The (In) Eligible Bachelors is kick ass, power packed one liners

Book Review: The (In) Eligible Bachelors

Publisher: Rupa

Price: Rs 195

Author: Ruchita Misra

Rating: Four and a half

Author Ruchita Mishra posing with her rom-com, The (In) Eligible Bachelors.
Image credit: Google India

Verdict:

What makes a Rom-Com stand in the market is its unique narrative style, mass & youthful appeal and crazy one liners as we laugh our heart out till our last breath..oops! last page.  Ruchita Misra’s The (In) Eligible Bachelors standout among the lot due to the writer’s unique quirky narrative style, breezy dialogue baazi that remains the forte of the book and pops out of nowhere.

In one word: The (In) Eligible Bachelor is one rom-com that one can call compelling, spellbinding, adding a dash of fun and freshness to your otherwise boring existence that will irritate the shit out of you as you enter the world of Kasturi and her wanna-be suitors. Brace yourself: This one has laughs and lots of it, a Saas-Bahu kinda Mom, irritating suitors and, humorous fest and bundle of friendship. The (In) Eligible Bachelors make rom-coms not only the flavor of the season but shows that new age authors, imbibed with a distinctive voice, tongue-in-cheek dialogues and unique style makes the genre an ongoing romance that will never fade into oblivion.

Blurb:

Arranged marriages are complicated things. So are mothers. And so are relationships. Kasturi Shukla is a fresh MBA graduate with a great job in hand. She is also geeky and single at twenty four. The biggest sore spot in Kasturi’s life is her dominating, arranged marriage obsessed mother now hell bent on getting her married at the earliest. Does Kasturi find love in one of the rather weird but IIT or IIM boys that Mum manages to ‘shortlist’? Or perhaps she can follow her wildly beating heart that seems to be set on the Greek God incarnate that her boss, Rajeev sir, is? With office buddies Ananya and Varun by her side, the hilariously fumbling Kasturi embarks on a rip roaring journey to find Mr Right. 

Narrative:

Ruchita provides a witty take on the old-age traditional ‘arranged marriage’ business in our society where girls are supposed to be packed off to the groom’s house. The best thing about The (In) Eligible Bachelor is the quick pace at the which the story evolves and incidents drawn in the book is handled in a superbly competent manner that it will tickle your funny bones and is deeply engrossing and engaging, as you will ask for more and more.  It’s Kasturi’s diary where her Mom plays match-maker to irritate her as she sits on a fence, in a serious attempt to thwart all the suitors, weirdos and despos, whom she could have killed.

Ruchita Misra has a natural gift to narrate the story and episodes, with a funny bone that will make you chortle and in one word, Kick ass. The terrific one-liners will stay with you forever as The (In) Eligible Bachelor reminds you that it’s the story of the girl-next-door. Like a good B-World pot boiler, the book has all the ingredients of a 100 crore blockbuster as we enter the world of Kasturi, her crush, weird colleagues that become her best friends.

Ruchita is at her mushy best with terrific one liners, ‘So unlike Kajol in DDLJ,my marriage has not been fixed by babuji…Will I marry Pita-ji..What if Pita-ji thinks that I am perpetually zitty and if he marries me we will have kids who have zits all over their faces even when they are in their mid 20s?”

Hilarious is thy name and you never recover from splits when the Ruchita fire the next wit crack right on your face, ” As I pirouetted, my heels cracked and I  crashed full body into Dolly…..the stench that engulfed me, dispelled any doubts that I might have had about the origins of the yellow fluid.”

 

Did I say suspense in a rom-com? Don’t make straight face as Ruchita punches a pack with lovely and delightful, heart pounding suspense that will make you gush. The world of Kasturi has no pretense and, despite the efforts to live a normal mango-la life, the irritating mom, not so eligible bachelors and the man in her life, are hell bent to make her life a racy adventure. Ruchita has an exquisite taste for funny situation that will violently shake the most boring souls out of their sleep. How bout this, “I fumbled for words. And, why the hell I was behaving like a gaon ki sharmeeli gori?”

Minuses:

Frankly speaking, I couldn’t find dark spots in The (In) Eligible Bachelors. Lemme try harder! Okay, the end appears a tad predictable with late drama unfurling itself, courtesy the villains, sweet turn sour hero or the sugary sweet guy. But, that’s it. Otherwise, the author’s knack and talent of roller coaster ride and funny  one-liners bolster the adage, ‘To err (once) is humane.’

The (In) Eligible Bachelors offers a dash of freshness and madness in one of the most favorite genres which the young generation will identify with and dialogues, characters seems to be drawn from our daily lives and conversations. Ruchita Misra is a novel writer that will be a household name and youth icon in the future. Move over Chetan Bhagat. When is the sequel, Ruchita?!

Disclaimer: The book has been published in 2011 and I came across The (In) Eligible Bachelors in 2014 which I enjoyed like mint ice cream, that I couldn’t hold myself to put a review. It’s my personal review and I have no understanding with the author to review her book.

With Love

V