The Second Coming
by
Shubha Menon
MY REVIEW
Disclaimer: I received an author-signed paperback of this book via The Book Club in return for my honest review. I have NOT received any monetary compensation for the same.
Mini has been married to Shyam for eighteen years and they have become habits to each other. They live in Delhi. Working for a wedding planner as the creative head, Mini has still not given up on her aspirations for finding her Dream Lover or DL as she prefers to call him. Being overweight, her main focus in life is to lose weight and have a hot, red-blooded TDH falling in love with her. Sizzling sex would be a definite bonus.
Highly dependent on her husband for many things, Mini is still determined to become self-sufficient when she gets a chance to go on an assignment to Mumbai. Despite her husband’s protests, she goes to stay with her school friend Aditi, while working on a big fat royal wedding to be held in Mumbai. The head of production in the city, Rustom, seems the answer to her prayers. Is he what she believes he is? Is it worth risking her marriage? Caution thrown to the winds, Mini explores new territory.
Read the book to find out if Mini’s dreams materialise.
I rolled on the floor laughing from the moment I started reading this book by Shubha Menon. The author has introduced Mini’s character realistically with many touches of humour. I could so relate to Mini’s feelings and aspirations. Her husband Shyam is also very real – a typical guy who takes his wife for granted.
The story is mostly from Mini’s point of view – about what makes her happy; what bugs her; how her creativity bursts forth, especially in emergencies; how her feelings oscillate from one end to the other. There’s more, but it’s best you read the book before I let out spoilers.
Rustom is a typical hot guy who’s into a sorry marriage and a son to boot. He has no qualms about having extra marital affairs. Is he the Dream Lover Mini has been searching for all her life?
The novel is well written bringing together many sequences. It portrays Mini’s professional life – the scenes from wedding plans, all well researched. Then there is the constant war within Mini – to eat well and drink merrily OR to diet and lose weight. It cannot get more real. I am sure a lot of us face this. And her fear of menopause makes the reader feel for her.
A number of lines that I found funny and well-written. I need to share those here:
Marriage was such a joke, she reflected, but weddings could be sublime.
She was fat, but she too had romantic feelings. She could feel them in her bones. It was a different matter that she couldn’t feel her bones.
Everything was fair in menopause and war, she thought, steeling her resolve.
But suits didn’t have the ability to think on their feet. They needed a PowerPoint presentation even to execute a sneeze.
Hey! Why don’t we all go for a fuckation… er… a vacation?
Maybe God had recalled all dream lovers to his factory once he’d figured out that they were defective pieces.
While the book was a fun ride throughout, one point rankled. There were a number of repeats when it came to Mini’s ranting from within. They could have been cut down to make the book a crisper read.
Otherwise, The Second Coming by Shubha Menon is one long fun read.
The Blurb
A wedding planner who believes in fairytale weddings, Mini yearns for romance in her own marriage. The magic of the initial years has vanished, leaving behind a hunger that she assuages with chocolate. Mini would love to change her situation, but she is over the hill, overweight and under confident. The chances of having a hot affair with a happening man are dim, if not non-existent.
An erstwhile royal scion decides to wed a Bollywood starlet and Mini is sent to Mumbai to plan the celebrations. The manager of the Mumbai office is young Rustom, the answer to Mini’s secret dreams. Goaded by impending menopause, Mini decides it’s now or never. She simply has to take a second stab at romance.
Rustom is a ladies man. He is also married, and a skirt chaser. Mini decides to shape up and get into the kind of skirts Rustom would want to chase.
Working together closely, Rustom and Mini fall into each others’ arms. Meanwhile, her husband gets wind of the affair and tries to reclaim her. Now Mini must choose between heady romance and steady matrimony.
But soon, Mini discovers that her romantic idol has feet of clay. In a dramatic end, the trusty husband stages a timely rescue. And Mini learns that a rock solid husband is worth many a dream lover.
An erstwhile royal scion decides to wed a Bollywood starlet and Mini is sent to Mumbai to plan the celebrations. The manager of the Mumbai office is young Rustom, the answer to Mini’s secret dreams. Goaded by impending menopause, Mini decides it’s now or never. She simply has to take a second stab at romance.
Rustom is a ladies man. He is also married, and a skirt chaser. Mini decides to shape up and get into the kind of skirts Rustom would want to chase.
Working together closely, Rustom and Mini fall into each others’ arms. Meanwhile, her husband gets wind of the affair and tries to reclaim her. Now Mini must choose between heady romance and steady matrimony.
But soon, Mini discovers that her romantic idol has feet of clay. In a dramatic end, the trusty husband stages a timely rescue. And Mini learns that a rock solid husband is worth many a dream lover.
Buy @
Meet the Author
This is her first book. She is currently working as a Senior Creative Director with Ogilvy Delhi. A practising Buddhist, she dreams of living in the hills where she can read, write and grow climbing roses. She lives in Delhi with her husband, daughter and two Dachshunds.
You can stalk her @
Check out the Rafflecopter
.png)
