Autumn In My Heart

Earlier this evening, I completed reading my first novel for the year, and it made for quite an interesting read. The novel, Autumn In My Heart is authored by my Facebook Friend, Saptarshi Basu which is set in the metro where creative juices are said to flow like the Hooghly River, under the famous Howrah Bridge. 

Incidentally his second novel, after Love {LOGIC} & The God's Algorithm, Saptarshi's Autumn In My Heart is not just another chick-lit novel.  The enchanting imagery used to describe Kolkata, the cultural capital of India on which the novel is centered on will make the reader crave to visit the city. 

Saptarshi Basu - The Author 

The story revolves around Debyojyoti Sen (Deb) who has a fresh lease of life after the betrayal of his first love,  and a subsequent attempt to end his life. In time, his life takes for the pinketh when he meets a girl online and gets friendly with her. Deb is a paradigm of a casanova. And he makes his move on a girl like a waft of breeze - smoothly and innocently. His tryst at getting physical in the initial date itself with girls shows his wanton nature. But the player that he is, his charm and a simplicity that he exudes does not really let him down. The other major character in the story, Avantika has her primary objective on being financially independent and wants to secure a career in the banking industry. But her mother is hell-bent on getting her married immediately to someone she is not keen on despite the fact the boy comes from a respectable family. 

Deb, as a womanizer, scores high, but at work is quite a shirker and finds ways to get out of the mess with his superior each time. 

The novel also touches on gay tendencies which takes an unexpected twist towards the end and will leave the readers gasping in surprise. The truth prevails and hidden secrets are revealed when Deb goes on a short vacation to Kalimpong along with his colleagues.The visit to the Bhutanese Monastery and Dissertation of Guru Lama gives a whole new meaning and purpose to the lives of the characters of Deb, Saurav, Tina, Vinod and Sagarika, and in cause-effect to that of Avantika and Sujay  as well. The Buddhist teachings is not only enlightening to the characters on their Monastery visit, but will also have the same impact on the discerning reader. 

On the flip side, the novel is plagued by editorial mistakes which seriously needs a rectification at the time of a re-print. I would not blame the author really for this, but the proof-reader/s of the publishing house - Vitasta who have shown negligence on their part when it comes to the manuscript. If I were to question the author, it would be on his penchant for the word 'rebuke' and the use of profanities once too often, and if that be the case why oft and then the expletives are riddled with a few asterisks. More importantly, the novel is interlaced   with a few stories thrown in which moves back and forth in time and jumps from one to another that leaves the reader with a challenge to grasp onto the plot as it thickens. The chapters could be presented in a better way.

I would give 2.5/5 for this book.