Thoughts & Review on - A girl like that by Tanaz Bhathena


Thoughts & Review on - A girl like that by Tanaz Bhathena 

 Confession :-  I was interested in the book when I got a chance to read the blurb, what i didn't realize that it was going to be a trip down memory lane, back to school, back to first heart breaks, love, first kiss & friendships for life. I almost risked today at job for reading this book at my work desk for the whole day, ignoring work, colleagues & passing the day like a zombie. I didn't know i was in for a ride, chanting names of Zarin & Porus. The heaviness tugged at my heart & I was left in tears. Their story began where most stories ended. 

 Name :- A Girl like that
Author :- Tanaz Bhathena
Genre :- YA Fiction
Publisher :- Penguin Books-Penguin Random House India
ISBN :- 9780143443018
No.of Pages :- 378
Book source :- Flipkart Review Programme
You can buy the book from :- Flipkart | Amazon | Infibeam |

 Zarin Wadia story begins even before she is born, she is constantly associated with her mother Dina, who has passed away when Zarin was a kid. She is then brought up in Cama Colony by her aunt & uncle Khorshed Masi & Rusi Masa. She is regularly reprimanded for her behavior and is always always under constant watch by her Masi. Rusi Masa who is a soft spot in both of their lives always plays a referee to soothe & calm them down. Here she briefly befriends a boy named Porus and promptly forgets about him when Zarin and her family move to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Zarin Wadia is in her teens, where she is equally rebellious at home & her new school- Qala Academy, a girls school where she tries to befriend other girls, but is ridiculed, mocked badly because of her unpredictable behaviors, her rumors and her brief affairs with boys from different school.

This book's slowly unfolds by every character describing Zarin, the way they know her, whether be her rival and her enemy at school, Mishal, her first boyfriend Abdullah, her brief lover Farhan Rizvi and finally Porus, the saviour and moon in her dark life. The story starts and stops a bit, where everyone dissects Zarin and her relationships at school, outside her school., dissects her background. Her aunt continuously gnaws at her and her aunt's timid husband Rusi Masa sometimes take a soft stand for her.

Its at a point, where author mentions in the book-  "the trouble with rumours was that they had tendency to stick. To coat over your logic like tea stains on teeth. What was even more troublesome was there had been times in the past when they turned out to be accurate."

The story moves forward in first person and Zarin's miserable life slowly progresses. Its sad & heartbreaking to see that a girl gets all the attention, because of the rumours. That a rival tries to malign her by posting a anonymous post on a blog and snoop fest and whispers are considered to be prophecies. At one point of time, in the book, it feels that everyone is intimidated by Zarin Wadia. A girl who in retrospect wanted just to be loved and accepted by her family and society.

The stringent moral police and the social police of Jeddah being more strict only allows a girl and boy meeting under strict chaperoning of guardians or where contacts can only be established in crowded malls & secret rendezvous in empty go downs.

At a point of time in her teenage life, where Zarin who is going through power pack of turbulent emotions, she meets Porus again in a chance encounter. Porus comes to Jeddahh for job with his mother, after his father passes away battling cancer. Their friendship or rather a budding platonic relationship is like Zarin being fire and Porus being sea.

In all her ups and downs of life, Porus is there with her. In a particular episode where Farhan & Zarin have broken up, Porus is like that formidable rock in Zarin's life where he calms her down.

The one noteworthy point in this book, that where all the stories related to Zarin are mentioned in first person, all thought processes behind every character  are given equal importance where they play a pivotal role in bringing the story forward. Be it the story of hypocrite yet guilty Mishal, the stubborn yet temperamental Abdullah, the bad handsome boy Farhan Rizvi & the eye in midst of all the storm Porus.

The loatheful intense relationship between Zarin & her Masi, the loving relationship between Zarin & her masa which grows bitter towards the end is written in a heart rendering manner. There is not a single time in the book, where i didn't  feel that Porus & Zarin are right there beside me. The clandestine  past of Zarin is brought up in bits and parts of the book.

The story belongs to Zarin. It doesn't stop, it breathes her, the story becomes her. The writing is flawless by debut author Tanaz Bhathena, although at times i did feel, that the theme is bit repeating itself. I wish there was a little ray of hope in this book. I felt downhearted all the time, while reading this book. Its very less, that one becomes consumed by the book like this book did.

This book is a powerful reminder, that how country, culture and people can affect our day to day lives. Its a study of emotions, relationships between families, how we fight and accept our loved ones. And its easy to write, much more difficult to understand .

Sadly, I am reminded of a incident where in school, we used to discuss about girls who had other social activities beside just being in school. Were we just jealous of the double hidden lives these girls were living or were we just plain, simple, brazenly, shamelessly curious & had sadistic fun in dissecting lives which we didn't know a single line of truth. Yeah, i was stupid too.

However I wish in the end, the author Ms.Tanaz Bhathena had chosen a different ending.

 "He exhaled quietly. "Zarin, you aren't a bad person. Sometimes life does not go the way we want it to & we cant really change that. But it doesn't matter as long as we have someone to love us. Love is more important than anything else in this world. And you deserve love as much as anyone else."

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