Book Review: Conversations by Rajeev Nanda

Author:Rajeev Nanda
Publisher:LeadStart Publishing


How many of us have conversations with ourselves or with people close to us – not mundane conversations about day to day things but thought provoking conversations that force you to introspect and analyze your whole thought process.

The book “Conversations” is all about that. “Conversations” is an amalgam of stories and poems –all of them exploring human emotions, attitudes and perceptions. And almost all of them challenging our belief systems and forcing us to think out of the Box. The stories are all conversations between ordinary individuals – a soldier who is posted on the border who suddenly questions the logic of war, College friends who decide to form a “truth club”, a couple who is forced to rethink their values and attitudes about commitment and the meaning of marriage, an old lady on her death bed who gives a thirty something lessons on how to live life passionately – each of these stories make you think and question your attitude towards life.

The author Rajeev Nanda is an IT professional but writing has always been his first love. You would not expect a Technical Geek to come up with such a profound and thought provoking book but Rajeev does surprise us here. As he explains in the introduction to the book, two near death experiences left a great impact on him. The first was when the bus he was travelling in collided with another bus. Although his bus hung precariously from the bridge, He and his co-passengers were saved. The other bus however fell down the bridge and there were no survivors – except for a little baby clutched in his dead mother’s arms. In another incident in terror torn Punjab of the 80s, the bus he had just got down from was blown to pieces by a bomb in it. In his own words, These incidents as well as the writings of Arsitotle, Ayn Rand ,Amrita Pritam and Nietzshe made Rajeev “think about life and what we do with our time on this planet. “

This book is frankly not for people looking for something “light” to read while travelling. This is a very intense and serious book. At a time when chic lits and books about friendships, quest for love and college life are the most in demand, Rajeev has indeed been very brave to attempt this book. For me this book was a very refreshing read from the usual genre of today.

However I do have some complaints regarding this book. The stories could have been crisper and sharper. The author tends to ramble on for great lengths especially when he is describing characters and situations. The reader tends to lose interest in the middle and become exasperated by the long winded and sometimes boring descriptions. The book is philosophical and stories interspersed with words of wisdom but somewhere in these dissections of life and its perceptions, the art of storytelling has been lost. The stories might make you think, but I am afraid to say they lack the zing that makes a good story.


All in all, however Conversations is definitely worth a read.

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