Book Review - Love Curry : A Potpourri of Love and Life and All Things in Between! - by Pankaj Dubey

Love Curry : A Potpourri of Love and Life and All Things in Between! — by Pankaj Dubey

Publisher: Penguin Random House India

Pages:202

Price: Rs. 250 INR(paperback)

ISBN: 978–0143424505

Buy here: https://amzn.to/2R8czL4

Three flat mates in London begin to see how different their lives are and at the same time how similar their backgrounds. And when life begins to deal its rough cards, how easy things become when they are all together! 
Ali is a Pakistani chef with the dream of setting up his own nihari restaurant. Shehzad is a cool tattoo artist from Bangladesh with a broken past and Rishi is an Indian with nondescript skills and trying to hide himself from the world.
They all make one mistake — that of falling in love — with the same girl. They become arch-rivals. But when their worlds turn topsy-turvy, they have no one but each other to turn to, learning that love is as much about letting go as it is about possessing. 
Equally thoughtful as it is entertaining, sensitive as it is quirky, Love Curry is a glimpse of life truly to its fullest!

About the author

Pankaj Dubey is a bestselling bilingual novelist and film-maker. Both his books What a Loser! and Ishqiyapa — to Hell With Love, published by Penguin Books India, have been written by him in Hindi as well. He accentuates the socio-political undercurrents with quirks and humor in his style of writing. He has been a journalist with the BBC World Service in London. He was also selected for the prestigious Writers’ Residency in the Seoul Art Space, Yeonhui, Seoul, South Korea, amongst three novelists from Asia in 2016.

My take on this book

The story is set in London with 3 South Asian men sharing an apartment, and explores their relationship with the landlord’s daughter. While the men are from different countries, backgrounds and professions, food and cooking is the major connection between the three. There is an unexpected twist in the second half, how this affects the lives of all those involved and how it finally takes the story to culmination.

The book is one easy-breezy read with very few simple characters and a simple narration which makes the book a quick read. The reader will find similarity with a lot of Bollywood potboilers and this book has potential to become one. There are also a lot of well known cliches around people from each country and their behavior which the writer succumbs to easily while sketching the characters. Hoewever, it is interesting to see the boys fighting over trivial things but coming together when the times demand.

What stands out through the story is the fun associated with even serious elements and how food stays a constant underlying theme. An avid reader can see some of the twists coming through without much suspense and the story also ends on a predictable note. If you are looking for a fun, short read with a simple and uncomplicated approach, then this is a good pick. The writer sticks to the tone of the story without dropping the tempo. A good one time read!

My rating

3/5.