Thursday, July 11, 2013

Review: Chameleons by Sanket Ghag

Chameleons as the name suggests it's a story of ever changing human nature as mentioned on the tagline by the author Sanket Ghag. It's an attempt to capture the plight of a man who is under a series of failures and problems in his life. He has to work his way around to tackle his own plight. Has the author been able to portray the emotions of a failed man to perfection? Let's find out. 

What would happen to you, if someone you loved madly left you without giving you a reason? What would you do if your business, which is running smoothly, turns into a bumpy hell ride? And a friend, whom you looked up to, turns his back when you needed him the most? The last resort you look to is your mother, who comforts you in your crisis, but she too pushes you to the extreme. Situations like these brings out the true inner self of a person; some change themselves to adapt to the situation like chameleons, some fight back and change the situation. Sunny is entangled in such situations. Standing on a six inch thick parapet wall of a four-storied building, he is looking out for a solution, and life flashes back to Sunny. Will Sunny find the solution? Will he become a chameleon or will he jump off?



This is Sanket Ghag's debut novel with a nice cover with few colors added to it to depict the ever changing circumstances around a human being. The blurb gives a fair idea as to what's going to to happen and how the story is going to revolve around the lead protagonist Sunny Ghag.  The story shuffles around a few characters and takes you back into time where things were good and in the present everything seems to be bleak. 

The family setup in the story has been depicted well. The always yelling mom, a supportive brother & bhabhi and a concerned dad make the story line interesting. A love angle of Sunny's life will also creep up in the story as the readers get transported back into time. Few burly characters like William, Asif & the chameleon Rohit have been maneuvered well in the story to keep the tempo maintained. 

The story jumps from one thing to another rather very hastily. The past & the present has not been handled well enough by the author. Narration is smooth but lack of connectivity will be felt at times in the story. Too much focus has been directed to the William angle and work related stress in Sunny's life. The other problems feel neglected. A shower becomes a blessing in disguise for Sunny which might amuse some readers. It lacked the intensity. The story's pace slowed down towards the end. A very mediocre end takes away all the charm away from the readers. The author has completely jumbled up struggle of love in the past & the miseries of the present to make it a confused state of mind for the readers. 

A few notable & good points in the book are the architectural & design descriptions which have been written well. The struggle of Sunny might teach a lesson or two to the readers. His plight and problems gives a fair bit of idea to the people who land themselves in a similar situation. The poem in the end has been composed very well. 


All in all a very promising title & a blurb but the content has not been managed well enough to make it a very compelling read for the readers. It disappoints at many places. 

RATINGS: 

2 OUT OF 5. 

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