08 December, 2022

#BookReview :: The Indian Cafe in London by Veena Nagpal - #Contemporary #Fiction @veenanagpal

 


‘The Indian Cafe in London’ is a story of three people connected through their struggles, their emotions, their passion and food.

Akhil is a youngster who dreams of being a chef and while this story is mostly about his journey of not only discovering the perfect recipes, finding himself; this story would be incomplete without the other two characters. One is Puru, who has lived his life and can sometimes be cynical. The other is Jamila who is running from her past without any idea about where or who she is running to. As we follow these three characters, we are also taken on a gastronomical journey.

Of the three main characters, I like Jamila the least. I cannot tell you why and that is mostly because I felt that the other two characters had more complexities - even with her own backstory, Jamila just didn’t make that much of an impression. As for Puru, he did surprise me for a moment or two in the book. But it was Akhil, or rather his diary, that I enjoyed the most. The characters bring in a wide perspective of the world with very distinctive and different voices.

With a restauranteur, and two culinary students as the main characters there was bound to be a large portion about food… And I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them, especially the recipes from Akhil’s diary. I was for once glad of my habit of always getting snacks while reading because this book is surely going to make you crave certain food while reading it.

My only problem with the book is its pacing. While I was enjoying the read I still kept feeling as if the plot needed to move a bit faster at certain points. Other than that Veena Nagpal has spun a nice story with vivid descriptions and simple narrative style.

I am going to keep this book on my shelf, if for nothing then at least the recipes.


(3.5 Stars Rounded up)

Review copy received from the Author


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