And post the misunderstandings, you feel as if you are drifting apart with your beloved as by then you start to feel a real strong emotional connect with the characters. Hushed phone calls, stashed cards, clandestine meetings and so many other such identifiable and well-written incidents make this book stand out amidst the clutter. Philosophical prose is few and far in between but makes sense in connection with the story. One such scene is of the first kiss and I could almost feel the tension in the air, the author has generated through his choice of words. And moreover, it makes on feel nostalgic of those days in your adolescence when attention from the opposite sex was at the top of our minds and our definition of family problems was so very different.

Then the ego clashes and misunderstandings happen between the primary characters, Rahul and Seema and sometimes these incidents are so minute that a mature person really wonder are they even worth fretting about? But remember, it is a teenage love story and I could actually relate to it if I went back a few years and thought about myself then. The good times are short-lived though as the story is supposed to be a tale of unrequited love and is narrated through flashbacks of Rahul, who is currently based somewhere in Philadelphia. I have seen major authors fail while doing this but Kazi handles it naturally right since the start where the prologue causes you anguish enough to generate curiosity about the story.

in the first person and then in the subsequent chapters, looks at the same feelings from a distant mirror. A good example is when the author makes humorous statements with respect to the music in Rahul’s ears, the butterflies in his stomach, etc. in the protagonist’s (Rahul’s) voice and you can almost see the difference in the mature and confusing states in both the POV’s. Mainly the story has been told through the third person narrative but at times, the author moves in the first person narrative, i.e. For a moment, I thought how can a teenager make statements like that in the middle of adolescence but the author has cleverly used multiple POVs to overcome that aspect. Everything seems to be sailing smoothly and at this stage you realize the author’s expertise as he ditto replicates the feeling of first love on paper.

Truly, Madly, Deeply by Faraaz Kazi