Main Hoon Na - but sometimes I wonder, am I the only one?
Everybody praised Lagaan to the skies. I remained unimpressed and criticised the movie in one of my reviews only to receive plenty of comments and mails, saying ''Zabaan ko lagaan do, er, lagaam do ...''
And then came everyone's favourite - Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, which even had an exclamation mark at the end of its title to prove that it's a different love story - a love story of a crow and a football. Alok Nath and Reema Lagoo set the screens on fire and the film became a superhit. I agreed wholeheartedly. The forty family members and twenty other drivers, servants et al who stand in a queue and jive to 'Dhik Tana Dhik Tana' not only deserve to be hit, but also tortured.
And here is a book, correction, a best-seller from an author who is a universal favourite, especially among teens. One of my favourite authors as well, and his name was enough for me to grab this book. (Alright, I didn't grab it and flick it from the shelf, I had to buy it and pay money for it, which I am still regretting ...)
Sad but true, sometimes even Archers fail to hit the mark.
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The Prodigal Daughter by Jeffrey Archer is a sequel to another Archer bestseller, Kane & Abel. The book focusses on the offsprings of the protagonists of its prequel, and Florentyna Rosnovski, as the lead protagonist, dominates the story.
Somehow, at the end of the book which never seemed to end owing to its length, I was left dissatisfied. No, I do not mind long books. I do not mind even if a book is so long that it helps me build up biceps, owing to its weight, but this particular novel from the Archer stables lacks the charm of its predecessor, Kane & Abel and is an insult to to Archer's other works like Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less, First Among Equals and his short story compilations.
Over the years, Archer's novels and short stories have come to be identified with the proverbial twist in the tale. Unfortunately, 'The Prodigal Daughter' is as predictable as 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Thi' ...
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The book is divided into three sections - past, present and future. The first section revolves around Florentyna's childhood and adolescence and in my opinion, is the best part of the book. Miss Tredgold, Florentyna's governess does tend to get preachy, but Archer has wonderfully brought out the thoughts of Florentyna's young, impressionable mind on experiencing the sheer hypocrisy of today's society.
Fast forward as Florentyna falls in love. The man is idealism personified - loyal, caring, smart, in short, perfection personified. What's the hitch? He is William Kane's son!
Now, I have simply lost count of the number of times I have seen a similar plot in Hindi films whose titles are longer than their running length and Ekta Kapoor's soaps and shampoos - the 'Dial K for Torture' ones. In fact, I have come to believe that a person falls in love only with the offspring of his parent's enemy, which is why I keep asking my parents whether they have any foes ...
The other so-called unpredictable twists are as predictable as the fact that sooner or later, Alok Nath will flash his 64 teeth at the poor audience. In fact, the moment one hears about Florentyna's benefactor, it becomes apparent who it is, and around 200 pages later, we are told about the identity of her benefactor in the midst of a lot of melodrama.
The entire plot abounds in cliches. The usually engrossing Archer instead becomes a convenient sleeping pill, and whenever I am affected by a bout of insomnia due to a coffee too many, the only things that put me to sleep are my biology textbook and 'The Prodigal Daughter'.
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However, I must mention a particular sequence, which deserves its due. The only time the two foes - Kane and Abel meet is classy, significant yet subtle and a product of some amazing writing.
Wish I could say the same about the rest of the book ...
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The only consolation was that I bought this book at a discount of 64 % (!) from Crossword. A combo of two books - this one and 'Shall We Tell The President?' for a mere 225 bucks, compared to the cover price of Rs. 600-odd. I still haven't read the second book and I hope that it does not disappoint me the way the first book has. If it does, you can be assured of a nikamma, brandishing a knife, demanding his refund at Crossword, soon ...
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So am I the only one who didn't like this book? Comments awaited!
