The Guardian Angels
Title : The Guardian Angels
Author : Rohit Gore
Publisher : Grapevine
ISBN : 9789381841280
Number of Pages : 328
Price [INR] : 125
Genre: Fiction
Summary : The Guardian Angels is the epic and tumultuous story of two star-crossed lovers who weren’t just soul-mates but were also each other’s protectors.
The fates of Adi Mehta and Radha Deodhar are deeply entwined when within days of their first rendezvous they save each other’s lives.
Despite their vast socio-political differences, they are drawn to an uncertain future fraught with contrasting ambitions, personas and ideologies.
. . . he is the son of a billionaire, she is the daughter of a socialist.
. . . he is quiet and unassuming, she is a firebrand and spirited.
However, the unexplained phenomena ties them forever – whenever they are in peril, they are each other’s only saviors.
Over the following two decades Adi and Radha live through hope and despair, joy and sadness, and try to decipher their relationship. As the truth of their bond is revealed, they must confront the true nature of love, and ultimately, their destinies.
Review : I started reading this book one afternoon and finished reading in around 8 hours with breaks for work, food etc, and that speaks a lot about the book. The Guardian Angel emotionally transports you into the worlds of Adi and Radha who live in an almost parallel universe. The book makes for an engrossing read as you flip pages one after the other and feel the love, pain, insecurities, dreams, ambitions, friendship of the 2 protagonists, which spans two decades.
The story narration alternates between Adi’s account and Radha’s writings in her diary. The story progresses with a right pace as Adi and Radha grow from children to teenagers to adults. Though they are from 2 distinct worlds, Adi being a son of a rich businessman and Radha a believer of social justice et al, they have different ideologies, but they are connected to each other and are there for each other whenever one is in trouble or pain like guardian angels. The language is crisp and flows smoothly.
This is Rohit’s fourth book. The author proves himself as a writer of both depth and maturity. Quite a few times, as I was reading the book, I stopped and absorbed and it provoked deep thought in me.
The editing of the book could have been a bit tighter and the length of the book could have been reduced to 250 pages.
In conclusion, I enjoyed reading this book, the pace of the plot is smooth, the characterizations are spot on and the dynamics leave you breathless. I would love to see The Guardian Angels as a movie too.
Rating : 3.75/5
Linking this post to the Ultimate Blog Challenge and October’s NaBloPoMo.
October 14, 2013 3:04 pm|
I am sure that our directors would grab the plot soon and make a movie out of it 🙂
October 14, 2013 3:22 pm|
Hi Jayashree
Thank you so much for your comment :-).
I have always been perplexed by the lack of enthusiasm shown by Hindi film industry towards Indian literature as a source material. There are a few exceptions. Devdas and Parineeta, both based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay classics spring to mind. There are a few others, but not more than a handful of them. Safar, based on the brilliant novel by Ashutosh Mukherjee (curiously, a lot of Bengali literature has inspired filmmakers) and the evergreen Guide based on R K Narayan’s seminal novel are landmarks. However, for a country that has a rich history of producing great literary works, our film industry has never really cared for it. Is it because the scriptwriters are wary of tinkering with the works of great writers? Or are the directors not very comfortable with idea of translating an Indian novel onto the screen? Or is it because making a film in India is more of a closely-knit enterprise where a novel written by an outsider does not get the attention it deserves? It could be a mix of many things. One hopes it would change.
October 14, 2013 3:55 pm|
I remember once Mahesh Bhatt, the film director, once said that we need not hunt around for stories if we adapt stories from our mythology.
October 14, 2013 5:01 pm|
Hi Kalpana
Thank you for the comment.
Yes, Mahesh Bhatt did say that and I guess it will change gradually.
October 14, 2013 4:20 pm|
Sounds quite a Hindi movie plot. I am sure it must be interesting…lets see if I buy it on my next shopping trip.
October 14, 2013 5:04 pm|
Hi Sugandha,
I would take that as a compliment!
Honestly, this novel can be termed as my most mainstream fiction. Although my three previous novels did achieve critical acclaim, I was told by quite a few reviewers that they had literary bent and might not appeal to a wider cross-section of readers (most specifically for CIRCLE OF THREE, which was reviewed by literary heavyweights like Saaz Aggarwal and Arunima Mazumder). I never set out consciously, but probably this novel has a bit more mainstream appeal.
October 14, 2013 4:36 pm|
Guardian angels seems to be an interesting read. The characters appealed the most to me. Definitely a movie based on this novel would be worth watching.
October 14, 2013 5:07 pm|
Hi Diana
Thank you for your comment and I hope you like the book :-). I look forward to your review/feedback! It has received a lot of wonderful reviews on Goodreads, much to my relief and satisfaction.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18193351-the-guardian-angels
October 14, 2013 5:21 pm|
Interesting. Human turmoils and doubts and fears and passions…they all just interest me too much. seems like a nice book.
October 16, 2013 11:17 am|
Hi Kajal,
Thank you so much for your comment. I hope you like the book and I hope you pick it up soon 🙂
It has received some lovely reviews, much to my satisfaction and relief: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18193351-the-guardian-angels
http://www.amazon.in/The-Guardian-Angels-Rohit-Gore/dp/9381841284
|Cheers
Rohit
October 14, 2013 7:32 pm|
Sounds interesting..
Thank you for the review. 🙂
October 16, 2013 11:18 am|
Hello Pixie
I really hope you like the book :-).
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18193351-the-guardian-angels
http://www.amazon.in/The-Guardian-Angels-Rohit-Gore/dp/9381841284
October 14, 2013 9:11 pm|
Sounds like a great story. You are right…if you can’t put the book down and must read more and more…it is a hit!! Enjoyed reading your review! ♥
October 16, 2013 11:21 am|
Hello Kathy,
When someone like Shilpa, who is a voracious reader and reads across the genres, says something like that, it makes an author’s day 🙂
I am sure in a few days, it should be available on Amazon worldwide, including Kindle. I look forward to what you think of it after you have read it 🙂
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18193351-the-guardian-angels
http://www.amazon.in/The-Guardian-Angels-Rohit-Gore/dp/9381841284
October 15, 2013 12:55 pm|
Wow! are you a on a readathon? Seems like you have a flair for good books, the rating is good. Adi and Radha seem to have contrasting characters.
October 16, 2013 11:23 am|
Hello Asha
It truly made my day when someone like Shilpa who reads so much gave an endorsement to this novel. 🙂
I hope you like the novel and like the characters of Adi and Radha!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18193351-the-guardian-angels
http://www.amazon.in/The-Guardian-Angels-Rohit-Gore/dp/9381841284
October 15, 2013 1:56 pm|
Can already see how the opening scene would be pictured if made into a film. Sounds like a very intriguing story. Your review makes it sound like a must read book….will check it out.
October 16, 2013 11:31 am|
Hi,
Thank you so much for your comment and I hope you like the novel 🙂
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18193351-the-guardian-angels
http://www.amazon.in/The-Guardian-Angels-Rohit-Gore/dp/9381841284
There are a few other reviews that have mentioned about it being a good source material for a film. Although, I have always wondered if I should take it as a compliment. I never really set out to write a book like that. All my previous three novels were a bit un-mainstream and since this one has potentially good mainstream appeal, probably that’s the reason it is being considered as a novel that can be adapted into a film.
I also don’t know if filmmakers in India are looking at Indian authors for content.
October 15, 2013 9:25 pm|
The plot seems interesting but I would still say that you reading it at a stretch for eight hours convincing me more on the style of writing. And that perhaps is what I am looking for in picking books.
October 16, 2013 11:33 am|
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Richa :-). I really hope you would pick a copy of the book and I look forward to know what you think of it.
It overwhelmed me to know that a reviewer and voracious reader like Shilpa couldn’t let go of the book. Made my day.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18193351-the-guardian-angels
http://www.amazon.in/The-Guardian-Angels-Rohit-Gore/dp/9381841284