GUEST REVIEW BY VISHWAS ANAND
When you're really up to
something and enjoy it thoroughly, you carry on doing it, irrespective of the
time you've spent on it, or the exertion or exhaustion you experience by doing
it. It might not be exhaustion after all since you're enjoying it. I had already
finished one novel that day (All Yours, Stranger by Novoneel Chakraborty, which
is an excellent piece of work) when I stumbled upon this book and took it up as
a challenge(or maybe it was more of an exercise) to complete it that day
itself, and guess what, I succeeded.
The Quest for Nothing! is a short
novel by Anurag Anand giving an insight into the cut throats of the ambitious
corporate world. The book follows a non-linear narrative style, a technique
used in super successful movies like Memento and 12 Monkeys, and also in some
novels, and moves in three timelines.
The first is the time when Akash, a
student of IBA business school is about to complete his MBA and is looking for
a job in an economic depression hit world. The second is immediately after his
marriage with the love of his life, Deepali, and the third is a few years after
his marriage, when he is bored and frustrated by the institution called
marriage and also his job, and takes up a new job in a different city.
Akash's struggles as a husband,
as an employee in this rat race competitive world, and as a human who faces his
life's biggest corporate scandal and how he escapes it is showcased in the
story. It is an easy and light read, with a simple story. The author himself is
from a corporate background, a Marketing Professional with an MNC Bank, which
reflects in his work as he gives deep insight into the functionality of the
corporate corridors. It has been praised by many famous personalities.
"The book is very special."-Pritish
Nandy
"I was surprised at why I
hadn't finished it earlier."-Gul Panag
The criticism-
The ups-
1. A light read with a simple story. You don't have to
stress your brain cells a lot.
2. Gives a deep understanding of the corporate universe, and
the toll it can have on you.
3. The climax is decent.
4. I especially like the non-linear storytelling technique
of the author. It is a different and difficult style to write in and the author
has managed successfully.
5. The number of characters is less, which avoids
unnecessary complications.
The downs-
1. The plot is too simple, which sometimes turns boring. The
climax is one saving grace.
2. A little bit of unnecessary detailing, removing which
could have further reduced the length of the book.
The score:
Vishwas Anand is a philosophy and nature enthusiast, who believes reading to be a need and shares his experience about all the books he read in his main blog BOOKRITIQUE
You can read his words here:
www.vishwasanand.com
Or you can contact him through these mediums!
