Author– Sameera Kotta
Book– Beyond what meets the eye
Previous Works– Debut Novel
Publishers– Amazon Kindle
Number of Pages– 165
Format– Kindle
Blurb-
Young Majnu, unable to put up with harsh conditions at his orphanage, runs away at the age of ten. He enjoys his free, untamed life, until he’s slammed in the face with adversity again.
With a helping hand from lady luck, Majnu paves his way to becoming a doctor against all odds, like he always dreamed of. Finally in medical school, he is charmed by all that he finds around him, including a beautiful girl…
But one day, he finds something from his past that can change everything. He has a shot at having something of a family of his own, if only the gory past can be overcome.
The women in his life are most influential. Assault, betrayal, crime– Majnu can’t even begin to fight the evil they’ve come across. Though all women aren’t the same, as he realizes soon, for strength and courage aren’t the character of only a man, and neither are insensitive, subtextual games of pride.
When Majnu has a chance to avenge his past and save innocent children from their dreadful fate, he can’t let it go. Will the good luck save Majnu till the end? Or will he lose everything in the attempt to make things right?
Read on to find out.
Review-
Beyond what meets the eyes by Sameera Kotta, is the story of an orphan who struggles against all odds and makes it to a medical college, by the grace of his hardwork and the generous help from others. The story doesn’t end with the boy, Majnu, getting into a medical college, in fact, it starts from there. He gets a family from his old orphanage and takes a stand against all that was wrong in there. He lets himself flow in the river of infatuation, till it leads to a waterfall, the way he recovers and the way the old love drags him back to unwanted situations.
When I started this book, I was skeptic. An orphan making it into a medical college, is a hard to digest information, and I waited for a satisfying explanation from the author. It came somewhere midway of the plot and felt feasible.
The book cannot be categorized, because it speaks of so many issues, beautifully hidden in the chapters. We see an orphan’s struggle to fit in, a lover’s plight, the darkness under the lamp, the evils of trafficking and so much more. After I was done reading the book, I realized that the book’s plot is so rich and still uncluttered. The author has managed to put everything she had aimed to, without burdening the storyline. Everything is cleverly related to another thing, and the plot takes its twists and turns in the smoothest way possible. It did not take me much time to read the book. It had the right amount of philosophy and the right amount of action to keep you hooked. The plot always keeps you eager to know the reason behind something and by the time everything is done, the book ends in an unexpected way, putting all your queries to rest.
I loved the way the love stories were a bit unconventional in here. Unlike the usually read novels, the protagonists were not the kind to make you skip a beat or anything that could be used to make a fancy bollywood-ish scene. It was all simple and slow, falling in love.
The author, Sameera Kotta, has a very fulfilling way of storytelling. She does not hand you the facts on a silver platter, she makes you wait a bit. A bit of patience and then opens the Pandora’s box of revelations and plot twists.
The choice of title is just right, as every character has something more than what we see them for in the first instance.
Also Read- Review Pen: Chanakya by Ashok K Banker
The language used, is simple and easy to understand . In terms of editing errors, I could spot just one.
The blurb content is of right amount as it gives us a detailed idea of the plot and still leaves the spice for the reader to enjoy.
Ratings-
Cover- 4 stars
Title- 4 stars
Blurb- 4 stars
Plot- 4 stars
Writing and Presentation- 3.5 stars
Overall- 3.9 out of 5 Stars
I had mentioned earlier, the plot is rich, and a bit more sophistication in the writing style could hoard a lot of appreciation from a variety of readers.
Reviewed by- Banaja Prakashini
Buy the book-
About Sameera Kotta –
A 23-year old doctor by profession, Sameera Kotta has a passion for writing since the age of eight. At times when she’s not busy working in the hospital, she likes to have meaningful conversations with her patients to gain an insight into their lives – a habit which, she believes, strongly influences her writing. Not one to mince words or take no for an answer, she is concerned about the issues confronting Indian women today and advocates rising up against the patriarchal mindset that prevents them from realizing their full potential. She lives at Hyderabad, India – most often inside her car, sitting through the traffic jams.
