Before I share my review of this book, I must confess that I am always eager to read books by debut authors. I find they have a distinct voice in their writing that is raw, and unblemished by repeated editing, as the writers themselves (and publishers) are still trying to find a home for the book on the store shelf.
Therefore, when I received an email from this author asking if I would review his debut novel, I jumped at the opportunity.
As the title suggests, Destiny of Shattered Dreams is about one man’s journey through his rise and fall, across the pinnacles of corporate stardom. Atul Malhotra is a young, ambitious entrepreneur in the telecom industry and, with the support of his trusted co-founders, has successfully steered the company to become a billion dollar enterprise in a span of ten years. However, when they plan to expand their operations across the country, they find themselves caught in a brutal nexus of industry and politics.
In his arrogant quest for power, Atul decides to gamble on the very principles that the company was built on and soon realises that he must learn to navigate through the seedy streets of dirty politics, crime and infidelity if he wants to safeguard his interests as well as those of his company. The book chronicles the passion and hunger that fuel Atul’s choices and their impact on his personal and professional life.
The author being a CFA and co-founder of an enterprise himself, gives a thrilling insider’s account of the world of business. He creates a lead character that hooks the reader with all his strengths and flaws. His relationships force the reader to think about ethics, values, and long-term repercussions of every decision.
The dialogue and movement of the story on the professional side is crisp and well paced. It reveals Atul as a man with a sharp business acumen who is willing to take calculated risks in the interest of business.
However in his interactions on the personal side, Atul seems to alternate between inconsiderate and desperately needy which is in contrast to the other side of his character. Also, sometimes dialogue seems unnecessarily repetitive, as if the author is trying to drive a point. It ends up sounding like a monologue fighting for space between two people.
Nonetheless, the flaws in character is what makes the story entertaining. It entices the reader enough that one can’t help but turn the page to find out what happens next. This is one of the better debuts by an Indian Author.
Title: Destiny of Shattered Dreams
Author: Nilesh Rathod
Publisher: Rupa Publications
ISBN: 978-81-291-3975-7
Edition/Year: First Edition 2016
Format: Paperback
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 254
Source: From the Author
Rating: 4 Stars
Available on Amazon and Flipkart.
About the Author: Nilesh Rathod is a businessperson, writer and poet. Co-founder of Ensemble Infrastructure India Limited, Nilesh’s company currently employs over 2000 people.
Destiny of Shattered Dreams is his debut novel. Nilesh is currently working on his second novel. He lives in Mumbai. You may email him at nilesh@nileshrathod.in or visit his webpage http://www.nileshrathod.in. You may also follow him on twitter @authornilesh or at http://facebook.com/authornilesh
Image courtesy of www.nileshrathod.in
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An impressive review… I lost interest after a couple of chapters owing to the use of too many jargons of business and finance! Looks like I need to re-read the book after this review.
Keep blogging ☺
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Thanks Meenakshi. I felt so too, when I started reading, but the author makes it easy enough to understand.
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