BOOK TITLE: Tales from a Vending Machine
ISBN:
9789350296899
AUTHOR:
Anees
Salim
GENRE:
Fiction
NUMBER
OF PAGES: 223
FORMAT:
Paperback
SERIES
/ STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW
BY: Dhivya
Balaji
HOW
I GOT THIS BOOK: Won this in a Readers’ Cosmos
giveaway
SUMMARY:
Hasina
Mansoor is many things: devoted sister, blushing lover and ambitious young
woman. Unfortunately, a stint at the airport lounge's tea vending machine does
not seem to be getting her any closer to her dreams. To pass the time she
daydreams, chats with air-hostesses and takes part in mock anti-terrorist drills.
At home, she studies her English, fights with her twin and engages in a secret
love affair with her cousin and neighbour, Eza. But when a scandal threatens
her tenuous happiness, she must pull out all stops on her overactive
imagination, and seek a terrible revenge.
REVIEW:
A simple
girl handles a vending machine at the Domestic Airport. She sees flights
everyday and dreams of being on one soon. Hasina Mansoor is a girl with a
creative, imaginative mind to boast of, and handles the vending machine for her
distant uncle, Haji Osman, whose only motive is profit. Hasina envies the air
hostesses with their fancy, rich looking dresses and their plastic smiles.
Things
don’t look too well for her at the home front. She has a twin who goes to
complete graduation while she works away. There is a kid brother who has a
Learning Disability and there is her cousin Eza who she loves. But lo, Eza’s
mother and her own father are caught in a property duel. In such a confused
life, with the raging hormones of adolescence and her own dreams, Hasina goes
about her job with both a resigned defiance and a burning ambition.
The
characterisation of the narrator/ lead warrants some discussion. Hasina has
been created neither to be loved nor hated. She is a girl you could come across
anywhere. She lies her way through her job and also tries to jump ship. Her
life is much more interesting in her head than the mundane daily routine. She
makes sure that you think of her, love or hate, either way.
Her
wrong pronunciations and the way she talks about ‘juice’ (Jews) and how the
microbes were found by Bill Gates (Microsoft, I guess!) she comes across as a
stunning simpleton. But the climax surprises the reader and leads to more
confusion. It is like we have been taken on a funny uphill ride and let go of
at the cliff.
There
is no actual plot, but as the title says, this is a book of tales from a
vending machine. It is about Hasina’s learning experience and the life and feel
of a girl from a simple family. The summary sounded exciting and intriguing,
but the book is not as enticing. It carries you forward with the bits of wit
and humour and simple innocence. The narrative lags occasionally but the
sentences take you through. The characters are easily graphic and well etched.
This book is Hasina’s journey, and you can enjoy the ride if you don’t judge
her!
WHAT
I LIKED:
The wit and
the nice flow of words. Though irritating occasionally, Hasina’s
misinterpretations are funny, if you have the right outlook towards the
author’s idea of a joke.
WHAT
COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
There could
have been some more thickness to the plot. There is actually no set plot or
idea of where the story goes.
VERDICT:
Go for it,
learn about the juice and microbes! It is fun!
RATING:
3.5/5
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Anees
Salim is an advertising professional and is employed with Draft FCB Ulka. He
loves being invisible and lives with his wife and son in Kochi. Vanity Bagh is
his second novel.
EDITIONS
AVAILABLE: Paperback
PRICE:
Rs.
221 for Paperback
BOOK
LINKS:
http://www.amazon.in/Tales-Vending-Machine-Anees-Salim/dp/9350296896/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403139260&sr=1-1&keywords=9789350296899
No comments:
Post a Comment
Not a SPAM comment! :)