Book Review: The Secret of a Telltale Diet

This book reads like a series on TV, screenplay intact. That is to say, the writing is very visual - one can totally imagine each scene being played out. That is one of the biggest strengths of the book. 

The characters are easy to imagine, partly because they are monochromatic. 

I am not sure if we needed all of them though. The story telling might have been more fluid with fewer characters. 

The book tells the story of a certain section of society, and tells it rather well. If one does not belong to that section, the book acts like a window to peek into morning coffees, gym sessions, dinners and parties with family friends, open conversations about attraction (and lack thereof), flirting, and attention. 

It also delves into the many emotions a middle aged (?) woman has to go through - friendship, comfort, insecurity, envy, cattiness, judgement, camaraderie, professional accomplishment, a sense of companionship with the partner... and does so in a rather effortless, non-preachy way. 

At just about 252 pages, the book is an easy breezy two hour read. The writing is effortless and flows naturally. The emotions are expressed just so and are easy to understand. There is neither too much melodrama nor too much stiff upper lip. 

The highlight of the book, however, is the love story of Samar and Siya. Their arguments are glossed over, their good-natured banter, their frank, honest conversations, and way that they are always there for each other. What is unreal is that Samar never reaches out to Siya for help on anything. Maybe I would have liked a little bit of that. 

#SpoilerAlert: 

Oh, and an AND size 6 is a mistake the editor should have pointed out. AND dresses start at size 8. A size 8 is not likely to fit a 52-kilo petite 5 foot 2 or five foot 3 person. More likely a Size 10.