A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose!

Things are as they are, not as they should be!

The Guardian Angels

Title : The Guardian AngelsTGA
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.

20 Responses

    1. 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.

  1. 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.

    1. 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.

  2. 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! ♥

  3. 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.

    1. 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.

  4. 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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.