300 Days by Bragadeesh Prasanna : A Review

BOOK TITLE: 300 Days

AUTHOR: Bragadeesh Prasanna

GENRE: Fiction - Romance

NUMBER OF PAGES: 402

FORMAT: Digital

SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank the author for this review copy!

SUMMARY:

Nanowrimo winner - 2013.

300 Days follows the life of protagonist Jai and his relationship with Sravani, who is from a different culture. He gets to spend only 300 days with her while crossing all the seven stages of love. Can love transcend cultures, age barriers, distance and language? Will Jai be able to cross all the barriers while in a long distance relationship with Sravani?

In a cold December morning of 2009 Jai meets Sravani in middle of a forest and falls for her at first sight. Sravani is four years elder to him, speaks different language and is already in a relationship. Jai develops friendship with Sravani which ends abruptly when she leaves to her state. Unable to move on, Jai contacts her after two years and they both renew their relationship and take it beyond friendship. Will they successfully get together at least this time? Or will they have to part ways for the better good?

FIRST IMPRESSION:

The title of the book was the first thing I noticed. Though I could easily guess the significance from the blurb, I had a pleasant anticipation about what it would actually mean. The cover, of my favorite shade of blue was simple and to the point. I loved the minimalistic design and concluded (after reading the book) that anything more would not have been fitting to the story and would be going overboard. And yes, the design of the number 300 was a wow!

The blurb was, again, quite short, with only enough to get the reader involved. After that, it was the work of the story to keep the interest alive.

REVIEW:

Some stories and characters win because they have been extremely well written, gathering hordes of followers, each person finding something new and magical in the way the words were strung together. Some books win because the stories are outlandish, fantastic, and like an escape into an entirely different make believe world, far, far away from what is harsh reality. But there are some stories that win because they are too close to reality, too relatable and make sense. These are the stories that have a little of the reader and a little of the author in them. They win not because they have very elaborate flowery writing, not because they introduce new worlds and portals. They relate with the lives of normal people and make everyday things look extraordinary. 300 days is one such story.

Narrated by Jai, a young man who is just out of a failed relationship, falling in love (at first sight, no less) with Sravani on a trek, this story has one of the most powerful opening paragraphs. And from there, the story travels slowly. Jai strikes up a conversation with the elusive and quiet Sravani. From there, a friendship develops. Slowly, the recluse Sravani starts talking with Jai and their conversations run late into nights. But like many stories in real life, complications arise. Sravani is already committed to Sai, a person who belongs to her home state and own community, conditions Jai cannot fulfill. From there, the story blossoms into a relationship, a self imposed break, reconcilation and the ultimate climax.

300 Days is not just a story. It is more of an experience. The blurb and the one liners do not do justice to the tale of love, loss and the pain of separation. Jai as a character is nothing remarkable. He is just an ordinary man. But the way he falls in love, with Sravani, and the way he expresses himself is what makes the story remarkable. The story begins slowly, and progresses at an uneven pace, but something in the way it moves makes you want to turn the pages and know what happens next. The best parts of the story come in its second half, Jai scoring infinite points in his proposal and Hyderabad visit. The rules exchanged between the two lovers in the funny format is something I would take back and remember for some time to come.

The maturity of a love story devoid of infatuation is very evident in the narration and even the conversations between the characters. In this day and age where even two people are not able to co exist without misunderstandings, 300 Days speaks about the old school idea of how even distant relatives might have a say in the lives of two people who are in love. The length, sometimes daunting, should not put you off reading what is surely a beautiful novel. I would go ahead and say some parts might be taken out to reduce the length, but that would ruin the story as most of it is in dialogues and even little things come to play at the end. In the pre social media era, there was undeniable beauty in GTalk, the power medium of communication and it was a joy to see the little green dot appear. Just how many people remember that? This book will make you wonder if having so many ways to communicate has actually lessened our desire and ability to do so!

Every character is flawed, human, and unapologetically normal. No one is glorified and faultless. The friendship between Jai, Sinduja and Chris, purest, simplest and prone to every human weakness is one of the highlights of the story. The other major, unexpected surprise was the characterisation of Jai's parents, it is sure to make many youngsters look back wistfully.The relationship between Jai and Sravani, the focus point of the book sounds too real, and some parts of the story seem like they are not pure fiction. But then, which story is? Somewhere down the line, every book is the writer's way to understand and come to terms with what was and getting a clearer idea of what should be. By the time I finished the book, I was not only familiar with Jai, but also with Sindhuja and Chris, and that speaks volumes about the characterisation.The ending is not what I wanted this book to have, but what I expected it would come to. If nothing else, the title should have given me a clue!

The language and quotes are simple, the magic lies in the narration, which flows in its own pace, attractive as a whole. The reading experience is marred with the typos and grammmatical errors, abundant in places. But the story more than makes up for it. Most importantly, the book has reinstated my belief that a romantic tale can be written without episodes of physical intimacy - often used a lot in recent novels I read from this genre. I had almost given up hope of reading a romance novel that does not focus on the physical aspect and then came 300 days - beautiful, simple and heart touching. Don't be fooled by the lethargic first half. 300 days offers more in the latter half of it!

WHAT I LIKED:

• The character of Sravani - confused, unsure and a paradox.
• The pace of the book in the second half was awesome and happening!
• Jai's way of saying Chilakamma - I did hear a voice for the word!

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• The book should have had yet another round at editing, to catch the missed typos.
• The pace of the first half is slow and might discourage readers who are not fans of this genre
• The ending and Jai's magnanimity was a tad unrealistic at least to me! But maybe that is how reality is.

VERDICT:

Go for this book. This might be the simplest amazing love story you have read.

RATING: 3.8/5 (Points taken for the length and typos).

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle

PRICE Free on Kindle Unlimited at present. $2.47 for Kindle on Amazon.com

BOOK LINKS: Amazon