BOOK REVIEW OF- Once Upon A Time In College

BY Gulmat Maio

•       Paperback: 390 pages
•       Publisher: Notion Press; 1 edition (2016)
•       Language: English
•       ISBN-10: 9386009420
•       ISBN-13: 978-9386009425


THE Plot IN BRIEF-
“Between handling cadavers with bare hands, pestering female batch
mates as an unknown caller, only to be caught red-handed and to be
delivered tongue-lashings by seniors, and a hostel littered with human
bones, Gaam, a first-year medical student who has never ventured out
of north-eastern India before, develops a crush for a north Indian
girl; only to be thwarted in his efforts by his flirty room-mate.

He meets the first Love of his life – Sonam, an insecure,
unpredictable Darjeeling girl – only to add to his confusion, leading
to a break up, with no explanation from Sonam.

Gaam’s life is forever bombarded with confusing advice from a busy
senior and a roommate on how to handle girls.

Will Sonam ever disclose the reason for the break up?

Will Gaam ever learn how to handle women?

Irreverent and humorous, Once Upon a Time in College is replete with
Gaam and his friends’ stupid, unforeseen misadventures.”

THE TITLE-
The title itself gives you a romantic feeling, that to once upon a
time in college. Its like They were from two different worlds. Two
entirely different people. But upon their coming together, they
created- they found- their own path and together they had their own
world and in their own world, they were the same. Everyone else
outside of it- everyone else was over there. Away. And they together-
they together were here. They were right here. They were the same.
The title is so sweet that it gives you a hint about an imaginary
scene of our first kiss, the first touch of our heating lips, the
yearning reciprocating from both sides, I was lost in everything. But
I had a sudden feeling of eyes staring at our acts and unnecessary
muttering. I could feel it even with my closed eyes. So far the sober
girl in me resisted and my palms struggled to escape. He realized my
condition and he left me be. I could see anger in his eyes for the
crowd around but he stayed calm for my sake. My heart purred. ‘I am
lost now!’
He sat next to me and didn’t bother to look at anyone around. Though,
we knew many looked upon us and then they turned their faces away. He
was horny. I could see his bulge behind his winter suit. I avoided
looking and forced myself to gaze into his eyes instead. His pair was
fixed on mine, reading mine. I gave a wide smile in an attempt to hide
my lust although it was clearly written over my face.
That is college romance is all about.
REVIEW OF THE BOOK-

Although the plot is very humorous, there are several metaphorical
plots lying beneath it. The characterization of Gaam and Sonam was so
emotionally portrayed as if He dug so deeply into her sentiments that
in search of interest he found love, because by trying to make her
love him he ended up falling in love with her.  For her part, loved
him more and more as she felt his love increasing, and that was how in
the ripeness of autumn she began to believe once more in the youthful
superstition that poverty was the servitude of love. Both looked back
then on the wild revelry, the gaudy wealth, and the unbridled
fornication as an annoyance and they lamented that it had cost them so
much of their lives to find the paradise of shared solitude. Madly in
love after so many years of sterile complicity, they enjoyed the
miracle of living each other as much at the table as in bed, and they
grew to be so happy that even when they were two worn-out people they
kept on blooming like little children and playing together like dogs.
On this contrast we find sentiments like she found her view stuck to
him, and it was impossible for her not to melt from within. His
beautiful dark brown eyes that used to send her wild as a teen still
had the same effect. His dark unruly hair she used to toy with. And
his lips, pink, and in need of her kiss. She was blushing like a
beacon with so many passions coming back to her. There was a doubt,
that maybe he would recognise her. But now, she could see what an
empty man he was. He didn’t recognise her at all.
Peer pressure is an important aspect which is also portrayed in the
plot. At any given point you can release your greatest self. Don’t let
anyone hold you back. Don’t let anyone dilute you. Don’t be peer
pressured into being less than you are. People willing to dilute
themselves for the sake of others are one of the great tragedies of
our time. Stop letting others define and set the pace for your life.
Get out there and be your best. Do your best. Live your best. Make
every day count and you’ll see how exponentially more exciting,
thrilling, successful, happy and full your life will be.i feel There
are two kinds of people in this world: those who follow the popular
majority, and those who possess good sense. In other words, you can
either let the crowd steer you right over a cliff, or you can stop to
peer beyond the brink and see how a fall will likely end in tragedy.
The seniors, the advice and the break up were all linked together.
Influence played a major role in the plot. It doesn’t really matter if
you are left behind the back, but what matters is your capacity to
pull and push everyone by your way to get to the front.
Break up was another aspect shown in the plot .To be rejected by
someone doesn’t mean you should also reject yourself or that you
should think of yourself as a lesser person. It doesn’t mean that
nobody will ever love you anymore. Remember that only ONE person has
rejected you at the moment, and it only hurt so much because to you,
that person’s opinion symbolized the opinion of the whole world.
I loved the book not only from the humorous point of view but I loved
it from each and every emotional point of view.
Do order your copies at
http://www.amazon.in/Once-Upon-Time-College-Gumlat/dp/9386009420


YOU SHOULD READ THIS BECAUSE-

1.      THE TRENDING GEN Y PLOT.

2.      THE AMALGAMATION OF EMOTIONS WITH HUMOURS






RATINGS-

Overall I would like to rate the book 42 on a scale of 50.
4 stars out of 5
1.      Originality of the plot and sub plots- 9/10
2.      Net emotions in the story- 8/10
3.      Usage of words and phrases-8/10
4.      The title, cover and the illustration-8/10
5.      The net impact on the readers- 9/10

Only time will tell, as our memories fade into a past that isn’t meant
to be a part of the future. Eventually, we have to find a way to let
them go, to move forward and accept what’s to come.

Reviewed by-

Sayan Basak
Kolkata