When She Smiled (Ritoban Chakrabarti) - Review

Author:  Ritoban Chakrabarti

Publisher: Notion Press

Publication Year: 2015
ISBN:  9789384878252
Pages: Paperback, 225 pages

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When She Smiled centers on a fifteen year old Bengali guy named Roy. He has spent the past ten years of his life while growing up in Shimla, India. He meets Akanksha in his school and this is when his world turns upside down.

Akanksha is the prettiest girl he has ever seen and while his whole class drools for her, he is the one she feels comfortable with which is evident with the long walks they share while going to and back from the tuition classes.

The journey leads to a stifling year of what you call a puppy love between two teenagers that are no different from your younger selves. Set in the scenic beauty of Shimla, When She Smiled tells you a story of romance, heart break and tragedies in a time when mobile phones and internet did not exist.

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I was contacted by the author Ritoban Chakrabarti himself for reviewing his debut book. I could not deny because it feels great to see anybody writing their first book. I have a similar dream.

Coming to the book, When She Smiled is all about the innocence of the teenage days. I do believe that everybody had a crush on someone back in the school days. This book will lead you back to that time. While I was reading the book, I felt a distinct peace of mind. Set in the scenic beauties and telling a cute tale of innocent love, this was such a refreshing read.

As a character, Roy is anybody in the crowd. This is why you feel close to him. His obsession over Akanksha speaks for the acquitted meaning of love. On the other hand, there is Akanksha who is an ideal girl in everybody’s eyes. Remember that girl back in school days who was almost everybody’s crush in your class. She is the one. There are other characters that fills in for the space and there are emotions of friendship as well.

So far, I’ve only talked about the good things about When She Smiled and that is because I was really liking it despite of so many typo/grammatical errors I came across while reading. But then came the abrupt climax. It felt like a cupid’s arrow was flying straight maintaining a good momentum and then it hit a transparent wall and fell down all of a sudden.

When She Smiled also takes some real instances and feelings from the author’s life and probably that is what happened in the real life. I believe probably that is how it ends in so many lives around us. But it came all of a sudden and left me with a bad taste.

On the brighter side, When She Smiled is a quick read. I could have been finished with it in a single go if I had enough time. But still, I managed to read it complete in just two sittings. So that’s a thumbs up from me. Other than that, it was a good read overall.

Will I recommend it or not? Well, I will say that if you want a light read that takes you back to the golden ages where love was not about endless calls, internet chats and sex, When She Smiled proves to be pretty good. If not for the abrupt climax and the typo errors, I might have rated it more. Saying that, this is a good start for the author I believe and I wish him best wishes for his book.

Well, how could I refrain myself from flaunting this?

There was no scientific explanation and the only logical reason I could determine from the entire incident was that - love makes you crazy.

Sometimes, the smallest incidents in life change your entire destiny.

 

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