The Blurb
Samir is suicidal. Rachael works for a suicide helpline. Fate connects them through a phone call. And so begins Samir’s story of love, longing, errors, regret and a girl who changed his life. As his story reaches its conclusion, Rachael will know the true reason behind his suicidal tendencies. But this suicide helpline is not any ordinary service. There is more to the mysterious and yet so convincing voice of Rachael. As this new mystery begins to unfold, Samir is going to discover three things:
What is The Helpline?
Who is Rachael?
What is Samir’s own identity?
Every year, several teenagers in India attempt suicide because of failing relationships, dwindling careers, parental pressure or the competitive world.
This story is about one such teenager, his early problems and the hurdles to cope with them.
This story is about finding hope in the struggle.
This story is about fighting for what you believe in and discovering your true identity.
This is not a story about falling in love.
This is a story of rising from a failed love story.
Meet the Author
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Uday Mane was born in Pune and raised in Mumbai. He works as a marketing professional during the day and a storyteller during the night. He is an avid reader, and loves to collect classic books.
The Helpline is his debut novel that was launched in March 2014 at the hands of Padma Shri Paresh Rawal.
Stalk him @ Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
My Review:
I loved the way the love story between Riya and Samir developed, focussing on the pure love feeling, rather than the intimacy and physical attraction of teenagers as in many other novels. The build up of the refreshing love story was very casual and slow enough or rather step by step. The complexity of a disabled child with Downs Syndrome, and how positively they treat this child in between their feelings of love, and his role in keeping them together is beautifully etched. The small details described in a poetic way, be it Riya’s dreams, Samir’s hesitation, and the involvement of Nana in their lives, all added to the script and did not seem much boring. The writer has great potential, and it shows in the plot. While the character Rajesh, and his usage of swearing may put you off, his story on the harsh reality of life and his raw speech has lots of truth in it. The bonus point of the book is that you get two beautiful and memorable sweet short stories incorporated into it to show that the protagonist is a writer. I also loved the friendship between Samir and Neha. Some friendships really can pull you up from the well.
The twist regarding the helpline was unwarranted and seemed unnecessary. There were some printing mistakes like misplaced words which can irritate the grammar-oriented readers.
I do not care much about the book cover, because I normally go by the blurb rather than the cover. Here the blurb focusses more on the suicidal tendencies and the helpline, rather than the love story and other personal struggles which forms the bulk of the book, which is quite misleading. Nevertheless I am happy that I went with my instinct to have it reviewed by me.
My rating : 3/5
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