An Unusual Honeymoon by Mamta Kashyap: Book Review

Being a woman, I could instantly relate to the content, the protagonist and also the premise. It is never easy for a woman to settle instantly after a broken marriage or a marriage that couldn’t be for certain reasons. Mahashweta, on the other hand, is a woman stuffed with ambition and courage (she pretends more than she has). She hits the road, leaving break-up with Akshay behind, and decides to complete her dream to own The Cowboy Inn. And therefore, she decides to go on an unusual honeymoon, alone. And there, the novel begins.

An Unusual Honeymoon by Mamta Kashyap is one of such novels that you complete almost instantly. It has nothing to hide and everything stays in front of the readers to interpret, align and decide. Who was right? You might ask at the end of everything and you will find that most of the characters were right at their places, in their stances and with their actions. So, this romantic comedy is a jolly Shakespearean comedy with romance in the air.

In the centre of the events, something that you should know, is marriage. In the beginning, it begins with an idea that Akshay and Mahashweta should get married because their family members wish the same and they have been seeing each other for too long now and it should be a natural conclusion to their relationship. However, Akshay gets out of it with Mahashweta’s best friend stating that he never thought to be in love with Mahashweta. Though it strikers our ambitious heroine, she thinks it as ‘the most romantic act’ Akshay ever could do. The second marriage is mostly a marriage of circumstances. Mahashweta puts forth her plan to own the inn (or at least manage it) in front of Rahul, the manager and owner of The Cowboy Inn in Sikkim. However, he puts his condition that Mahashweta must marry him, after two days, if she wants to own the inn. Stranger? Unusual? Instant? Surprise? Yes, this is the novel…

I would recommend this novel for the weekend because we need something to refresh ourselves and a good piece of literature with a happy ending (yes, the novel will conclude in a way that you will like) will just do the job. An Unusual Honeymoon goes beyond the definition of a romantic novel or just a comedy. It is an assertion of identity. It is about a woman who thinks she can achieve something on her own and she does prove it in the course of the novel. Also, the craft of the novel makes it an instant connect. The language is very modern, simple, very close to our usual linguistic practices today and that’s why a reader may feel as if he or she has become a part of the novel, observing everything from the ringside.

Recommended? Yes, very much! Though you may not like a thing or two about the novel, it is an ideal recommendation for anyone who loves reading contemporary literature by contemporary novelists. It is not the perfection or imperfection that makes a novel readable or otherwise, it’s the exchange of thoughts and Mamta has been very successful in creating a character in the form of Mahashweta who does that job for the novelist. You will be instantly in close communication with the protagonist. Enjoy what she does. Cherish the twists. Celebrate the accidents! You can get a copy of this novel from Amazon India by clicking the link below:

Buy the novel now: Click here to buy from Amazon India

Review by Abha G for Desi Readers