Life in a rectangle by Sujit Sanyal: a review

Life in a rectangle or rather LIAR as the author refers to it, is a wonderful narrative penned down by Sujit Sanyal- it's author. Going down the lane of memories is something most people love doing but penning them down so beautifully is something, only a powerful author like Mr.Sanyal can do. A hardbound book with bold colors and wonderful pages made me fall for the book at first glance. And more so, I believe the title gives its much needed feel. A non-fiction I felt at first, this book is one worth read book as one turns the pages.

According to the blurb- Author Sujit Sanyal rambles down the memory lane in his candid memoir and narrates some revealing, some intriguing and other wacky stories about the advertising world from his Clarion days, his first agency, which he joined as a trainee and whose Kolkata branch he later went on to head.

I can very well say that this one of the best non-fiction memoir I have read till date. A memoir on Mr.Sanyal’s time in the advertising world is filled with accounts old and new. Any reader could connect to every word written there even if they do not know the abc of advertising. Being a Bengali and that too based in Kolkata, the places, the names of people and a few Bengali words used in the book gives me this feeling of home-coming which very few books have given me till date.

Apart from that, I felt that the narrating style Mr.Sanyal has chosen gives the reader a very perfect and smooth flow to go on with. The chapter divisions were short and crisp and that would make the book an even easier read. The author had the talent of keeping the readers gripped into the novel and I want to congratulate the author for doing so. Mr.Sanyal has chosen very wisely about what all to include in the book and what not and have given a dose of everything in the book.

The tenure of the author from being an employee to the head of the company was a ride too nice. Numerous kinds of people were involved and the fact being this one real life memoir gave in itself a feeling of nostalgia. The people of that time seem to actually live in front of your eyes once you read the book. The characters come alive in the book and that is one affect that the author keeps for a long time.

Inspite of all these interesting facts, lesser known things and a wonderful writing style I think that the book is not meant for every age of people to read. The teenagers might not like the book owing to the topic it has been written upon but on the other hand the people a bit elder to them might relish this book with an evening tea in hand, being nostalgic at the days they had left back and moved on in life. 

The book is not only about advertising, it is about much more and the all in all feel of the book adds to the charm of it. I would like to congratulate the author for writing such a wonderful book and would wait for many others to come specially something targeted to the fiction loving audience. For me, the book is a 4.5 out of 5.