Monday, February 13, 2023

The Naani Diaries by Riva Razdan- Book Review


Name Of The BookThe Naani Diaries

Author Of The BookRiva Razdan

Genre: Romantic Fiction

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Riva Razdan is an author based in Mumbai. Her work has been featured in The Hindu Business Line, Grazia India and The Telegraph. Her debut novel, Arzu, was published by Hachette India in February 2021.


ABOUT THE BOOK

The Naani Diaries is a painfully heart breaking, emotionally charged and beautifully crafted story of love, loss and healing. There is a romance that you feel with all your heart and soul. This book celebrates women who are independent, ambitious and brave. A well-conceived story about relationships be it mother-daughter, man-woman, friends and so on. It convinces us to believe in ourselves. A mere showcase of woman power. The protagonists in this book are mother (Mangala) -daughter (Radhika) and grandmother (Gayatri)who fought against all the odds particularly patriarchal society and conservative mindset. Radhika is an ambitious and a go getter and despite doing great in her professional life she was a disappointment when it comes to her love life. Heartbroken she decides to move to India and stay with her grandmother who was empathic and loving. As the name of the book suggests, "The Naani diaries" , Radhika get hold of her Naani's diary and was completely captivated with the love story , little she knew about the tragic ending which has not just changed her perspective but the life of her Naani too. Despite of all twist and turns, ups and downs and deep confusion, we can say "All's well that ends well".

There was this delicious push-pull tension between them that keeps you hooked and makes it an interesting read. The story is told in a mixture of flashbacks and present-day story lines which makes it very engrossing.

There is a subtle message which is hard hitting but something which needs to be told. You will witness different shades of women's personality and I am sure you can relate to at least one for sure. 

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK

The writing was flawless and just so raw and honest, with perfect pacing and a beautiful flow to it that fully conveyed every emotion that each character in the story went through.  I loved the writing as it captured the emotional intensity of the  love while balancing it out with touch of humor and other scenes that had me sitting there fanning myself from the hotness. It was the perfect balance!!

 There are no wasted words, no extra fluff. And despite the fact that it jumped back and forth in time, the segments were arranged in such a way that I was never once unsure of what was going on and the pacing and flow of the story was such that I there were no interruptions in my connection to the characters. You could just feel it in every scene that a great amount of thought, time and research had gone into the creation of this book.

This book leaves you in a good place, but also makes you desperate for more.

BOOK DEATILS

Book Format: Paper back/ Kindle edition

Price: INR 339/ INR 335.30

Pages: 564

Publisher: HarperCollins India

Availability: Amazon

This Post is part of the Blogchatter's  Book Review Program #TBRChallenge  #BookAChatter


14 comments:

  1. Your review sounds really good. Three women and their struggle in India is going to be interesting. I wonder what the Naani's Diary contained.

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  2. The book, "Naan Diaries," seems to be an interesting story. The women-centric plot and the relationship of the three women protagonists seems really interesting. Would definitely like to read this one.

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  3. Thank u for such a. Wonderful post.its a honest review which inspires us to know more about this book.thank u

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  4. I like the idea of this book, love in ot's purest form. Also, the title of the book carries a nostalgia and every book lover would love to give it a read. Thank you for sharing.

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  5. Your review definitely makes me want to read the book next. Absolutely love the honest review here. Thanks for sharing this

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  6. The problem with historic stories is that the narration keeps jumping back and forth in the time leading to confusion, thankfully "the Naan's diaries " spares us that. Well reviewed Swati!

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  7. Wow!! the story line and the plot of this book based on relationship really seems so much interesting to grab my copy and read it. Thanks for sharing the review.

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  8. I love stories with strong female leads or that focus on women's experiences and perspectives. The Naani Diaries seems like a lovely book... would love to check it out. Thanks for recommending.

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  9. I wanted to read this book for some time now. Think I'll get it anyway and read when I finish the current ones I'm reading. Sounds like an interesting story.

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  10. That's a really good review I must say. When I read the title of the book I thought the book has stories from Naani, like Naani ki kahaniyan, hehe. I am sure the story is strong and is a must read. I am actually watching a Korean series on the similar lines where the daughter is just upset with her mother & she goes to live with her grandmother where she finds an old diary that belongs to her mother.

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  11. I like it when the books touch the right chord without gimmicks. It gives us a fresh perspective. Of late very less books have that quality. Happy to have found one

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  12. I've been reading great reviews about this book and it seems like something I'll surely enjoy reading. The bond between a grandmother and her grandchildren is always special.

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  13. The plot definitely sounds interesting and your review sounds convincing to make this book my next read. Thanks for sharing an honest review.

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  14. Books showcasing the power of womanhood and the way they shine out against different societal odds makes it a great read. Your review is compelling me to pick this book.

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