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Book Review: Not a Different Story by AmyReads

Ever since we were kids, we loved watching movies and serials on family drama and tragedies. However, these kinds of stories are rare to find in the novels nowadays – you can find in Munshi Premchand’s novels – in the likes of Sevasadan, Nirmala, Godan, etc. But that was a different time and era.


Literature on social tragedies is often too high on intensity that at times the readers find it tough to cope up with, but on the other hand side, it reflects the grim realities of our society and the world we live in. How people are responsible and what all social factors are there to shape the overall course of simple people. Some mean and arrogant people do something heinous and villainous, and the repercussions of their sins chaperon some simple and innocent-hearted people. The world then feels like a place of different zone, somewhat hellish.

Well, if we can keep aside this pontification, we have a novel by a debutante to discuss. It’s ‘Not a Different Story’ by AmyReads. As the title says that the story is common and can be found at every home. This is two-way narration, where the story shuttles between the current protagonist Amy’s life and another auxiliary protagonist that runs in the past like a backdrop, well her name is Anshika. How are they both connected is going to be interesting to uncover?

Amy lives in Ahmedabad with her father, Rajat. She is a motherless child and attends a college. As per her belief and knowledge, it is conveyed to Amy that her mother eloped with someone when she was born. Well, she hates her mother, but at the same time she is hopeful that her father will get her back home one day. Amy is a busy college student and has a few friends, other than the internal grief, outwardly she is fine and good going. She is engaged with the pretty chores so much that it looks as she is least bothered about her father and mother. However, things could be anything but the mother factor gnaws her from within.

On the other hand, back in some past, we see this Anshika. A beautiful girl who has fallen in love with a struggling writer named Akshay. Will their love story go to a destination or some quirky twist of fate awaits them? And why did Rajat and Amy leave Bareilly to settle in some other city? What is the dark thing that is uncommon yet forcing to come out about Rajat and Akshay and Anshika?

As you get into the story, you will find that all the important characters like Akshay, Rajat, Anshika, and Amy seem entwined and are roped in a bond of symbiosis. It will be spoilsport to predict their relationship. The more you read, the more you feel disconcerted and embarrassed about the situations one has to go through only to lead a simple and unpretentious life.

The crux of the novel is how simplicity and honesty matter in family allegiance and future building. Can you play with the future of your loved ones? The kind of tragic intensity that draws you inside the story is terrific and to some extent you will be in a trance of retrospection. The message is clear – family is above all. If once the chances are missed, they cannot be reversed all life.

The author has nailed the story in a fully packed way. It is so intense and high on mental drama that a sense of melancholy is bound to cage you. How does human behavior stands at the center of ruin is evident from the storyline. As a debut writer, AmyReads has done a good job, a tale brilliantly penned down.

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