#BookReview :: Truly, Madly, Deeply by Faraaz Kazi

What happens when the most popular guy in school falls in love with his beautiful female equivalent?
A pompous Rahul is head over heels in love with Seema, a shy lady from the same school. After a whirlwind of innocent encounters, their teenage romance blossoms but the two never confess their love for each other. Friends and even a few teachers approve of their relationship which is no secret to anyone thanks to Rahul’s flaunting nature.
Seema, on the other hand, finds it difficult to handle the unnecessary attention she gets due to Rahul’s ostentatiousness. What follows is a series of misunderstandings and ego clashes causing them to drift apart.
Rahul loses his popularity, his numero uno status, his sanity and ultimately his love. By the time he realizes what he has lost, it’s too late. He takes desperate measures to woo her back and win back her love. But will Rahul ever get back Seema? And will Seema ever realize how much Rahul loved her and all the misunderstandings that transpired between them? Is there really any room for misunderstandings in love? In today’s world, can a person’s first love ever be his last?
This teenage love story seeks answers to all these and more as it alternates between the past and the present events in the life of Rahul and makes you wonder; do all love stories have a happy ending? Or do all love stories end, ever?

This is the story of Rahul and Seema – both good looking, in the top half of the class and popular. While Rahul is the extrovert and flaunting senior, Seema is the shy junior. They paths keep crossing and they do fall in love with each other. They never directly confess their love for each other but it’s a well-known fact that even most teachers approve. But what is a love story without some agony in it. So enter a bunch of mean kids who create misunderstandings between the golden couple. So much so, that Rahul loses his position not only in front of Seema but also in front of the whole school. Unable to stand his loss, Rahul leaves the country in order to be able to put back his life together. Will this particular love survive over the years and distance?

The plot is simple – a boy and girl fall in love, drift apart because of petty misunderstandings and whether they will eventually find their way back to each other or not. It is difficult to be different when the storyline is one that has been visited, revisited, reinvented over and over again by so many authors. What Faraaz Kazi has to offer in this novel is the feel of innocence that’s been lost somewhere in the way of selling sex. The author has expertly woven the story together with that refreshing innocent and untainted love and I absolutely loved that aspect of the story. And as for the characters, most of them are just like someone you knew during your school days… they are pretty true to life. Rahul seemed a bit over-matured for his age at times though.

Imagine your school life with lots of background music, a bit more colour, and spotlight on two particular students – yes, that’s what this book is like. A bit too influenced by Bollywood Masala Movies, it retains the entertainment factor from them. Though overall it was a good time-pass book, it is in the end just that – a time pass book that will make you smile, misty eyed and even a bit sentimental about your school/college life. But I don’t think it is a book that will leave a lasting impression and that’s shame because Faraaz Kazi sure knows how to play with words.

This being his debut novel, I guess we can safely say that he is an author to watch out for. And my suggestion to him would be to next pick up a storyline with bit more depth and cause because I feel that he can surely do better.