TWO FATES – ALMOST REALITY

I am not exactly a Chetan Bhagat fan but I enjoyed two states a lot because it was one of his stories that I found easy to relate to. Even the humor from that book gets me at odd situations and the book has a real special space on my bookshelf. A few months before, I came across this book “Two Fates- Story of my divorce” in the library and the synopsis intrigued me. But I dint want to read another tamilian-punjabi story at that moment and I gave it a pass. Now with the “Two States” being released as a movie, my curiosity got the better of me and I picked the book last night. So, this week on “Bookshelf”, it’s the fate of “Two fates” that is going to be discussed. 

Plot

Two fates- The Story of My Divorce is a novel by a debutant writer Judy Balan and is portrayed to be as a Satire to Chetan Bhagat’s best-selling book “Two States”. The book is about Rishab Khanna and Deepika Sundar, two people who had their own two states marriage with great difficulty after managing the herculean task of getting the approval of both their families. All goes well, actually, more than well as their families manage to fall in love with each other. Fate strikes when, after four years of marriage, the happy couple falls out of love with each other and head towards a divorce. But it is not so easy, because to quote Deepika “Their parents no longer cared about their (Rishab and Deepika’s) happiness, they only cared about their own happiness”. Again, a bigger roller coaster ride ensues, with the entire universe conspiring against their divorce. So how do they manage it? Do they?

Style

The narrative style of this book is almost similar to that of “Two States” but , yes, the jokes are more relatable in this book. The honest take on what happens after the happily-married couple live together 24X7 is very refreshing. The narrative is simple, but not lacking in language. The storyline is captured really well, it does not take a detour often, which makes it all the more fun to read. The narrative ensures that the heart of the plot which is the family and the chaos around it, blends well everywhere and does not become an irritating addition.

Characters

The soul of this book is the way the protagonists are portrayed. The characters, both Deepika and Rishab are well-defined, clear and very relatable. Rishab is portrayed as this typical IIT-geek with all the trappings and ambitions, while Deepika is the sensible Tamil girl at the crossroads of life not knowing where she is heading to. Their interactions with their parents, in-laws can be called typical of any Indian bombarded with the routine annoying and intrusive questioning of the elders. These two people carry the plot on their shoulders, while both their clans form a highly colorful background.

Verdict

This book can tell you a lot of things: a) that people do fall out of love even if they were mushily in love the previous year. b) All said and done, people especially Indians fear their families and the drama surrounding the most. c) If you really want something, you do have to take a risk and fear people’s rejection otherwise you would never feel liberated. The best part of this book is that it teaches us all this without trying to be preachy and with a great sense of humor. So, if you want to laugh you way through life’s trials and tribulations, keep this book on your bookshelf to always remember to have a sense of humor.

-Wanna-be-Savant