Sonal Singh On Sonal's Table
Book title – A little bit of love
Publisher – Shaherazad Shelves Pages – 284 pages Language – English
Genre – love, drama
Authors – Dr Arva Bhavnagarwala
Available on – amazon.in
Purchase link – https://www.amazon.in/Little-Bit-Love-Arva-Bhavnagarwala-ebook/dp/B0CCK4NQZK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=a+little+bit+of+love&qid=1695115094&sr=8-1
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About the author – Arva Bhavnagarwala is a pediatrician and writer based in Mumbai, India. In between seeing patients and being patient with her two boys, she finds time to scribble words here and there. These words then become stories, and these stories a way for her to connect with readers. Her short stories have appeared in various anthologies and literary magazines like Woman’s Era and Active Muse.
About the book – I received a copy of this book from the author for review.
What is it that we need the most? What is the one thing that gives us hope, support, encouragement, motivation, etc? Isn’t it – ‘a little bit of love’? Isn’t a little bit of love all that we crave, be it from expected or unexpected quarters? A little bit of love that a mother showers on her child, can change the child’s outlook towards and for life … forever. A little bit of love that comes to us at unexpected times, from unexpected quarters, can change our mindset … forever. Don’t you agree?
// All I craved was this little bit of love from my mother, and when I did get that…it…I swallowed and blinked back tears. I turned my face away so that she wouldn’t see my glazed eyes.//
A little bit of love is a story set in Mumbai, the city of dreams where the protagonists navigate the city’s masses in search of their own personal dreams. The hustle-bustle of the metropolis, the chaos inside the ever-punctual local trains, the vagaries of Mumbai weather – the incessant rains and flooding – which hold denizens to ransom, the endless struggle for survival – in a nutshell, all that Mumbai represents – has been captured in a captivating manner by debutant novelist Dr Arva Bhavnagarwala.
// At the station, I had to run to catch the train, else I’d have missed it by a fraction of a second. Being a Tuesday, it was a little less crowded. I could enter the compartment without too much shoving. Mondays were always crazy, and yesterday was no exception.//
There is a quintessential ‘Mumbai’ vibe to this book which only a Mumbaiker will understand. The book is symbolic of love, hope, acceptance and triumph. Narrated in a dual person POV, the story of Sadiq (who dreams of being a surgeon) and Afrah (who dares to dream of becoming a teacher) is a soft tale of emotions that awaken, nudge and bring these two individuals together. Love was the farthest thing from their mind. Love was not their aim. And yet, love and acceptance are what they found in each other perhaps because it was not something they had in their home life.
The narration of the book is smooth. The story may appear cliched to people who love reading romance (although there is nothing cheesy about this romance) but what makes it different is how the author makes it endearingly real. This book reads like a story out of the life of any ordinary Mumbaiker albeit one who has borne witness to the floodings, bomb blasts, squashed dreams and much more that one must endure to call this city home.
The language of the book is simple and this is a book that is suitable for even teenagers. I genuinely enjoyed reading the debut novel of this promising new writer. However, I do have one grouse here but its with the publishers. The book is exorbitantly priced for a paperback which is categorized as a romance/drama. That’s a real shame because over-pricing will effectively undercut the author’s market.
