How would you feel if you lose the love of your life unexpectedly? What would you do if you lose your only hope of life? Anyone who has lost his/her love due to explained or unexpected reasons knows the pain of it all – the shattered pieces of life that are hard to put together again is the worst feeling. It Had To Be You is a book that involves its reader into the protagonist’s life, love, family, friendship with diverse shades in every phase.
THE BOOK: This book by Anuj Tiwari is written in an easy-to-understand language and is being liked by young readers because of its simplicity and the language which directly influences the lover’s heart. Through his casual tone and lingo, Anuj Tiwari creates a sense of closeness between the protagonist and the readers. The writer uses a language that we normally would use in our everyday lives and the youth have given the thumbs-up to this form of writing.
It Had To Be You by Anuj Tiwari is a romantic fiction which takes the reader back and forth from Delhi to Mumbai while the protagonist, Anuj, is in search of his gorgeous and lively lover Pakhi.
THE PLOT: The story unfolds as Anuj, a young professional, starts getting adjusted to his new work life in Mumbai to get over the depression of being separated from his love. In spite of the unexplained reasons of Pakhi to leave him, Anuj still has feelings for her. Amidst all the work load and new friends – Payal, Meera, flatmate Vishal and Anushka – he finds it hard to forget Pakhi. Rahim Chacha is introduced to the story to bring out the truth of inner peace and through him Anuj learns the deeper meaning of life. Anuj could never forget his love Pakhi and reminisces moments spent with her. He would look at all the old emails, letters, cards and pictures of Pakhi and get lost, unable to forget her. Anuj starts believing that she is the one and only soul mate for him.
He searches for Pakhi with his friends’ help. When the two lovers get reunited, multitudes of shades of romance are unfolded and when everything seemed to be going on perfectly once again, something unexpected happens and Anuj is left alone. He goes into depression, for the second time.
THE THEME: The twist in the story makes it impressive but the excessive use of poems and quotes somehow brought a frown to some readers. On the other hand, some really enjoyed the poetry. So there were mixed feelings about the expression of his feelings through poetry. Also, the story seemed too extended at a certain point. The significance of love, the myriad shades of romance, family, friendship and life are explored in the book.
Join the journey of Anuj and read more about his past and whether he was able to fight his gloominess with the help of his friends and Rahim Chacha. Will he really discover the answers that he seeks about love and life or fate has something else for him in store?
The cover picture, title, blurb and then one look at the contents will lure the readers to pick Anuj Tiwari’s book, his second one. The day I received the book and laid my eyes on it, I wondered if I will end up experiencing a Karan Johar’s movie with the ingredients like love, life, family and friendships. Technically, it had the similar sugar and spices but modified and presented in a very sensitive and poetic way.
THE AUTHOR: Anuj Tiwari is one of the youngest youth icon and writer who writes real stories inspired by his parents. He is also a motivational speaker and boosts the youngsters in colleges and universities with his motivational talks. It Had To Be You is his second book after the successful Journey Of Two Hearts. Real life incidents and a heartbreaking climax in both his books make readers turn emotional and get closer to him.
Just like his writing, his speeches reflect simplicity and beauty of life which touches a person’s heart. Daily-life routines jotted down with effortless language makes him dear to young readers and make him a special author in his genre of writing. According to reviews from reputed newspapers, It Had To Be You has done justice to romantic non-fiction and touches every heart.
Positives: From love life to office life, from friends to in-laws, the book has a mix of sugar and spices that might hit a chord with Gen-X.
Negatives: The extra dose of poems and the lengthy story of a few characters could have been snipped.
Verdict: I would go for 3.5 stars out of 5 keeping it in a light romantic inspirational read shelf.
