BOOK REVIEW: KILLING TIME IN DELHI by RAVI SHANKAR ETTETH

A KILLER COMBO OF MULTIPLE GENRES! A UNIQUE ENTERTAINER.

TITLE: KILLING TIME IN DELHI
AUTHOR: RAVI SHANKAR ETTETH
PUBLISHER: WESTLAND
RELEASE DATE: 25/1/2019

BLURB: AMAZON IN Or GODREADS

REVIEW: Set in the capital Delhi, the novel zoomed into the lifestyle of crazy rich denizens. Charlie is one of them, who was 'playing' quite well untill the sudden series of hilarious events occurred! The event changes everything, the characters, colors, shadows & fate in the darker side of the city, where neon is only brightness!

Seductive, psychedelic, cool, funky, handsome, sarcastic, funny, humorous - still I can't describe this book. All I can say it's different, really different!

Don't expect a murder mystery thriller or a whodunit type of thing, this 197 pages long cracker is something unique. Firstly it's a really interesting subject. The author choose a completely different setting from his last year's brilliant 'The Brahmin'(REVIEW). It's quite horrible to absorb the fact that the ultrarich of our capital is just living upon money, sex, drugs & parties. The author dealt with the matter very masterfully. You can get a superbly funny yet coherent look upon their lifestyle & culture. The novel mocks everywhere. The sentences are loaded with sarcasm & irony. The author started it from the title in fact. What a title! He 'trolled' almost all the politicians, police, film actors & practices quite genuinely. Brave attempt man! So it's really funny to inhale the ironies. The use of words from local slang to aristocrats brands were fine. But in course of trying something new, the experienced author didn't forget to add his typical magical writing here. The writing style is mesmerizing as expected.

The characters were also remarkable. Charlie & Mandy undoubtedly were perfect creation. But the author impresses with the side characters like Shamsher, Coke Rao, Nik, piggie everyone (not chow! I filled personally that the flow of that character was little unnatural & forced).  Etteth's signature ability to match huge links is evident here also. 

Amidst all the chaos & fun, I found a buried sadness, a melancholic overtone, when ever Charlie looked at the Mughal tomb or thought of Asha. Ravi did a fine job by changing the flavor. He quoted -

"Loneliness is neither the lack of a woman nor suddenly wishing you were elsewhere while standing on the deck of a cruise ship with a bimbette, who was invited purely on the merit of her magnificent as. Loneliness is not reading some poetry and getting an ache in your heart either. Loneliness is not even feeling out of place. Loneliness is not belonging to someone or somewhere. it is a nightclub singer with lung cancer. Or a pretty girl who steps into the car and is gone before you can even seen her face."

Brilliant!

The author dealt with some social family taboo lately which was little disturbing for me. Apart from that, the novel was pure brilliance, still that part was also relevant.

Thus mixing multiple genres, the genius storyteller is back with a book, which is completely unique. Give your soul a funky twist with this mesmerizing entertainer.

OVERALL RATING: 4/5
INSIGHTS: 


THANK YOU WESTLAND BOOKS FOR PROVING ME SUCH A BEAUTIFUL COPY!


I HAVE ADDED THIS REVIEW ON GOODREADS & AMAZON.

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