Review: Hold My Hand by Durjoy Datta

Some books can't be described in terms of the content and plot they carry in them. They have a lot more in them than we as a reader think of. Stories which are free from regular cliches and with a different tell tale for everyone. Author Durjoy Datta in his latest novel "Hold My Hand" takes one more step towards exploring human emotions in a different way. So is this story different from the others? Let's find out. 

An awkward young man, Deep, obsessed with libraries and books, has his dream come true when he is sent to Hong Kong by ATS Technologies to study and test the library cataloguing software at its head office. There he sees - the most beautiful girl he has ever laid his eyes on, But there is a twist to this love story - Ahana is not just stunningly beautiful, she also has a rare congenital disease leaving her blind. Together they explore Hong Kong Aahana guiding with the smells and sounds of the wondrous city and Deep bringing to life the sights he sees.

For starters Durjoy Datta has moved on from lengthy yet catchy titles. This time it's simple and describes a simple human emotion in a simple manner. The cover page has a hand of a boy and a girl with a picture of Hong Kong held by the edges and this experiment might work in the favor of the book. It's different. The blurb in its first few lines won't excite a reader but the last few lines about Ahana will make you think otherwise. The blurb is not so author's style. It could have been much better. 

The story is about Deep the nerd guy who is so busy and buried in his books that he is hardly got time for other pleasures of life. He is not so smart, tall and little old school with extra caring parents and a single friend in Aman who is completely opposite to him. He gets an opportunity to works in Hong Kong and there he happens to cross his eyes with Ahana which instantly clicks into an unsaid relationship between the two and blossoms with time. Ahana's blindness is a hindrance for her, Deep's insecurities about himself is a hindrance for him, a cool dad in Ahana's father as match maker is there till the end for his daughter. Will Deep & Ahana be together or it'll end up in just a chance meeting in a stranger country? 

The story is in four parts talking about Deep and his friends and his life in the first. In the second part spilling over to Hong Kong and Deep's chance meeting with Ahana in the hotel and exploring Hong Kong along with Ahana. The third part explores the deep emotions of Ahana's father and his attraction towards Sadhika and Ahana's ex- boyfriend Aveek and not to forget the untold attraction between Deep & Ahana and finally the last part which will reveal what happens to their love story along with a surprise for the readers.The most interesting aspect of the book is the third part which will really make the reader's heart go out for Ahana and her courage to face the world. The end of the story is enough to make heads spin of the readers for sometime. Hong Kong has been described to perfection in the story. 

The first part and second part of the story are dull and slow. They won't excite the readers much. Aveek's character is out of sorts in the story. It needed a little more attention. The build up to the main story takes a lot of time in the book. 

It's not a typical college love story. It's not typical author Durjoy Datta's style. It's not a regular story. It's an experiment towards exploiting love through the eyes of a blind girl and a nerd boy. This experiment is partly successful partly not. But it deserves at least the required attention for Ahana's story, for Deep's story and for their unnecessary insecurities and their unspoken love for each other.  

RATINGS:

3 OUT OF 5.