Book Review: Graffiti

Book: Graffiti

Author: Joanie Pariera

Publisher: Authorhouse

Format: eBook [ Kindle Edition]

Price:  335 INR

Pages: 346

Blurb: Rene thinks all her dreams mean something…well, maybe they do. Vipin thinks his life is over ever since his wife died in a car accident…well, maybe it is. Upasana thinks she has it all figured out. But does she really?

You put the three twenty somethings together, and it results in some absurd and hilarious situations, which the characters themselves believe are truly dramatic.

And then there’s Mark - A man very much in love with Rene. A man who's perhaps secretly writing a code book on 'how to win in love'.
If you're not living this life, you're watching it happen to someone else and punching a wall somewhere going, ""balls!""

Set in India and the USA, 'Graffiti', lampoons a range of social issues, all tightly packed into some highly entertaining fiction. It is a novel about relationships. It's about that beautiful puzzle on the wall...an ever changing puzzle called life.

My Rating:

Plot: 3.5/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Character Sketch: 3/5

My Review:

"Grafitti" is a novel that deals with the life of mainly two characters: Rene and Vipin who are broken, battered and lost. Vipin is in a pathetic condition in Denver after the death of his wife, Pournami in an accident where he survives miraculously. He constantly blames himself for the death of his wife and feels that he had killed her. His friends try to provide some solace, but it doesn't help.

On the other side of the globe, we meet Rene in Bangalore who is trying her best to cope with the fact that her boyfriend, Agni is gay. After Agni went away from her life unannounced, she kept waiting for him selflessly only to come to terms with the bitter reality that shatters her.

Her best friend, Upasana tries to solve her problem, but in the process, confuse her further. And then there is Mark, who had fallen irrevocably in love with her, but decides to take an uncanny path to approach her, which frustrates her. 

A stroke of serendipity makes Vipin and Rene come across each other. Both of them become great friends as they understood each other's condition. They have a significant impact on each other's lives and before Rene comes back to India, they promise to be friends forever.

Now, whether these two lost souls, Rene and Vipin reinvent themselves, dropping their baggage of grief forms the crux of the story. I kept on turning the pages just to know whether these two characters win in the battle of life. 

It was a really nice idea to tell the story of two people who are facing their own demons and showing if they emerge as a winner. However, the problem with the novel is its writing style.

To start with, Vipin's part is written in 1st person and the other parts are written in 3rd person. This hampers the reading pace. Then, there are plenty of unwanted characters in the book due to which the story meanders a lot. At one point, I was unable to understand where the story is going and as a result, my interest to know about the fate of the main characters also dropped.

Rene's character is the best sketched character in the book. The author makes her come alive in front of the reader. I also liked the character of Mark, especially when he says,

"The ability to love deeply is a quality to be treasured, admired and yet it is so underrated"

I enjoyed the book when I was reading the parts of Rene and Mark. I found the character sketch of Vipin slightly unclear.

Overall, Graffiti is a book that I enjoyed reading in parts. I feel it could have been crisper and to the point. That would have reduced the number of pages and made the reading more enjoyable.

If you are feeling lost in life, you can read Graffiti as it will read like your own story. I will go with a 3 stars.

'I received a free copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.'