Title – The
Jasmine Bloom
Author –
Rajat Narula
Genre –
Fiction
Publisher –
Srishti Publishers & Distributors
No of pages
– 225
Main
characters – Sameer, Kavita, Ritu, Pari, Tania
Other
Characters – Ammaji, Harmeet, Imran
The Blurb
Sameer
Chadha lives with his wife Kavita and two adorable daughters named Pari and
Tania. Caught in a mid-life crisis, he is unhappy with everything. His
corporate career is languishing and is increasingly alienated from his family.
His wife Kavita is a part-time poet and a homemaker who dwells in her past all
the time whereas Sameer gets carried away with one of his colleagues, Ritu.
When their
lives collide with Ritu, a married woman coping with her abusive husband and an
autistic son, a chain of events gets triggered that throws everyone’s life into
the unstoppable whirlwind.
My Review
The Jasmine
Bloom is an extremely impressive and descriptive novel written by very talented
author Rajat Narula. The story is about love, lust, complicated relationships,
loss, pain and an unquenchable thirst for happiness in life. It is a commentary
on the fragility of modern family life and an eye-opener that how our
unfulfilled desires can wreak havoc on everyone.
The plot is
not something unusual but the author’s writing skills are simply flawless and
impactful that grabs your attention until the last of the page of the novel.
The author
has left no stone unturned describing each character painstakingly that one
could actually imagine each one of them. Pari’s bubbly and cheerful behavior,
Tania’s typical teenage character, Kavita’s sensitive side as a poet and a
dedicated homemaker and amma as a maid, each character are portrayed so well
that you could marvel at the author’s impactful descriptive writing.
With that
same grace and ease, the author has managed to turn this simple story into an
irresistible feast that keeps a reader at a continuous pace.
Each
character has his or her own story that you could relate them in your real
life. It usually happens when the romance trickles down and adultery enters in
a modern man’s life when he is burdened with so many things at a time. The
author daringly brings forth the stark reality of modern man’s life where he
never seems to contend with his life. Kavita’s indifference, Sameer’s
incapability of balancing life and career and vulnerability of involving in
adultery and Ritu’s easy way to escape from harsh realities of life and getting
involved into an extra-marital affair seems absolute reality that one could
find easily these days.
Yet the
author maintains suspense at the end, letting the reader seep into the lives of
these characters. Through the characters like Pari and Tania, the author
smartly conveys how adultery or fickle decisions are taken by adults impact
children’s lives.
All it
takes one wrong action to get into a whirlwind of troubles that soon become
never-ending. Sameer and Ritu’s immature decisions not only jeopardize their
families but force them to repent all their life.
One of the
scenes from the Jasmine Bloom reveals how adultery can go to such extent where
a man and a woman are not bothered by anything. When Sameer’s wife Kavita
suffers from a heart attack at home, her daughter Tania frantically tries to
call Sameer but he is busy having sex with Ritu. This is one of the scenes that
make your heart cry in pain.
Rajat’s
effortless writing and narrative style leave you astonished as he sums up the
story with a shocking end.
I strongly
recommend this novel as the author’s impactful writing and narrative skills
will leave your jaw drop for sure.
The Best
Part
An
excellent and dramatic narration, extremely well-depicted characters and
well-written scenes
Not so Good
Part
Ritu’s
decision of keeping baby from her extra-marital affair seems unconvincing and makes
you question is this how Indian marriages are supposed to be.
Writing
Style
Rajat
Narula’s writing style is easy breezy. The story flows in an effortless manner
and nowhere in the story, one could lose the direction. His descriptive writing
is simply admirable. Below are few paragraphs from The Jasmine Bloom that shows
how painstakingly minutest details have been captured by the author:
“Don’t
know.” She shrugged her bony shoulders. She hugged him standing up on the sofa,
without taking her eyes off the TV.
Tomato paneer, black daal, and rice lay steaming on the table. A dollop of butter melted slowly on the daal. There was a bowl of cucumber raita and the lidded box for rotis.
They were
a few feet away when Tania lifted her head and his eyes met hers. In that
moment, everybody else ceased to exist. Aditi vanished, Shruti and Avantika
also. The angry cafeteria lady and her two assistants too. It was only him and
her. And then they looked away and everything returned to normal.
The book
cover and the title
The title
is apt given its frequent references in the story. The book cover is not that
appealing. However, they say, ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ and so is the
story of The Jasmine Bloom. You will not be disappointed with the story as the
author takes you for a whirling ride of emotions.
My rating
4.5/5
I strongly
recommend this book for its impactful storytelling and descriptive writing
style. The novel ruthlessly sheds a light on our fickle modern relationships
and it is totally worth your time and money.
About the author
Rajat
Narula is a lead financial management specialist at The World Bank. His several
articles and poems have been published in renowned newspapers and has won the
Fairfax District award in USA for his poetry. He has worked and lived in India,
Indonesia and USA.
