Book Review - The Reason Is You

The book, written by Nikita Singh, released on 14th February, was supposed to be this year's love story.

*Summary*

Siddhant meets Akriti during their medical residency in Delhi. Their connection is instant, blossoming from the many similarities between them. So, when Akriti faces a devastating loss, she leans on Siddhant for support. In the heat of an emotional moment, the two decide that this must be love. But as Akriti's depression begins to take a stronger hold over her, she spirals out of control, sinking deeper into an abyss of fear, insecurity and rage. And while Siddhant struggles to help her, it seems like everything he does is only making things worse. Meanwhile, Siddhant's life gets further complicated when Maahi, his ex-girlfriend whom he never stopped loving, re-enters his life.
__

I shall try to write an unbiased review here but I will be honest, it is hard. I won't rate the book because honestly, this is not one of my favourite genres which may result in me misleading other readers.

To start with, this book was written for a typical Indian audience that loves love stories, the juicier the better. With the likes of Durjoy Dutta and Ravinder Singh already in the market, Nikita Singh seems to be joining their clique. To separate herself a bit from the gang, her books try to have some meaning or message in them, here, in particular, she tries to include mental health and depression.

I am sorry readers and prospective readers, I did not finish reading this book. Life only has so many hours and I wasted one of them on this book. 100 pages in and I was yet to find the message. A little more and there was just a passing reference when Siddhant (the protagonist) suggests that maybe Akriti (his girlfriend) should talk to someone, a professional perhaps. That's it.

If you don't know about the depression angle, the book feels like another Pyaar Ka Punchnama story where the girl is acting all crazy, with her mood changing every 2 minutes. She is a raging bitch but to justify her behavior, the author calls her depressed. That's not it, she is a doctor and not just any doctor but a surgical resident. Wow. Well done. Yes, she suffered a major personal loss and it did have lasting effects on her. But the book, the book takes it to another level which will probably annoy you as it did me.

My problem with the book stems from the fact that it is written by a female author. I expected better. I didn't want another book about an unreasonable female protagonist. Maybe this time the guy could have been the one going through a personal loss, or facing a problem. Why are guys always the saviours in these books? Why are they always shown to suffer in a relationship? Another cliche is if a guy is shown to have problems, then it ends in him either killing someone or himself.

At this point, the book was already going downhill for me. Add to this another age-old cliche - a love triangle! But of course, if a guy is going through a rough time in his current relationship, his ex is right there to pick up the pieces. Seriously?! Ask any woman if she would get back with her ex and the majority answer would be a no. A chance one time meet I would have accepted but Siddhant and his ex, Maahi, text each other like two idiots in love with that giddy feeling and obsessively checking their phones, like in the start of a new relationship, was just too much. This was the point I decided to put down the book.

Another point to highlight - Mental illness is a serious issue. You don't just go writing about something that you don't have sufficient knowledge about. From here stems another issue that I have with contemporary Indian authors, their lack of research. When you read a well-researched book, you know the difference. Here, she is trying to write about mental health by googling it! You have to study cases, real life experiences, witness firsthand what people involved went through before you write about such a topic. Now I can't comment on whether the author did her homework or not, but what I can tell you for sure is that it doesn't reflect in the book.
Authors having their prejudice, I understand, but what about her editors? Shouldn't they have pointed out the obvious?

A chat with a fellow reader who struggled through the whole book made me realize that it is not so much the content of the book that's wrong but how it has been marketed. Had it been another love triangle story, I would have been kinder in my criticism. But marketing clearly highlights depression whereas the book does not. Failure of the marketeer perhaps?

Oh, how I wish that there was a more realistic view on the same topic in an Indian setting. A book that captured the majority disregard of mental health as a serious issue and the public disdain of shrinks. We have more than enough male authors who till date fail to capture even an iota of truth about romance and women in their books, is it too much to ask that a female author change the narrative? Maybe a change is forthcoming, maybe not.

With that being said, I don't hold the author responsible for the book. We could romanticize good literature but at the end of the day, that literature needs to make money for its writer and publisher. If it means "masaledaar" stories then be it. The businesswoman in me understands, the reader though is scrunching her nose.

Highlighting another thing, there is nothing wrong with enjoying such stories. You can read what rows your boat, god knows I have read enough Mills & Boon to not pass judgement on anyone. If you happen to like books by Durjoy Dutta and Ravinder Singh, there is a huge possibility that you may like this one too. So pick it up.

In the end, my biggest concern is the lack of sensitivity and research while writing about depression. It seems here like this was the easiest thing to blame Akriti's issues on and since mental health seems to be a trending topic, why not join the wagon. I am not an expert but even I know BS when I read it. Without this angle, the book may have fared better for me.

That's all from my side, folks.
Till next time
When I feel compelled to write another big piece on something truly flabbergasting.
Xoxo
Pearl
#thatcoffeegirl