I described the serendipitous process that led to my holding this book in my hands - but that's about marketing.
My taste in fiction, range it ever so widely, is more along the lines of action-thrillers (Ludlum, Forsyth, Patterson) or humor (Wodehouse) than mushy, sentimental girl stuff!
Brilliant marketing overcame that hurdle. But no matter how effective that is, unless the product lives up to the promise, all is lost. "Losing My Virginity - And Other Dumb Ideas" (or LMV) delivered on this level too.
This book is in a genre referred to as 'chick flick lit' that I avoid like the plague. Still LMV got this guy, still a little boy at heart, who thrills at scenes of destruction and mayhem and likes his fiction with gore, guts and glory, to turn on his feminine side and tune in to a more emotional message than he's used to (or wants to ponder).
And Madhuri writes well. Very well. If not 'gripping', her style was still compelling enough to keep me engaged until I was involved in the tale of Kaveri, the young protagonist who strives to lose her virginity as early as possible after her 30th birthday.
It's the stereotype romantic novel, with some unique twists along the way to lighten up the story and keep it moving. But until page 196, it had little to remember the book by (in my opinion). You'll understand when I say the one quote I liked, apart from the joke about "The best way to get over a man is to get under another one", was this:
"Love isn't about the rest of your life. Sometimes,it's just about having a great cup of coffee together."
Then things changed. Fast.
With a shift in mindset.
What seemed unwarranted promiscuity becomes in-your-face independence. An act of rebellion turns out to be a bold exploratory voyage. And a sequence of seemingly random occurences coalesce into a collective catalyst that transforms a shy, insecure, uncertain young woman into someone confidently and completely different... herself.
What's in a book depends so much on the person reading it.
For me, personally, any book (fiction or non-fiction) is worthwhile if it:
a. makes me think
b. leaves me with insights I hadn't before
It's why Mario Puzo's GODFATHER still remains my all-time favorite book. Over 20 different attitudes, perspectives and philosophies of the infamous Don Vito Corleone's character have become intermingled and woven into the fabric of my worldview... and my most treasured passage from any book (of thousands I've read) is this account of the Don's death:
"He smelled the garden, the yellow shield of light smote his eyes, and he whispered, "Life is so beautiful." He was spared the sight of his women's tears, dying before they came back from church, dying before the ambulance arrived, or the doctor. He died surrounded by men, holding the hand of the son he had most loved.
... Michael observed all this with a tight, polite smile. He was not impressed. Yet, he thought, if I can die saying, "Life is so beautiful," then nothing else is important. If I can believe in myself that much, nothing else matters."
And while nothing in her book touched me anywhere quite as deeply as that, Madhuri Banerjee's "Losing My Virgnity and Other Dumb Ideas" still left an impact - with subtle subliminal messages that resonated deep inside...
Be Yourself.
And...
Love Matters.
This is NOT a book I'd want my young daughter to read when she's eighteen. It's a book I will urge her strongly to read when she's twenty-eight (more so if, at that time, she's still a 'virgin'!)
LMV is a book which is easy to analyze and interpret from different standpoints, and that's a remarkable tribute to the author's rare talent.
Maybe it's because I'm reading this novel at a point where I feel my professional life needs a revamp and make-over that this particular message grabbed me powerfully.
The need to step outside the nine dots, abandon the deadly 'comfort zone', to recreate a persona from within, to listen to the heart and the mind before doing whatever it takes to get where you want... to be true to yourself.
A young, hormone-driven teen reader may see the message of sexual liberation as overwhelming everything else. The slightly older, yet unmarried adult might hear echoes of diverse thoughts that stream through her mind during long, sleepless nights.
To me, decades past those tortuous and turbulent days of youth, another insight stands out above all else.
As you are.
Insecurities, warts, blemishes, and all.
So be yourself. Always.
I'll leave you with the words Kaveri hears from a wise gypsy woman in Barcelona, which will remain my 'take-away' from a very nice storybook called "Losing My Virginity & Other Dumb Ideas"...
"The most real relationship you'll ever have is the one you already have - with yourself."
