BOOK REVIEW: 'Of Dreams' by Aditi Talwar Sodhi

'Of dreams' is a story about three college friends; Amrita, Aarti and Payal. And that itself is a welcome change from the kind of stories that deal with three guys and a love affair gone wrong. The three girls have lost something in life and yet dare to dream big. This book tries to be realistic and aspirational at the same time and in a rare achievement, succeeds in doing so. Books like these are not fiction but the truth about life, dealing with things that happen everyday around us, that can happen to people we know and people like you and me.

So we have Amrita who is the rich girl falling for Suresh, the poor guy but they can't end up together as Amrita's Punjabi parents are against their relationship. So Amrita gets married into a rich Punjabi household and dreams of a future for her two daughters. But what future do they hold when she finally gives birth to a son, the heir of their family? Amrita realises that human nature is undependable, howsoever sure we might be of ourselves.

Then there is the ambitious Payal, who too has a huge crush on Suresh from college but as life moves on and she steps into the corporate world, she realises there are easy ways to climb the ladder and accelerate your growth. But she does not know that this growth would come at an expense that would shred her name and turn her into an overnight scandalous object. It is a journey for readers to discover Payal changing and learning to love, trust and live once again.

Aarti, their friend from college always was a simple girl facing the challenges of life augmented by her poverty. She learns to sacrifice for everyone around her, from family to her love. And it is this sacrifice that makes this character so endearing. Her entrepreneurial skills and hardwork don't go waste in the long run and it is a seriously happy moment to see her growth.

In the words of the author, "Amrita repeatedly allows herself to be manipulated but consequentially becomes the biggest manipulator, Aarti keeps looking back when she should ideally be forging ahead and Payal tries desperately to erase her past but her future seems to be fading faster." The surprise factor however comes from a character named Shaheen who brings these friends together after almost two decades and there in lies the crux of the story. Aditi Talwar cleverly joins all the threads together towards the end, doing something pleasingly unexpected.

The book portrays the struggle and hardships of life from different points of view. Success never comes easy to those who dare to dream big. The characters are simple and well-sketched and I liked the flow of the story. The book tells us that many times life deals us cards that we never expected to play with. All in all a quick read that deals with a novel subject!

Get it from StackurRack or Infibeam.