Review: The Homing Pigeon by Sid Bahari

Hello There,
How have you guys been, I haven't blogged for a while :( , Last week has been Crazy, though I have read some awesome books this month but couldn't Post the reviews .. Apologies. Well No worries, Here I am with a remarkably exalting book by a Debut Author Sid Bahari.

Title: The Homing Pigeons
Author: Sid Bahari

Pages: 328 paperback
Publisher: Srishti Publishers    
Genre: Adult Fiction

Release: April 10th 2013
Buy the Book : Infibeam / Flipkart
Source : review copy via The readers Cosmos

In the middle of the catastrophic 2008 recession, Aditya, a jobless, penniless man meets an attractive stranger in a bar. Little does he know that his life will change forever.

When Radhika, a young, rich widow, marries off her stepdaughter, little does she know that the freedom she has yearned for is not exactly how she had envisioned it.

They say homing pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. The Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines. 

MeThinks:

Book Cover: 

First of all, I absolutely digg the cover, Love the color scheme, it is appeasing and soothing. And fonts is just taking it to the next level, certainly making it The Homing Pigeons of many readers.

Story Writing and characters:

"The brain hates ambiguity. I think if the brain was a man, he would be an accountant. He'd want the assets and liabilities to be equal."~ page 40

This is one of those stories where you don't know from where to start or how to write the review because you are afraid about telling too much and spoiling the surprise element for the readers. When I opened it and read few pages, I was appalled, Oh I can not describe that feeling, it was confusing as hell, I couldn't decide whether to just go with with the flow and stop being judgmental or shake Aditya so that he come back to his senses. Oh by the way Aditya is the Male protagonist and I am still deciding how much to tell you guys about him because I really want you (whoever is gonna read it) readers to jump into the book without knowing much about what you are gonna get and have the same experience-- From shocking to transfixing to WOAH! moments!! And this story is not just of Aditya but of Radhika as well. Both grown up in different towns, under different circumstances, now living completely different lives yet connected with a delicate but strong string of LOVE, Unbreakable by even the cruelest of times.

This story is about how circumstances makes you do things you never dreamt of and it is yet justifiable as every step you take is an array of all other steps you have taken or forced upon in your life. It is about being perfect by being imperfect. Well it is about finding your desire and following it no matter how twisted it may seem to others. 

The story is written alternatively from Aditya's and Radhika's point of views, every chapter of one character ending with suspense-kinda where I kept anticipating What-happened-or-what-will-happen-next, but there .. next page opens with the other character then I have to wait a whole chapter to know the NEXT-OF-PREVIOUS-CHAPTER and the current chapter ends the same way and it kept building.. AGH!!How much really liked it!!(I hope you are getting what I am trying to say). It kept jumping from past to present keeping me engaged the whole time, never breaking the pace. 

"A strong backbone differentiates humans from jellybeans" ~ page 318

Author Sid has created a piece where his made his characters grow, not only as a book character but as real person with their dreams, their regrets, their pasts and present trapped in a single Prism always at the verge of colliding with each and reflecting many Pretty and awing colors. It was almost like the author took the challenge of firstly making readers almost dislike both protagonist then making the same readers feel empathetic towards them, then getting lost in their pains and sorrows and when they(readers) emerge, they are actually in sync with those protagonist. With is indeed an ambitious task in itself.

I know I am not talking about the summary of the story.. So I am gonna do that but vaguely. Here, the story starts with Aditya's POV where Aditya finds himself in a difficult situation where he was forced to make a choice by a rather Rich and pretty lady Divya. He did make a choice most of us won't approve of but that one-time-choice doesn't just end there but took a jet-ride.  BTW he is married at that time :p.

Then there is Radhika, whose first introductory impression is not so great as well, she is no saint, but there are so many layers that made her into what she is today. She used to be a pretty brilliant girl, still is, but life has always been cruel to her and she has faced it with head on, without breaking. And she has done pretty commendable things like educating unprivileged children so yup, I correct myself here, she seemed like a modern Saint to me.
Aditya and Radhika have been in love with each other since their school days but being shy and all.. couldn't confess their true feelings.. Life gave them another chance but took it away making a cruel cosmic quip.. then.. well I am not gonna tell you everything!! My blog is spoiler free, so sorry guys :) :) Will they finally meet??? And the ending is "a new beginning"...

BTW I loved how Aditya proposed Radhika when fate made them cross each others path again and how she replied. *Wink wink* The side characters like Divya, Aditya's wife, Radhika's daughter, Her parents, Aditya's mother all had an equal share of story making it more appealing. 

Verdict: Aditya is the surprise element of this book. If someone would have told me about him being what he is then I probably would not have picked it but I am so thankful to The readers Cosmos for giving me this wonderful opportunity of reading this remarkably exalting, utterly transfixing roller coaster of emotions. As I mentioned before, It kept me engaged the whole time, never breaking the pace, kept me anticipating the past and future of the protagonists at the same time. Wonderful read Indeed. I have read it in spite of a huge time crunch, this book is that good. :)

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Author Profile

A hotelier by education, an ex-banker and a senior executive in the outsourcing industry, Sid gave up a plush career in the outsourcing industry to follow his passions. Based out of Ranikhet, he is now a struggling entrepreneur and a happy writer. A self-proclaimed eccentric, he is an avid blogger who loves to read and cook. Cooking stories, however,  is his passion. The Homing Pigeons is his debut novel.

Website:

http://www.sidbahri.com/

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