Just Friends (Novel Review)

Sumrit Shahi, Just Friends..., New Delhi: Mahaveer Publishers, 2010, ISBN 9788183520119, Rs. 125, pp. 248.

This is the author’s debut novel and I was surprised to read that he was all of only 17 years when the novel was published. The reason for my surprise is not that youngsters cannot write good prose but that he, being young and an Indian moreover, displays a fantastic grasp of the English language. If anything I must say that I am really proud.

The story of the novel is in fact, a combination of two stories of two young persons who accidentally meet each other at an airport. Both share their life stories with one another and realize with a sense of déjà vu that their stories are more or less alike. Aaryan is a 17 year old who has come to Singapore in search of the love of his life (or so he thinks) whom he had befriended at an international convention. Tanie, a teen herself, is returning from the same annual international convention albeit a year later. The two are brought together by destiny to share their stories and to help each other shed light on their respective love lives.

The chief question the book addresses is found on the title page: Can a girl and a boy just be friends? The story does not answer the question conspicuously but implicitly drops hints. The book can literally be divided into two parts. Part one is the story of Aaryan while part two is the story of Tanie. The characters appeared to me at times to be bigger than their age; doing things that one would not expect of teens at that age but then again such things do happen, so perhaps I stand corrected. The liberal use of foul language and in particular, the word f***, in a way diminishes the sheen of the otherwise splendid achievement. A couple of typos too have found their way in but are forgivable. A strange line in different variations is used to end nearly every section or episode. The significance of this line escaped me and haunted me throughout. I hoped that I would find clarity at the end but was disappointed.

The novel is well written. The style is colloquial and popular. Romance is its soul. The story is captivating and is well constructed. The author deserves praise for his achievement. I sincerely hope that many more Indian youngsters come forward and share with the world their creative talent and stories. Teachers and relatives have a crucial role to play. The author attests to this in his acknowledgement. This novel is worth the time spent on it. I hope to read more of the authors creations.