Review: Ramona by Manoj V Jain

 BOOK SUMMARY:

Sitting on an armchair near the window, Ramona—separated, mother of a son and a cookery teacher—muses on the events that have happened in her life in the recent past. A letter from her husband, not even nearly justifying his mysterious disappearance, shocks her and topples her world upside down. Bombarded by a thousand questions, accusations, a tumult of emotions and confusion, she begins to untie the knots one at a time with help from her family. But what she wasn’t able to do over months, a stranger does within a matter of minutes. 

Release date: October 3rd 2017

Published by: Notion Press

Page numbers: 112

REVIEW: 

Author Manoj V Jain’s novella Romona, is a sequel to his novel, Balraj. While I do have the latter as well and I could have picked that up before getting to Romona, the author himself asserts that Ramona could be read as a stand-alone and it’s what I did because I’m a rebel like that. A novella of 100 pages, it was exactly what I was looking for on a Sunday when I all I wanted to do was immerse myself in a book that would keep reality away.

Ramona is the story of Ramona, a woman who is just like you and me. I could see her in so many women that I know and what impressed me most was the way in which a male writer not just took up but executed a woman’s point of view in the most relatable, justifiable and stunning manner. When Ramona’s husband leaves everything behind to go look for himself, she is forced to go through more downs than ups in life and emerges as an exemplary person that any reader could look up to and learn from.

I am really admiring and appreciating Manoj V Jain’s books, so it wasn’t surprising at all that I liked Ramona as well. His crisp yet simple writing and engrossing and realistic storytelling were exactly what I was looking for, and he delivered, that too from a female perspective that was not just well done, but totally remarkable. While not the most unique book out there, the realness and simplicity of it make Ramona a very interesting, engrossing and splendid read.

*Note: A copy of this book was gifted by Manoj V Jain. We thank them.