May 28, 2012

Book Review---"Its Your Move, Wordfreak!"


Title: "Its Your Move, Wordfreak!"

Author: Falguni Kothari

Publishing house: Rupa Publications

Price: Rs 250/-

Being an ardent fan of crossword puzzles and word games, the cover page of this book beckoned me towards it.Besides being bright and colourful, what pulled me into reading the overview were the small scrabble tiles strewn randomly around the pretty 'Jasmine' (from 'Aladin' stories) lookalike which constituted the cover page of Falguni Kothari's debut novel "Its Your Move, wordfreak!"

The book blurb only managed to heighten my curiosity fruther and shoving off the tad bit irritating phrase about a cat who somehow got killed on similar lines, I decided to find out for myself.

"Its Your Move, Wordfreak" is a feel-good-feel-liberated chicklit set in contemporary India...modern day Mumbai to be precise where life revolves around page three parties, alimony matters, aspiring models and deep but not-so-apparent psychological problems.
Yet, somehow Madame Fate has it planned that the protagonists, Alisha Menon aka WordDiva and Aryan Chawla aka WordFreak meet under the most unique and suspicious of circumstances...not at a party..not at work...not randomly in one of bombays huge shopping plazas...but over a game of  online scrabble.

Just as Lee-Sha (as her super-diva friend Diya calls her) keeps away from a social life, so does Aryan (the same high profile 'Save the planet' architect who appears on the topmost google page ranks).
As they flirt their way through sensuous chat sessions over word games, they realise a connection and soon decide to meet up for real, only to find out that they are perfect for each other.
"The anonymity that type of communication afforded had given them a false sense of security and an unreal level of comfort.” Thus gets validated their perfect virtual relationship---a bond where the past does not matter and the two faceless and nameless identities finally form an integral part of each others lives.
The sexual compatibility bit goes a tad over the notch with pages and pages devoted to descriptive intimacy.
Comoe in the two families, we are introduced to some extremely amicable individuals exuding sweetness with their extremely good natured behaviour and genuine concern.
While Alisha's mom Savitri Menon is a woman with a golden heart (and surprisingly no maternal warning signs and i-told-you-so's despite her daughters relationship highs and lows), Aryan's Nanu (grandmother), Sameer (uncle), Neeta mami, Aryan's father, step mother and everyone in their whole little world seem totally high profile and at the same time, utterly selfless.

Just as the relationship gets clawingly sweet, reality intervenes and differences between Alisha and Aryan raise their ugly heads---differences which reveal their own insecurities springing up from some deep secrets of their past.
The story unfurls in rather a predictable Yet interesting manner as to how Alisha takes the few extra steps in bridging the differences...how fate intervenes in their favour...and last but not the least how love triumphs all odds.

"Its Your Move, Wordfreak!" is quick paced and simple which makes it an enjoyable read.The vocabulary is easy going and day to day which renders it fir for a lazy afternoon or on a trip.
A book which will be liked by flutter hearted romantics and bollywood fans, "Its Your Move, Wordfreak"  would evoke quite an interesting response in motion cinema.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5

About the author:  Falguni Kothari currently lives in New York with her family and one utterly spoilt dog.Born and brought up in Mumbai, the author plays multiple roles in her day to day life which have won her esteemed titles like domestic goddess, soccer mom and canine companion.Despite her busy schedule, her faithful laptop keep her updated with the latest scandals in the online world.
"Its Your Move, Wordfreak!"  is her debutant novel.
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