'Till The Last Breath' is a romantic novel by Durjoy Dutta. Though this was my first book by the author, i wouldn't mind reading some more of his works. The book is gripping enough to be finished in a day or two. I liked the book, to be honest, but i also feel that it is below average on many aspects.
The plot for instance is all too familiar. At about the 30 % mark you can see the climax that's coming. On a personal note i always root for the unexpected to happen. So, when all the puzzle pieces fell together in place (like i knew it would) i was a bit disappointed. So if you are one of those people who like to have an unanticipated twist in the plot, or a shocker in the end that leaves you numb for a couple of days, then you might nor like this book very much. To be honest you don't have to get to the 30% mark to guess how the story will end. All you need is the prerequisite of having seen a handful of your typical Bollywood movies and the synopsis at the back. Yes this is pretty much like the script for your average Hindi movie.
The synopsis runs like this:
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The death sentences of the patients in Room No. 509 have been written.
One of them is a brilliant nineteen-year-old medical student, suffering from an incurable, fatal disease hurtling her towards a slow, painful death. She counts every extra breath as a blessing. The other is a wasteful twenty-five-year-old drug addict whose every organ system is slowly shutting down. He can’t wait to get rid of his body--to him, the sooner the better.
Two reputed doctors, fighting their own demons from the past, try everything to keep these two patients alive, even putting their medical licenses at risk.
These last days in the hospital change the two patients, their doctors and all the other people around them in ways they had never fathomed.
Till the Last Breath is a heart-warming story about love, life and friendship that reminds us what it means to be alive.
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Coming back to the book. Well as for the characters, i find that the author has given thought to character development. To me the main protagonist in the movie is the drunk guy in the room, not the chirpy little girl. This guy's mind is a blend of emotional frustration and addictions. Addiction not only alcohol and drugs but also to love. His strained relationships are portrayed perfectly. I can say with utmost confidence that Dushyant is much much better than the average Chetan Bhagat protagonist. Clearly a step or two ahead. The narration also deserves special mention. It was good to have a view of the story from different perspectives. This is all the good i can say about this book.
Now, as i was browsing through Flipkart looking at the reviews of this book, i found that it has been severely overrated. And can someone enlighten me as to why all the girls(most of them) are swooning after this book. Huh? What's the deal? Did i read something else or was there another version with extra material or something? You know like the post credits scene in every MARVEL movie. Here is a snapshot of some of the comments and what's annoyed me most is that they've given it 5 stars. WHAT THE HELL?
In most cases the reviewer says that she cried when she got to page so and so and that page is still wet with her tears. Bullshit. Yeah that's my answer. If you cry at such a simple story. Then i advise you not to watch 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas' the only movie that almost made me cry.
As i have already said the book is good,not great. It's one of those books that you pick up to read only for the sake of passing time not for the reading per se. Yes the book is a great hit. But have you wondered why? This stuff is aimed at a particular age group say 14-27 and the author has succeeded in reaching out to them. Yes as an author Mr. Durjoy Dutta has done a good job. But at the end of the day it doesn't mean that he is a good author (case in point Stephenie Meyer).
My Verdict -
