If a work of literary writing features twists and turns, it becomes a memorable reading experience for the readers. After his debut book, “A One Sided Romance,” Saksham Gupta comes back with his next book, “Me & She,” where the author not only plays with the imagination of the readers but also delivers a powerful message which would increase in significance in the coming times. The readers would also enjoy the book for the simplicity of thought and realistic characters that the author constructs.
In his “Me & She,” Gupta starts the book with a simple protagonist having a linear and well-defined life which is a typical characteristic of contemporary city life. The readers connect with the book and the character instantly from the first page. As they hear his monologues through his thoughts, they understand the state of most youngsters in today’s time. His life at home, at work, his colleagues, his love interests, everything forms the fragment of everyone’s life. What amazes the readers is the compassion and desire to connect. This is perhaps one of the primary characteristics that attract the readers to the book.
Aarav comes across as a regular person with the characteristics of any young member of the working population. He is charming, hard-working, at times getting distracted, focused when the time calls for it, compassionate, fond of the people he has in life and tries to keep them close in all situations. Gupta gives him the necessary touches of reality when the plot unfolds and goes through ups and downs. At times, he comes out of the text to explain his state of mind to the readers.
The other characters that appear are equally realistic and close to contemporary regular youth. The author gives them a language that is easily understood by today’s readers and relatable too, since they may be using the same vocabulary. This gives “Me & She” by Gupta transparency which is significant to make a book appear realistic and true to the words it uses. At the same time, even though the author builds up different characters, yet they do not seem to crowd the text. The readers are easily familiar with them and also at ease with understanding their actions. They strike as figures who one could spot in any nook or corner of a street or public place.
The book progresses at a swift pace without much digressions or distractions. This keeps the readers glued to the book, and many may even finish it in a single reading. When Gupta introduces the twist in “Me & She,” it is most unexpected for the readers. He successfully delivers the message that in this routine life, when everyone is busy with their work or responsibility, a second is enough to change it all. This message may not appear directly on the surface, but it lurks in the background and gains prominence at the right time. While it baffles the readers, but they also agree to the undeniable truth. Somewhere, they would learn and implement to value life more, and the people present in it. This also increases the universal relevance of the book, which also ensures that it is read by future generations.
The short book “Me & She” can be read by all readers who are interested in reading books that have a depth of thought and are easily relatable to life at large. It would come as a fresh wave of thought and plot. At the same time, the ones who are interested in starting their reading journey can also begin with Saksham Gupta’s second book. This is so because while the book is of a short length, it also has a vocabulary that is free of any jargon; rather, it has contemporary slang, which is popular among the youth. The grown-up readers would enjoy the book as they would be able to reminisce the days of their youth and the similar things they would have done too.
