@ UnRaVeLiNg SeCrEtS AbOuT MAN-KIND @. Review on Surviving Men - Shobha De

Surviving Men- Isn't the title interesting enough for women to pick it up. Well anything about MEN is interesting enough for women, and vice-versa. Since time immemorial, the battle of the sexes has been on, and will always continue. As a woman I would say- MEN ! YOU CANT LIVE WITH THEM, YOU CANT LIVE WITHOUT THEM.

SURVIVING MEN

274 pages, Penguin Books.

Ever wondered if men are worth the time we women spend on them.

Do men have ''real'' feelings?

How do you hook or dump a man?

How can a woman ''train'' a man?

What do men feel most insecure about?

What do women like about a man?

What are men's secret fantasies--are you sure it is just sex and not murder?

The Male boss !

The Man in love….

And so on

Shobha De' asks and answers these questions and more in her explosive book, Surviving Men.

This book will be interpreted differently by Men and Women. A Man who wants to know what exactly a woman could think of him, and a woman who wants to know what exactly goes on in a man’s mind. The author being a woman must have analyzed scores of men, before putting down these hard hitting facts but all said and done, it still stands to be HER OPINION and not the FINAL WORD on men.

Her analyses on Men and their money, Men and their Moms, Men in love, all seemed grossly exaggerated in several parts. My own experiences with men, right from college times till today- made me say-“Nah ! That doesn’t always fit”. It isn’t fair to always generalize- Saying –“Men always want sex ! Men never want to part with their money ! All men are terrible in bed ! Only PLATO knew the meaning of Platonic friendships ! “ I agree to some extent, women have been the exploited sex, but in the end it’s the call of a smart women who SHOULD NOT allow herself to be exploited.

The concept of RAAKHI BROTHER was rightly scorned at though. In a country like India, the land of Kamasutra and Khajuraho, a woman holding a guy’s hands was enough for the Parents’ to scream RAPE! All actions have a reaction and hence this Raakhi Brother concept started, to give a drape of sanctity to everything that goes on beneath. It’s the society’s hype up of simple acts like holding hands that lead to these falsehood based associations. A maturing civilization like ours needs to comprehend that two mature adults have the right to do what they want, as long as they realize their responsibilities and commitments.

How to hook and dump a man made an interesting read, and I feel that men will find this really whacky. How to get his interest and then keep silence until he makes the move, how much time to wait before you make your move etc, all strategies explained to perfection ! I am yet to try this on someone to see how it works ;-)

Going through the roller coaster of Extreme realities, what men want, what they exactly feel about a woman etc can make you pretty breathless. Any woman who reads this will feel that the man is her life is reasonably good, because De has disparaged, denigrated and defamed MAN-kind to the limit. I quite did not agree with her on many accounts. Male friends have always stood by me in bad times, lent a patient ear without demanding anything in return, shown more sensitivity, women say male Gynecologists show more concern to their Gyn problems than female ones.

Both Men and Women have their own eccentricities, certain traits that are inbuilt, by-default (as you IT guys will put it)- its up to us smart people how to make the good to better and the worst into worse- take things in the best possible perspective, and lead a bitching-free life.

FINALLY…

This book is worth one read by women, and definitely by men too- and dear men, please don’t let your blood pressure rise at the allegations made by the author- at some instances you might say “That’s me” and at some “Me? Never !”- but all the same- lets be true to our conscience and not hurt people who love us.

About the Author:

Shobha De has had diverse careers as model, copywriter, and the first editor of Stardust and Society. She has published seven novels, all of which have been extremely successful. The erotic content of her novels has been somewhat controversial, with some reviewers being contemptuous of her work while others suggest that she is countering the taboos held by many women writers. Khushwant Singh was an early supporter of her work, but recently said that she is ''running out of ideas''. She is married, with six children, and lives in Bombay. (From the author’s site)

Other Books by the same author:

I have read Speed-post and it’s a very atypical Shobha De book, a collection of letters to her 6 kids. When I say atypical- it means no sex and no 4 letter words- nearly none.

FOR ALL THOSE MEN ON MS WHO FEEL SHOBHA DE HAS BEEN TOO UNFAIR, READ UP Surviving Women – by Jerry Pinto and feel HAPPY!!!