[The book is provided by Arudha Club in exchange for a genuine review.]

BOOK REVIEW OF- A Team of Extraordinary Bastards


BY: ARKA DATTA


THE PLOT IN BRIEF-

Arya Sen is destiny’s child, a young boy from Kolkata who is born to
be the greatest the Football World has ever seen. The universe never
fails to surprise him with good fortunes as he embarks on his journey
from Kolkata to all over the world. But, just when he starts to
believe that nothing can go wrong for him, everything changes.
Surrounded by loss, darkness, and complete absence of luck, Arya
desperately waits for hope. And it appears but from the unlikeliest of
places. With the support of his wife April and younger brother Ilan,
Arya takes upon him a task that is bigger and more important than all
of them. This time, he is up against his greatest friend: Destiny.

THE TITLE-

Indeed A team Of Extraordinary Bastards is a very interesting and
appropriate title for the book.
Someone had said that the known is finite, the unknown infinite;
intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable
ocean of inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to
reclaim a little more land, to add something to the extent and the
solidity of our possessions. And even a cursory glance at the history
of the biological sciences during the last quarter of a century is
sufficient to justify the assertion, that the most potent instrument
for the extension of the realm of natural knowledge which has come
into men’s hands, since the publication of Newton’s ‘Principia’, is
Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species. What exactly is extraordinary? Our key to
greatness lies not in our ability to project ourselves to others as if
we are putting ourselves onto a projector and creating an image of
ourselves on a projector screen. Rather, our key to greatness lies in
who we are which we can give to other people in a way that when they
walk away from us, they are able to say in their hearts that they have
taken away something with them quite extraordinary. This plot proves
that Stories do not explain. They seem to, but all they provide is a
starting point. The story never ends at the end. There is always
after. And even within itself, even by saying that this version is the
right one, it suggests other versions, versions that exist in
parallel. No, story is not an explanation; it is a net, a net through
which the truth flows. The net catches some of the truth, but not all,
never all, only enough so that we can live with the extraordinary
without it killing us.

REVIEW OF THE BOOK-

After reading the story, not only did I got motivated but I have
realised; it is during the times I am far outside my element that I
experience myself the most. That I see and feel who I really am, the
most! I think that’s what a comet is like, you see, a comet is born in
the outer realms of the universe! But it’s only when it ventures too
close to our sun or to other stars that it releases the blazing “tail”
behind it and shoots brazen through the heavens! And meteors become
sucked into our atmosphere before they burst like firecrackers and
realize that they’re shooting stars! That’s why I enjoy taking myself
out of my own element, my own comfort zone, and hurling myself out
into the unknown. Because it’s during those scary moments, those
unsure steps taken, that I am able to see that I’m like a comet
hitting a new atmosphere: suddenly I illuminate magnificently and fire
dusts begin to fall off of me! I discover a smile I didn’t know I had,
I uncover a feeling that I didn’t know existed in me… I see myself.
I’m a shooting star. A meteor shower. But I’m not going to die out. I
guess I’m more like a comet then. I’m just going to keep on coming
back.
Keeping football as a catalyst the author beautifully creates an
environment of motivation and self love. Life is like a Tick mark. It
is stable for a time. Then it takes a ditch not because we are meant
to be upset but to go higher and be better, you need to lean back and
jump. Life is like a Analogue signal it have its highs and lows. The
sun will set and the sun will rise, and it will shine upon us tomorrow
in our grief and our gratitude, and we will continue to live with
purpose, memory, passion, and love.
Yes, it is true that Pain is a pesky part of being human; I’ve learned
it feels like a stab wound to the heart, something I wish we could all
do without, in our lives here. Pain is a sudden hurt that can’t be
escaped. But then I have also learned that because of pain, I can feel
the beauty, tenderness, and freedom of healing. Pain feels like a fast
stab wound to the heart. But then healing feels like the wind against
your face when you are spreading your wings and flying through the
air! We may not have wings growing out of our backs, but healing is
the closest thing that will give us that wind against our faces.
The characterization of Arya is so beautifully plotted, it showcases
you that For everything in this journey of life we are on, there is a
right wing and a left wing: for the wing of love there is anger; for
the wing of destiny there is fear; for the wing of pain there is
healing; for the wing of hurt there is forgiveness; for the wing of
pride there is humility; for the wing of giving there is taking; for
the wing of tears there is joy; for the wing of rejection there is
acceptance; for the wing of judgment there is grace; for the wing of
honour there is shame; for the wing of letting go there is the wing of
keeping. We can only fly with two wings and two wings can only stay in
the air if there is a balance. Two beautiful wings is perfection.
There is a generation of people who idealize perfection as the
existence of only one of these wings every time. But I see that a bird
with one wing is imperfect. An angel with one wing is imperfect. A
butterfly with one wing is dead. So this generation of people strive
to always cut off the other wing in the hopes of embodying their ideal
of perfection, and in doing so, have created a crippled race.
And lastly live the Life of Your Dreams
When you start living the life of your dreams, there will always be
obstacles, doubters, mistakes and setbacks along the way. But with
hard work, perseverance and self-belief there is no limit to what you
can achieve.
A very beautiful book, which will not only motivate you but also help
you to find the way to love yourself. Life is a bowl of cherries. Some
cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out
the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones
that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to
throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and
those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the
good ones.

YOU SHOULD READ THIS BECAUSE-

1.      THE GEN-Y IRIDESCENT PLOT.

2.      THE MOTIVATIONAL FACTOR
3.      THE CHARACTERISATION OF BOTH ARYA



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
Overall, it’s worth reading. After all…
This journey will definitely relate to our life


KUDOS TO ARKA- It was really a beautiful plot.


Reviewed by-
Sayan Basak
Kolkata