"Life Is What You Make It" :: A Book Review

Nongmaithem Rakesh *

"LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT"

No. of pages :- 209
Price :- Rs. 100?-

LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT is a novel which has a female as the main character. The lead female of the story is Ankita Sharma. She is a sweet, attractive, smart, ambitious and happy go lucky girl born into a conservative middle class family. It is a chronicle of her life.

Set in 1989 when Doordarshan was the main source of entertainment and when letter writings was in vogue. The tale begins from her college days, then her admission into MBA institute in Mumbai.

Everything is going her way till then. But suddenly her life is in a mess. She finds herself in a disturbing situation partly because of her fault and partly due to destiny.

But, like the birth of Pheonix she overcome her peculiar circumstances. The story ends with the rebirth of Ankita into person who celebrates everyday for being alive. That is the story in brief for you.

LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT is a glorious work of art. It is elegantly written by Preeti Shenoy. She has several academic degrees to her credit. She has also written for different publication like Readers Digest and Times of India. She also loves art, reading, travelling, photography, nature, bloggings and lots more. She is the writer of the best selling novel "34 Bubblegums and candies". She is carrying forward the pioneering work done by Chetan Bhagat. In fact, she has outdone Chetan.

The plot of the novel may seems very straightforward. However, it is a novel worth reading. Let us discuss why you should buy or read this book. First reason is that it discusses about the little known but widespread problem-- bi polar disorder. It is a mental infliction which is charcterised by extreme mood swing.

The novel tries to spread awareness about this problem through the story of Ankita and it attempt to enlightened people about the mental illness and the cure. The novel endeavours to remove the stigma attach with mental illness. Secondly , if you are in your thirties or forties, it will remind you of your teenage as well as college days.

How much fun do you have during those time? How you fell for a girl or a boy, the first kiss, the first motorcycler ride and lots more. You will simply relive those precious years of your life through this novel. You will love the part when Ankita tries to call her boyfriend over phone. Third, it has an epilogue as well as a prologue. This makes it more interesting to read.

Fourthly, it emphasises on the importance of love in our life. "Never to belittle love, no matter where it came from and to be a little humbler, nicer and kinder with my words and actions' is a wonderful quote from the book. Sixthly, the importance of relationship has been highlighted in this novel.

Seventhly, the writer has the able to charm you witth her incredible narration. She will hypnotize you with her mesmerizing story telling technique. So, just pick up this novel and let Preety Shenoy takes you into a new world.

For me it is an enjoyable novel.

I will rate it 7 out of 10.