Book Review - 50 cups of Coffee by Khushnuma Daruwala
This is how the conversation went between my friend and me in a washroom.
Me- So i just completed reading this book"50 Cups of Coffee"
She :- Oh wow ! is it like "50 shades of grey ?"
Me- Err..No
The conversation continued with difference with literature and literotica & also how i tried to explain my friend the book "50 cups of coffee" was all about adventures of finding a groom via matrimonial site which definitely drew a blank stare from her, because she was experiencing marital and maternal bliss both.
But such are conversations in the washroom. We sealed our never ending conversation to an elusive appointment of coffee date and of course why the bathroom tap doesn't work.
Conversation between us female gender normally oscillate between these two topics.
So when this enticing titled book came up for a review, i knew i had to read it.
Reading just the introduction of the book made the decision only stronger. The book is a string of essays of author's friend Dia, who goes for groom hunting through a matrimonial site.
Women who have been through this cycle of groom hunting and still are, can definitely relate to this book. The book is divided into 25 short essays about foraying into various types of male "species" who also are looking for a bride. Dia picks up a familiar cafe to meet the prospective groom and this is where the story of coffee and conversations begin.
In a world of coffee , where there are perhaps more than 100 types of coffee, it is but natural that there may be more varied types of men. Dia registers herself on a matrimonial site and hence the journey commences.
Dia is in her early thirties, where she religiously meets guys over a cup of coffee. Page by page, conversations, little snippets of wisdom with a dash of humor & and at the same time a ray of hope and despair at the same time is expressed beautifully by the author.
Dia excels in recalling the prospective grooms who might be a wolf in disguise, men who like to talk only, momma's boys, divorcees, exes, part time lovers. In between whenever a prospective groom is discovered , Dia's friends-cum-detectives help her out to fathom out all the truth required.
Date after date, Dia explores variety of men walking into her lives. The exploration of their personalities, expectations, families is very well potrayed through out the book.
Not once, while reading this book, did i ever feel that it is getting repetitive . As a single woman already in her early 30s i could actually resonate with whats being written in the book.
Dia stalks, haunts her grooms, sometimes create fake profiles to catch up with her list of prospective grooms. In the essays, an interesting pysche into a spider's mating ritual is observed where the female spider chews off the head of Mister spidey whom she is mating, even the femme fatale chapter explores how a woman tries to boss the person Dia is dating.
In the end, when Dia's best friend Poppy walks down the aisle with a man who steals her heart. Dia realizes and perhaps we all realize that searching for a life partner doesn't mean we have to compromise or settle for something less..we all have our own race to compete.
These lines sum it up all -
"There was more to life; it didn't hinge on the occurrence of one, supposedly big event. I was glad I made this journey arriving back at the point we probably all were at some point in our lives, may be when we were five or six years old, before the whole "marriage mush" started."
So cup after cup while Dia becomes a coffee connoisseur she also begins to understand the psychology of marriage, mating and of course matrimonial sites. Its fun to read her experiences through out the book. The description and the language of the book keeps the flow easy going & the generous sprinkle of humor enlivens the book to another level.
I love the way the book is written, rarely as a reader, I have come across a book, which dissects & analyzes so beautifully the whole Indian marriage brigade and the hullabaloo behind it. This was a fun, interactive read.
I do hope, Khushnuma Daruwala comes out with another book soon.
As for me I am going to try and persuade my already married friend to read this book & come at peace with my single status & life. Amen.
Book's Title :- 50 Cups of Coffee- The woes & throes of Finding Mr Right
Author :- Khushnuma Daruwala
Genre :- Non-Fiction
Publisher House :- Penguin Random House- India
No.of Pages :- 196
Source :- Flipkart Review Program
You can pre-order book from :- Flipkart
Me- So i just completed reading this book"50 Cups of Coffee"
She :- Oh wow ! is it like "50 shades of grey ?"
Me- Err..No
The conversation continued with difference with literature and literotica & also how i tried to explain my friend the book "50 cups of coffee" was all about adventures of finding a groom via matrimonial site which definitely drew a blank stare from her, because she was experiencing marital and maternal bliss both.
But such are conversations in the washroom. We sealed our never ending conversation to an elusive appointment of coffee date and of course why the bathroom tap doesn't work.
Conversation between us female gender normally oscillate between these two topics.
So when this enticing titled book came up for a review, i knew i had to read it.
Reading just the introduction of the book made the decision only stronger. The book is a string of essays of author's friend Dia, who goes for groom hunting through a matrimonial site.
Women who have been through this cycle of groom hunting and still are, can definitely relate to this book. The book is divided into 25 short essays about foraying into various types of male "species" who also are looking for a bride. Dia picks up a familiar cafe to meet the prospective groom and this is where the story of coffee and conversations begin.
In a world of coffee , where there are perhaps more than 100 types of coffee, it is but natural that there may be more varied types of men. Dia registers herself on a matrimonial site and hence the journey commences.
Dia is in her early thirties, where she religiously meets guys over a cup of coffee. Page by page, conversations, little snippets of wisdom with a dash of humor & and at the same time a ray of hope and despair at the same time is expressed beautifully by the author.
Dia excels in recalling the prospective grooms who might be a wolf in disguise, men who like to talk only, momma's boys, divorcees, exes, part time lovers. In between whenever a prospective groom is discovered , Dia's friends-cum-detectives help her out to fathom out all the truth required.
Date after date, Dia explores variety of men walking into her lives. The exploration of their personalities, expectations, families is very well potrayed through out the book.
Not once, while reading this book, did i ever feel that it is getting repetitive . As a single woman already in her early 30s i could actually resonate with whats being written in the book.
Dia stalks, haunts her grooms, sometimes create fake profiles to catch up with her list of prospective grooms. In the essays, an interesting pysche into a spider's mating ritual is observed where the female spider chews off the head of Mister spidey whom she is mating, even the femme fatale chapter explores how a woman tries to boss the person Dia is dating.
In the end, when Dia's best friend Poppy walks down the aisle with a man who steals her heart. Dia realizes and perhaps we all realize that searching for a life partner doesn't mean we have to compromise or settle for something less..we all have our own race to compete.
These lines sum it up all -
"There was more to life; it didn't hinge on the occurrence of one, supposedly big event. I was glad I made this journey arriving back at the point we probably all were at some point in our lives, may be when we were five or six years old, before the whole "marriage mush" started."
So cup after cup while Dia becomes a coffee connoisseur she also begins to understand the psychology of marriage, mating and of course matrimonial sites. Its fun to read her experiences through out the book. The description and the language of the book keeps the flow easy going & the generous sprinkle of humor enlivens the book to another level.
I love the way the book is written, rarely as a reader, I have come across a book, which dissects & analyzes so beautifully the whole Indian marriage brigade and the hullabaloo behind it. This was a fun, interactive read.
I do hope, Khushnuma Daruwala comes out with another book soon.
As for me I am going to try and persuade my already married friend to read this book & come at peace with my single status & life. Amen.
Book's Title :- 50 Cups of Coffee- The woes & throes of Finding Mr Right
Author :- Khushnuma Daruwala
Genre :- Non-Fiction
Publisher House :- Penguin Random House- India
No.of Pages :- 196
Source :- Flipkart Review Program
You can pre-order book from :- Flipkart
Thanks for the review Shweta. Glad you enjoyed it. May I request you to add to the book reviews on goodreads.com. Khushnuma
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