tsar

Jane Austen being Jane Austen.

She criticizes the genteel class in an amazing comical way.

I picked up this book solely because I liked the cover but I am only judging it after completing it :p

It is a good book to binge read, the author has added one flaw to each character and that’s their entire personality. Not many layered characters, easy to read book.

The novel spans the whirlwind romance of Cleo & Frank (Cleopatra & Frankenstein) and its ultimate demise, with their friends’ lives sprinkled here and there.

Some good things about the writer is that she starts and ends the book well. Both Cleo & Frank are charmingly flirtatious in the beginning and somberly reflective in the end.

However, the book is a hot mess in the middle. Men date women decades younger than them and then cry about having to support them financially. Just date someone who is your age then!

Honestly, almost every relationship depicted, with the exception of Santigo’s and Eleanor’s, can be reduced to something transactional. After a point I actually started wondering - is the author promoting May-December relationships because the younger person gets stability and the older person can relive their youth?

It lowkey reminded me of another hot mess movie called Closer.

But one thing that’s common about hot messes is that you can’t help but watch it unfold and wonder how it is gonna end. That’s how my experience was with this book.

I am in awe of this book and it is a must read for all Indians.

While reading it, I felt like this book is written for Indians to consume. The author references a lot of protests and events that happened in India, that had one not lived those experiences the subtle underlying commentary might be missed. So, as an Indian and someone who has the pre-requisite context for this book, I find it hard to be objective about this book. Rather this book made me realise my own ignorance, privilege and silent complicity in turning a blind eye.

The book shows a point-of-view of India that is more often than not, ignored and left behind by the masses. Even if you don’t particularly agree with Roy’s critique and politics, you should still read this.

Constant Reader is a collection of columns written by Dorothy Parker, screenwriter who rose to prominence in early 20th century.

Her reviews are so witty sprinkled with just the right amount of sarcasm, making it feel like you are reading a stand-up comic’s set.

Although one has to have a phone nearby to look almost a century old gossip to get the context of the review.

So, pretty basic and forgettable book.

Beautiful illustration though.