Book Review : The Perfect Groom by Sumeetha Manikandan

The Perfect Groom by Sumeetha Manikandan

The Blurb

Very little has gone right in Nithya’s young life. So, when a proposal from a young, handsome NRI comes along, her mother jumps at the opportunity and packs her daughter off to the US with her perfect groom.

Nithya seems to have settled in with Ashok, ostensibly happy, if as yet childless, in her new life. When an old flame comes back into her life, however, the cracks in her perfect marriage begin to show…

MY REVIEW

Having read Mills & Boon, chicklits and romantic novels for over 15 years now, I get a bit skeptical when I come across a novel or in this case, a novella that falls into the romantic genre. It is easy to go wrong with this genre, isn't it? But, Sumeetha manages to do a good job with her book, The Perfect Groom.

The story line is different, but not unique. The "surprise factor" in the book has been dealt with many a times in both the literary world, as well as the entertainment industry consisting of daily soaps and movies. The story is all about Nithya's life, wherein the story moves back and forth with present day Nithya remembering her days back at her villainous uncle's house when she was younger. Present day, Nithya appears to be happily married to her perfect NRI groom. But in reality, the picture is anything but rosy. She is in a marriage that has nothing to offer and has no future. But, she doesn't want to give Ashok, her husband, a divorce because she has a younger sister, yet to be married, and she doesn't want to spoil her chances of getting married. The first thought that came to my mind was that it was a regressive portrayal of the main character, but, I realize that it might be true in most cases, considering how paranoid we are about the way our society thinks. Things change for better when Nithya meets her good old friend, Vasu and romance brews up between them. The story then explores the highs and lows of their relationship, entangled with Nithya's baseless marriage with Ashok. The hypocrisies hidden behind the labeled cultural values are dealt with in a very sensitive manner.  

The characterization of the 2 main characters, Nithya and Vasu are very well etched, whereas I feel Ashok's character could have been more elaborate. Other minor characters have been dealt with finesse. The story flows smoothly and Sumeetha does an excellent job at maintaining the pace of this lovely novella. The edition is crisp and pretty well done, though, I wish that the vocabulary for the Tamil words used was given on the same page below, and not at the end of the book. 

Overall, an easy to relate, fast paced, entertaining book. Given the circumstances, the story could have been yours or mine. If I have to rate the book, I will give it 4 out of 5 stars. 

Rating - 4 out of 5

Buy @

 Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.uk | Amazon.ca |Indireads |Smashwords |

           

Watch it

Meet the author

The Author's Thoughts

An author and a freelance writer, Sumeetha Manikandan has been writing for many years now. After working in dotcom companies, like Sulekha for over a decade, she started freelancing from home. 

Her debut novella, 'The Perfect Groom' was initially written in a script format, which was later converted into a novella for Indireads. The Perfect Groom touches a taboo subject that is most often shrouded in secret whispers and exclamations in the tambrahm community. Inspired by a real anecdote, 'The Perfect Groom' is in parts the true story of a girl who rose above myriad challenges to make her own way in life.

     

  

Stalk her @

               

Continue

Because I love you Puchhu...

            My lovely Puchhu.
               I loved you, and I will
            love you always. Promise.

 You are in my mind, always will be.

Jumping, wagging your tail, licking,

you taught me what no one would,

 what no one could. Jumping up the

     pane, whining for food, ears in curly

      folds, licking my whole being, always.
                           It is true that you were an
                           angel, halo intact, dropped

                            from heaven, for only me.

                            You were my light, bright.

                                 You were my soul, whole.  
       You were my silent prayer, you still are.
         You were my strength. You were my joy.
                                    You were my classy peer.
                                    You were my question. You
                                     were my answer, always are.
                 You were mine, you will always be. I vow.
                    You were my constant, you will always be.

                                          You were my  poetry, my story.
                                             You were my friend, a very dear 
                                                 friend. You will always be. Truly.
                                                   You were stray, but were here to stay.
                                                Why did you leave me so alone? Did
                                                    I not appease you to the bone? I tried  
                                                   to. I wish I had rolled on the floor with
                                                      you. I wish I had known your language, 
                                                    to talk,  to smile, to laugh, to cry. I wish 
                                                      I were you- A soul so pure, a heart ever so
                                                       clean, paws ever dirty. I wish I could jump,
                                                   wag my tail, return your wet kisses, with 
                                                   love, love so great that would surpass
                                                  any in this big, bad world. I
                                                                                      miss 
                                                                          you 
                                                      Puchhu, I    
                        always, always will.                       

* Lost her about 2 weeks back. Dedicated to the ever loving her. I tried to compose a concrete poem that would mimic the way she slept, stretching her whole body. I failed miserably.

Continue

Hitched!

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Clooney gets hitched!

Girls swooning over him,

Now feel their hopes grim,

As Amal has left him bewitched.

*As a part of NaPoWriMo. #28

*The prompt by NaPoWriMo today was: "Today I challenge you to find a news article, and to write a poem using (mostly, if not only) words from the article! You can repeat them, splice them, and rearrange them however you like. Although the vocabulary may be “just the facts,” your poem doesn’t have to be — it doesn’t even have to be about the subject of the news article itself." So, I used http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/tabloid/george-clooney-engaged-report/article1-1212715.aspx

*Also, do visit my friends who are participating in the challenge. You won't be disappointed.

http://andiwrite.com/ – Hrishikesh

http://janakinagaraj.com/ - Janaki

http://jaibalarao.com/ – Jaibala

http://advkaranshah.blogspot.in/ – Karan

http://whilethecoffeebrews.blogspot.in/ - Naina

http://eccentriccontemplations.wordpress.com/ – Nithya

http://viewsofpreethib.wordpress.com/ - Preeti

http://www.rinzurajan.blogspot.in/ – Rinzu

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/ – Rohan

http://juztamom.blogspot.in/ – Sfurti

http://artofleo.wordpress.com/blog/ – Vinay

Continue

W for Warmth

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A heart that has warmth,

Increases a person's mirth.

The heart that spreads love,

Gets a smile from above.

*As a part of A-Z Challenge. 

*Dedicated to everyone who has a warm heart. 

Continue

Charging Bull

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Jimmy Joe, my friend, 

walked through the Wall Street,

thinking of the years he had spent minting

money, that he never needed. He let out a 

sigh, slid on ice and crumpled down on the 

ground like an old sack. Out from his 

pocket, came a weed. He smoked a 

pot, blew into his mouth-organ a sad song

that carried his past, that carried his present,

and his future. His life had shown him the middle finger,

for he had given it a fuck. He now wandered

aimlessly, thinking history will repeat itself

and he will be charging, sitting on the bull

that had been fed on money and not on

the love that was now, not his. He

had loved his wife, she was no Marilyn Monroe,

she had left him for another, 

when his shares came crashing down.

He was down in the dumps, but, even dumps 

wouldn't take him, for, he had rejected them once.

He thought money could buy him happiness,

and it did, for sometime. But, he lost his happiness

and he lost his money, because, he forgot to be a human,

he forgot to be humane!

*As a part of NaPoWriMo. #21

*The prompt by NaPoWriMo today was: "to write a “New York School” poem using the recipe found here. The New York School is the name by which a group of poets that all lived in New York in the 1950s and 1960s. The most well-known members are Frank O’Hara, John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch. Their poems are actually very different from one another, but many “New York School” poems display a sort of conversational tone, references to friends and to places in and around New York, humor, inclusion of pop culture, and a sense of the importance of art (visual, poetic, and otherwise). Here’s a fairly representative example.
In following the recipe, you can include as many (or as few) of the listed elements as you wish." 

*Also, do visit my friends who are participating in the challenge. You won't be disappointed.

http://andiwrite.com/ – Hrishikesh

http://janakinagaraj.com/ - Janaki

http://jaibalarao.com/ – Jaibala

http://advkaranshah.blogspot.in/ – Karan

http://whilethecoffeebrews.blogspot.in/ - Naina

http://eccentriccontemplations.wordpress.com/ – Nithya

http://viewsofpreethib.wordpress.com/ - Preeti

http://www.rinzurajan.blogspot.in/ – Rinzu

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/ – Rohan

http://juztamom.blogspot.in/ – Sfurti

http://artofleo.wordpress.com/blog/ – Vinay

Continue

Black Roses

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The weather was dull, he wasn't alone

He took her hand off her glove

Caressing it, he let out a groan.

He gifted her roses, expressing his love

She looked pretty in her white silk gown

He knelt down, slumped, cursing the one above.

The black roses wept when the coffin came down.

*As a part of NaPoWriMo. #15

*The prompt by NaPoWriMo today was: "to write a poem in terza rima. This form was invented by Dante, and used in The Divine Comedy. It consists of three-line stanzas, with a “chained” rhyme scheme. The first stanza is ABA, the second is BCB, the third is CDC, and so on. No particular meter is necessary, but English poets have tended to default to iambic pentameter (iambic pentameter is like the Microsoft Windows of English poetry). One common way of ending a terza rima poem is with a single line standing on its own, rhyming with the middle line of the preceding three-line stanza." 

*Also, do visit my friends who are participating in the challenge. You won't be disappointed.

http://andiwrite.com/ – Hrishikesh

http://janakinagaraj.com/ - Janaki

http://jaibalarao.com/ – Jaibala

http://advkaranshah.blogspot.in/ – Karan

http://whilethecoffeebrews.blogspot.in/ - Naina

http://eccentriccontemplations.wordpress.com/ – Nithya

http://viewsofpreethib.wordpress.com/ - Preeti

http://www.rinzurajan.blogspot.in/ – Rinzu

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/ – Rohan

http://juztamom.blogspot.in/ – Sfurti

http://artofleo.wordpress.com/blog/ – Vinay

Continue

Fine Wine

Source: Wikimedia Commons

You age, you tenderly mellow

Sipping, I gently bellow 

You keep me warm

You are my charm

Glowing in light

Like a knight

Noble

Clear

Foxy

Light

Sour

Soft

 Séve

 Cork

  Wine

*As a part of NaPoWriMo. #11

*The prompt by NaPoWriMo today was: "Poets have been writing about love and wine, wine and love, since . . . well, since the time of Anacreon, a Greek poet who was rather partial to that subject matter. Anacreon developed a particular meter for his tipsy, lovey-dovey verse, but Anacreontics in English generally do away with meter-based constraints. Anacreontics might be described as a sort of high-falutin’ drinking song. So today I challenge you to write about wine-and-love. Of course, you may have no love of wine yourself, in which case you might try an anti-Anacreontic poem."

*Also, do visit my friends who are participating in the challenge. You won't be disappointed.

http://andiwrite.com/ – Hrishikesh

http://janakinagaraj.com/ - Janaki

http://jaibalarao.com/ – Jaibala

http://advkaranshah.blogspot.in/ – Karan

http://whilethecoffeebrews.blogspot.in/ - Naina

http://eccentriccontemplations.wordpress.com/ – Nithya

http://viewsofpreethib.wordpress.com/ - Preeti

http://www.rinzurajan.blogspot.in/ – Rinzu

http://ponderingtwo.blogspot.in/ – Rohan

http://juztamom.blogspot.in/ – Sfurti

http://artofleo.wordpress.com/blog/ – Vinay

Continue