Derivation of Life by Viraj J Mahajan- a review

The total thought behind the book Derivation of Life by debut author Viraj J. Mahajan is worth applauding. I loved the way the cover has been designed with the matte finish that the designer has given. I loved the way the designer has brought in life to the cover. And this is very true that after seeing the cover, one surely turns to see the blurb and I am sure that after reading the blurb, one would start reading the book immediately.

According to the blurb- Archana always wanted to provide a perfect life for her family but the course of her life takes a drastic turn when she has her second child. Will her family have the same life ever again? Set in the early 90’s of Ujjain, Derivation of Life throws a light on a middle class family and their quest to find happiness.

The only reason why any reader will start reading the book will be the vague outline that the blurb gives about the story. After reading the blurb every reader will have an urge to know more about Archana and her life. What happened when her second child was born? I will like to congratulate the author for he has done a wonderful job in keeping the essence of the book alive inside the blurb itself.

The first thing I would like to mention to my readers is the wonderful way the author has started the book. The prologue is something that every reader looks forward to in any book. Especially coming from a debut author, the prologue is really good. From there, I was engrossed in the book throughout till the end. Coming to the story, I would like to say that the story was well thought of.

Having read many books till date, the expectations from any further book rises and the author of this book has lived up to the expectations one has from the story line. The characters were also very well written. Such were they, that any reader can visualize themselves in front of the characters, living their life and their moments. The flow that the story has coupled up with the narrating skills has brought in a new life to the characters.

If I talk about the cons of the book, I would like to say that the narrating could’ve been better at places. And the writing, maybe, a bit more refined. Another round of editing could’ve made this work more than what it is. A small polish to the whole book and its presentation could’ve taken the book to a whole new place. Having said that, a debut book is not much expected to be perfect. All in all, a wonderful read. I would like to read more from the author, giving the book 3.75 out of 5.