BOOK REVIEW: Flaming Forties by Giri Sharma

Giri Sharma’s latest novella Flaming Forties: A Journey Which Changed Their Lives has a lively theme with all the modern elements one can think of. The book is based in Mumbai, India, where four childhood friends dwell together on a journey. The story of these four friends is an interesting reflection of life.

The plot starts with the journey to Manali and Shimla from Mumbai. All of the friends are in their forties and happily married or recently widowed. They are meeting after a long time and haven’t been in contact for 28 years. The plot covers two themes simultaneously and succeeds in doing so. These two themes, friendship, and marriage are rarely seen together in one book. The storyline is eventful with some twists in between.

The characterization in the novel is above par and I think since the length of the novella is only 80 pages, there isn’t enough time given for the characters to mature to the highest possible extent. Third person narrative voice is used in this novella to describe the events. It is written with simplicity. A better editing or a little expansion of the plot could have done better though. This book did feel too short to read. The themes, the thing I most adore about this book could have then been reflected more in depth but that might not be the intention of the author.

Nonetheless, if you are looking to read something short and crisp, something that you can read in one sitting, this is for you. I will be looking forward to more and a bigger (in length) work from Giri Sharma, the author.

3 out of 5!

The book is available on various platforms:


Amazon.in (print edition) :

https://goo.gl/oTmRLC
FLIPCART ( print edition) : https://goo.gl/ppPxrh
Kindle (e-book) : https://goo.gl/ekBYt2
Google play (e-book) :https://goo.gl/XAqFBf
Apple i-Books- ( e book ) : https://goo.gl/NZMhEv
USA- Amazon Kindle: https://goo.gl/mXb3w
UK- Amazon Kindle: https://goo.gl/Mqdhda