EX by Novoneel Chakraborty : a review

The title of the book, ‘EX’, the catchy subtitle, ‘a tw!sted love story’, the authors name, ‘Novoneel Chakraborty’ and attending the launch of the book in Kolkata acted as catalysts that made me buy the book. One look at the cover and one has the urge of buying the book. A very different take on relationships, on love, EX is surely a must read for any reader. Suspense, the thrill of knowing what is going to happen next, makes this book quite a page turner.

According to the back cover- The Jaipur literary festival begins to slowly become an interesting affair for Neel who runs into Nivrita, a beautiful girl. What Nivrita reveals shocks him, as she claims to be a girl from his past, something he doesn't have a clue about. Her advances become hard to resist and Neel is filled with guilt as he is betraying his present girlfriend, Titiksha. Things spiral out of control along with Neel's mind as Nivrita makes an irresistible proposal.

The author has been known as a writer who uses quite interesting names for his female protagonists, this book being no different. Nivrita and Titiksha being the women behind the story grab the reader’s attention to the very last line. Writing from a female point of view, the author has done a commendable job in maintaining the flow of the writing. “Women come to me, I don’t go to women”- says the author, and he has surely lived up to what he says.

Attempting such a book in the era of chubby teenage romance and gaining such a huge readership fan base with the art of storytelling is really appraisable. Use of real locations in the book has made the book all the more believable. The characters of the book leave a strong effect on the readers and everyone can very easily relate to the characters and locations of the storyline. Well knitted plot, perfect use of words, spices and condiments in the perfect places makes the book a treat to the eye.

There are very few books in today’s time with such an interesting plot and unusual turn in the story. To know the real story behind EX one surely needs to buy the book. However, I personally feel, the story has been stretched a bit at places. But, as the author says, the term ‘reality-fiction’ has played a very important role in the success of the book. The author calls himself a sadist writer where he wants his readers to be hooked to the book till the very last line and surely he has worked pretty hard and the hard work shows in his book.

I would wish that may many more stories come to him and he keeps on writing such things again and again and give his readers with a fresh read every time giving this book 4.5 out of 5. Once again, I want to congratulate Novoneel for the book and for many more to come!