I Owed You One – Book Review

Author: Madhu Vajpayee

Kindle Edition: 258 Pages

Publisher: LiFi Publications Pvt. Ltd. (2018)

Language: English

Genre: Fiction

ISBN: 978-9386191281

About The Book:

Dev Khanna has it all before a mysterious letter shakes the very foundation he has built his life on. With his beliefs challenged, he decides to close the chapter once and for all. I Owed You One is the story of promises and commitments, of triumphs and defeat, and of holding on and letting go.

About The Author:

Dr. Madhu Vajpayee, the writer was born somewhere in those hospital corridors where she has spent the last two decades of her life. Witnessing life at such close quarters pushed her to capture its enigma in her words and slowly it became her passion. After writing several scientific papers and chapters in books, this book is her second step in the literary world.

When not creating stories, Madhu enjoys reading and traveling.

My Take:

You can take a person out of India but not India out of a person. This is one story that this book tells its readers, apart from many others. The book dives into human emotions and plays with reader’s heart. It tells the story love, family, struggle and commitments. It makes readers think if given a similar situation would they be willing to risk everything just for a promise. This book speaks of commitments that ask for undying courage that only few can boast about.

The characters that lead the story aren’t many. With one lead protagonist, with whose point of view the story is told, other characters receive depth only as the protagonist, Dev, tells them to be. It would have been wonderful to know other characters a bit more. Even the most important of them seemed a bit shallow because only a few personality traits couldn’t do them justice. The good thing was the constant presence of these few characters makes home in the mind of the reader as the story proceeds. The uncertainty of life as we know it, is depicted quite brilliantly through the lives of these character. These characters leave no stone unturned in touching the emotions of the readers

The plot of the story is quite simple and evolves around the same, fulfillment of promises, duty and commitments. But it does get unreal at times to believe if a person would really go to such lengths for it. The answer awaits the readers in the end obviously which makes the mystery clear. The story seems to be going too slow and prolonged at few points before a twist appears. The story efficiently showcases the dark realities and uncertainties that life has to offer, especially in a country like India. The end though dramatic is still believable but leaves the reader wanting for a better closure.

Though the book cover looks beautiful but it does confuse the reader as it doesn’t relate much to the story. The books is an easy read for the reader who is new to the book love and want something to tug the strings of the heart. But a bibliophile would have been delighted with some dedicated editing.

Bottom line: A concoction of human emotions.

My Rating:

3/5

Scale of Rating: 1– Ignore It!! 2-Don’t Touch It!! 3-One Time Read!! 4-Add To Your TBR!! 5-Read it NOW!!!

And now I’ll leave you with a few lines from the book…

“Not having money can be the reason of unhappiness but having money can never be the reason for happiness.”
“You can only fight with the people you love.”
“It’s easier to deal with strangers. You don’t have expectations, you don’t have disappointments either.”
“… words seemed very confined. Only tears could say it.”
“Love doesn’t always need to be understood. Sometimes it needs to be expressed, for it to bloom into thousand little hopes.”


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