BOOK REVIEW OF- If You Never Try, You Will Never Know: Ambition – Love – Destiny
By Sahil Mehta
• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Notion Press, Inc.; 1 edition (3 June 2017)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1947137077
• ISBN-13: 978-1947137073
THE PLOT IN BRIEF-
Robin, who gets inspired by his mother to become a musician, is forced
by his father to pursue the education needed to join their family
business. This compels him to leave home at the age of eighteen to
follow his dreams. In few months of independent living, his
over-ambitious dreams turn into an obsession, which gets even more
intense when he falls into a drug addiction, and mysteriously
unleashes a new side to his life.
During this journey, he meets Aisha. They talk, play and fall in love.
Her exquisite beauty defines the melody of his musical journey as they
both fall deep in love with each other. But Robin’s obsession with his
dream and a struggling career become an obstacle in their
relationship. Is their love strong enough to overcome complexities?
During these tumultuous times, Robin’s Flat Mate Jordan begins to
motivate him to follow his heart. Jordan becomes his philosopher and
guru but not for very long-what makes Robin lose trust in him?
Discover how he finds a spiritual path after being disheartened during
his struggle to achieve success.
Amidst the ups and downs in his career, love and life, find out what
destiny holds for Robin. Will he find success in music industry or
will he end up joining his father’s business? Experience a thrilling
story that will inspire you to believe in your love and dreams.
THE TITLE-
The title clearly suggests a link between ambition and determination.
Achieving success is not about going against the tide. I believe in
going with the flow. I don’t believe in fighting against the flow. You
ride on your river and you go with the tides and the flow. But it has
to be your river, not someone else’s. Everyone has their own river,
and you don’t need to swim, float, sail on theirs, but you need to be
in your own river and you need to go with it. And I don’t believe in
fighting the wind. You go and you fly with your wind. Let everyone
else catch their own gusts of wind and let them fly with their own
gusts of wind, and you go and you fly with yours.
With the words determination, success another word comes up which we
call t as destiny. The title too metaphorically creates an atmosphere
so as to incorporate the feeling of destiny within the readers. They
say what we call our destiny is truly our character and that character
can be altered. The knowledge that we are responsible for our actions
and attitudes does not need to be discouraging, because it also means
that we are free to change this destiny. One is not in bondage to the
past, which has shaped our feelings, to race, inheritance, background.
All this can be altered if we have the courage to examine how it
formed us. We can alter the chemistry provided we have the courage to
dissect the elements.
I felt the title to be apt and very related to the plot.
REVIEW OF THE BOOK-
The story starts with a conflict where we see robin loved music
whereas his dad wanted him to join their business. So there is a
question about the dreams versus reality, ambition versus the truth.
The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there
to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show
how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop
the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the
other people. We have always learned to live the Life of Your Dreams.
But a second question arises- WHY?
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.
The plot also has a second theme of will power along with destiny. It
clearly tries to portray the fact that Whatever your passion is, keep
doing it. Don’t waste time chasing after success or comparing yourself
to others. Every flower blooms at a different pace. Excel at doing
what your passion is and only focus on perfecting it. Eventually
people will see what you are great at doing, and if you are truly
great, success will come chasing after you.
Aisha acts as a catalyst here. She brings the idea of perseverance and
hope which gives the plot its true feeling of its third theme- DREAM.
The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one.
But it will only grow in the mud. In order to grow and gain
perseverance, first you must have the mud — the obstacles of life
and its suffering. … The mud speaks of the common ground that humans
share, no matter what our stations in life. … Whether we have it all
or we have nothing, we are all faced with the same obstacles: sadness,
loss, illness, dying and death. If we are to strive as human beings to
gain more perseverance, more kindness and more compassion, we must
have the intention to grow as a lotus and open each petal one by one.
The story takes a turn when Robin invites Aisha to meet his flat mate
Jordan who very much resembled his brother Suraj but to Aisha’s
horror, there was no person like that. And this leads to the plot’s
another theme-CHOICES. Everything is a choice and every choice has a
consequence; a good one or bad one! We choose to choose every day,
whether we choose not to choose, but it is not all our choices that
result in something better! It is not all our choices that result in
something lasting! It is not all our choices that result in something
fulfilling. No matter what our daily conscious and unconscious choices
result in, the lessons from the results of our choices that can help
shape our next choices must never be neglected, for they that shall
neglect the lessons from the consequences of their choices shall
always choose and choose again and again, and in the end, they shall
never see any lasting and fulfilling footprints!
What decision does robin takes? What happens to Aisha and their lives?
Who was Jordan really?
To get the answers of these question you have to book a date with the book at
http://www.amazon.in/dp/1947137077
POSITIVE ASPECTS-
1. The plot
2. The characterization
3. The blending of different themes
4. The twist at the end
5. The writing style
NEGETIVE ASPECTS-
1. Unnecessary description of love
RATINGS-
Overall I would like to rate the book 45 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- 9/10
3. Usage of words and phrases-8/10
4. The title, cover and the illustration-10/10
5. The net impact on the readers- 9/10
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sahil Mehta was born and raised in India, and is currently living in
Seattle, where he works as a software developer for Amazon.
Inspired by the power of words, emotions and various life experiences,
he naturally gravitated towards writing. If You Never Try, You Will
Never Know is his first book, and its storyline is influenced by his
childhood dreams, adulthood obsession and teenage love. Currently, he
is working on a story, based on the characters and places he came
across during his stay in the USA.
Apart from writing, Sahil enjoys fitness-related activities and
listening to music.
Reviewed by-
Sayan Basak
Kolkata
