Tea For Two And A Piece Of Cake (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
A very breezy read. A no-brainer, so as to say – we need just flow emotionally with the story. My main problem with the book was the amount of ‘Indianised’ language that I encountered, and as a sub-editor myself, I think the editor of the book has done a shoddy job, not alerting the writer to the potential pitfalls of the syntax being used. As a woman, I could completely relate to the book and its situations – my mother was a single parent too, and I know how difficult it would be to manage two children with limited income. As a spouse of a love marriage, I know how the ‘you-changed-after-marriage’ thing turns out as well – the hotch-potch of expectations, miscommunication and the dreariness of ‘existing’ for the family. I understand how maternal instincts work. All of that is portrayed well. However, the lead characters seem to be making a life of rebound relations – and I wonder, is it something that has become common in the present “fast life”? To its discredit, the novel does not have strong characterisation – there are people, and there are situations, but the only two people who actually seem to have notable and consistent characters in the novel are Akash and Nisha. Of course this is also the fault of the first-person narrative – the reader sees everything from the eyes of the narrator alone. We sympathise with the narrator, we see their points of view, we cry with them, we are happy for them. I see myself comparing this to Shashi Deshpande’s The Dark Holds No Terrors and then, it comes out quite weak. While Deshpande’s work is a literary classic, this one falls into chic-lit category. A piece of cake indeed. I wish the book was as beautiful as the cover pic - one of the reviews said. I can't agree more. The book is not particularly good or bad. It is fast, easy to read and very predictable. There have not been too many books exploring the side of a domestic woman, in such simple words and for that, I will give it to Preeti.I have been following Preeti's blog for sometime and like the way she writes. So, the style wasn't new and I enjoyed her simple narrative.There were no glaring spelling/grammar errors in the book.I would have given it a 3.5 or a 4, if the story had a little more grip and Nisha had a little more common sense. But it is okay, and for a 4 hour read - its a win!
What do You think about Tea For Two And A Piece Of Cake (2012)?
A good read ont he weekend when you don't want to rush around the busy and crowded roads
—Cami
Became too obvious after a while! Definitely not one of her best works!
—tony
