. 

 

I feel upset if I go into a bookshop and come without buying a book. So definitely, I love buying books. I have this dream of creating a small library in my home, so I’m working towards it little by little by buying a book a month, sometimes more than two.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, a very light read and of course a naughty book.

So dear readers and book lovers, I tag all of you in this post. Go ahead and show the bookworm in you by doing this post. I enjoyed so much doing this post, hope you will too.

Wishing you a happy weekend!