The last Seychelles flame by Medha Nagur | Book Reviews

Recently we’re approached by Medha Nagur to let us know about her book The last Seychelles Flame and we’ve decided to read it and share our unbiased book reviews for the same with you all :).

From our team, I got a chance to read it and the review is unbiased and uninfluenced by all means, as always.

Let us take a look at the book cover.

Seychelles is known for its natural beauty and the book shows a young couple enjoying their time together at one of the beaches wearing white cloths. Their faces are hidden behind hats. The cover page reminds you of a romantic scene you’ve often visited while watching romantic movies. And yes, you can see a camera lying beside them.

The cover is moderately good, and those who love reading romantic books will find it attractive.

The book covers are known to influence reading/borrowing/purchase decisions of potential readers. So, if you reading love stories set up in modern times and multiplex specific modern movies, chances are there that you will like the cover page very much.

Book Plot:

A young girl named Adrija lives in Pune with her parents. She has completed her studies and is now doing a job at a small place. She wants to make big. Photography is her passion and her professional experience (only as much possible in a comparatively small center) in modeling photography made think big. She wanted to be a fashion photographer and wish that someday she will be able to click the photos which will be on the cover page of some popular fashion magazines.

Being ambitious is really good, and when you have the skills complementing your ambitions, it is really great.

There is a sad angle also. She is not in the best state of her mind. Her boyfriend of four years Ronny went Mumbai with his ambitions. Earlier he remained in touch and one day he broke his relationships with Adrija on the phone only. He didn’t show any curtsey when it comes to the reason for the breakup. He declared her unworthy of him in all aspects and she doesn’t deserve him!

The shock was tragic for Adrija. So, despite the disapproval of her parents, especially her father, she left Pune when she got a job in the field she desired in Mumbai. Here, she experienced the fast, costly, lonely and hardworking life upon her arrival itself. She, however, wanted to give her best to her profession and make a mark. Fortunately, she met some helping people at her job place and eventually she was on the right path.

Her accommodation issue is not sorted yet and she hadn’t enough money to live in comparatively modest to a good hotel. She is not getting enough time to look for PG options and the things are tough for her.

So, how will she move ahead from here? Will she be able to survive in the competitive city? Will she be able to pursue her dreams? Will she meet Ronny in Mumbai? Will her parents accept her again? Will she face any problems which possibly can change the course of her life? Well, you need to read the book to know more.

Here is the list of the main segments of the book, which shall give you more idea about the flow of the story:

• I, as I Am
• Natural Field of Excellence
• Future Goal
• Independent Ability
• Not to Knot Relationships
• Interdependent Partnerships
• Tracker for Progress
• Emotional Equilibrium

The author tried to bank on masala story which can touch the nerve of a large number of readers. Believe it or not, but there are middle-class families where females are still treated as a second gender. Regardless of the gender though there exists a fire within in the youth of this social class to do something remarkable. And, it is not the new thing. It is there since the beginning.

Refer the examples of top people in any segment, be it a film star or a business person, politician, artists, armed forces official, author, bodybuilder, athlete, sports person,… and you will find a majority of them are coming from the humble background. Their rock solid desire to get out of the situation they are trapped in is the main force which drives them to work hard.

So, I like the concept and very much admire it. And, yes I strongly believe that the opportunities should be available based on the abilities and abilities only. Gender, caste, religion, nationality or anything else should not play any role in it.

But why the social norms are so that the girl should be married at so an so age and the physical beauty has to play a vital role in finding the life partner for her? Beauty, no matter how ethereal it is, is going to be faded over the period of the time! It is all about the mindset, wearing shorter clothes, abusing in English, drinking alcohol, addiction to drugs or having uncontrolled lustrious affairs doesn’t make you modern!

The book has some witty lines full of sarcasm. I also like the way the protagonist can criticize herself:

“…You are the most precious thing in my life.” He had told me
Later, when he dumped me, I realize that was just a “thing” for him, never precious.

There are some lines full of real-life wisdom:

We often hear the part of a conversation that pleases us.

Talent without professionalism is worthless.

Sometimes it’s neither the office politics nor the workload, and not even the lack of skills, but your personal issues that affect your professional life the most.

“Exactly my point Japanese doll. People can only assume and assumptions are far from reality”.

The author is good at exploring emotions. Here are a few examples:

It made me dive in my own pool of pride with joyful gleam and I danced in my mind, only nobody could see it.

I wiped away the stream of the salty liquid that trickled down my cheeks.

I had to be strong or else I would be at a risk of showing my vulnerabilities to the world.

Those who love watching romantic movies and read such books will surely like this line:

Being wanted in somebody’s life makes you feel good, especially when you get the exact opposite emotions from your parents.

But it also contains the contradictions. Ideally, I don’t think parent hate their children. However, despite knowing the fact, it is obvious to get such thoughts during teenage or when we are growing up and unable to get what we want from our parents. We often feel same when we want freedom and don’t like to follow the rules or when at ideology difference or many other situations. So, despite having a contradiction, this line is realistic, the only problem here is the character who thinks this is not in her teens, nor she is immature.

Here is another interesting line from the book:

Right now, my mind was a hurricane of nothingness.

Here is a very inspirational line from the book:

But then he admitted that true passion can give one strength to overcome any hurdles and the courage to face all storms, big or small.

This is a fantastic way to weave philosophy in sweet words:

Challenges are like sweet butterscotch granules sprinkled all over on the cake of life, which are difficult to pick out and discard but if you know how to enjoy them even when they are hard to bite, they sure will enhance your experience.

The author got it right about the current generation’s obsession with social networks and feelings to keep updating it regularly. Also, a small town girl’s experiences in the metro city are worth a mention.

What I don’t understand in this story is, if the girl is so clear in her mind about her vision, her career, her life; if she is so determined to achieve her goal by doing hard work applying her intelligence, if she is so bold that she can break social norms to do things which she finds right; then why she needs to keep the relationship with her boyfriend alive? Why his acceptance and recognition matter for her so much? Why, that once her boyfriend declares a break-up with her, she breaks down? These attributes are not matching with the other attributes of the character. At least for me.

Also, the parent-child relationship could have been explored in better ways.

The book has some printing errors like:

… ghar pe bol ke aaayakya.” (missing space between “aaya kya”)

Also, the way in which the protagonist meat Om looks filmier and the initial behavior of the character is not so convincing. The way the alcohol stuff (at Seychelles) elaborated is less convincing.

Talking about the book in more detail will lead to spoilers and I want to avoid it as far as possible.

Summary:

I am sure that most of the youngsters who like to read love stories and doesn’t mind a little bit of adult content will find the book interesting. It has its own letdowns as well. It is a light read which can be a travel companion for those who like to read books in this genre.

6.5 out of 10

Quick Purchase Links:

• Buy Book From Amazon India – Kindle EBook
• Buy Book From Amazon US – Kindle EBook

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