I received Tribin and the Battle Axe by Abhijit Chaki as a review copy from the author and I am thankful to him for the same.
The Blurb:
Sayali Deodhar is having a bad year. A professional badminton player, she’s parted ways from her coach who is also her father. She’s alone, friendless and taut as a racket gut. Her game is falling apart. In stumbles Tribin Sarkar, jaded writer and flawed human being, facing the slow unravel of a conflicted existence. An uncanny quirk of nature brings them together. He’s drawn towards Sayali. Is she amazing, or confounding? The feeling isn’t mutual. Is he a maverick, or a deadbeat? Either way, Tribin’s determined to change the narrative of Sayali’s life. He comes up with an outrageous plan to get on her inside track, and it works. But not for long. As love and hate collide, a rollercoaster ride of events culminates in the biggest sporting event on the planet. The stakes have never been higher for Tribin and Sayali…or for India’s shot at an Olympic medal at the 2016 summer games in Rio. No pressure. So, what happens when the Unstoppable meets the Immovable? The Unthinkable.
The story:
Tribin Sarkar, a journalist and writer, is writing a book, a biography for a sportsperson, and for that he is in Kerala. One day, he hears a scream. He realises that he has a neighbour. Sayali Deodhar, a reputed badminton player who has hit a low, after an altercation with her father cum coach, and losing her ranking. She is in Kerala to mend herself.
Tribin is attracted to her and takes it on himself to become her mental coach so that she can make it to the Olympics. So he enlists the help of Mannu, his best friend and Sethu Raman, badminton player turned coach.
Will Trbin be successful?
Will Sayali take his help?
Will she make it to the Olympics?
My take:
The story is different, not a romance, nor a self-help book.
This book is the story of a girl, a badminton champion on a low phase of her career, and an author. The story has so many emotions involved, insecurity, hatred, romance, drama, light-heartedness and sports. The language is simple and the story moves at a pace that was comfortable to me, sometimes, it becomes fast paced and sometimes, it slows down when the descriptions start. The descriptions are detailed that the scenes can be visualized be it the boat-rides, the badminton matches. The funny one-liners make the story more interesting.
The characters are well developed and realistic and have been described well. Tribin and Sayali are opposites and sparks fly when they meet. Their temperaments are always at war with each other, but that creates a nice read. Secondary characters, be it Mannu, Tribin’s best friend, Sethu, the satellite coach or even Sayali’s father, have important roles to play.
I loved the matches and the way they have been described. It kept me at the edge of my seat.
Highly recommended.
DISCLAIMER: I received a free copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I have not received any monetary compensation for the same.
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