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Monday, June 09, 2014

Book Review : ‘No Time For Goodbyes' by Andaleeb Wajid



Sixteen years old and bored, on a summer holiday in 2012 seemed to be the crux of Tamanna’s life when she goes up to the attic for a little time alone from her mother and sister. As Harry Potter’s magic takes over, she discovers a diary and an old polaroid photograph, in which she spots her own mother, and a couple of aunts, along with a strange boy in the background. All of them are in their teens at the time the photograph is taken.

She stares at the photograph, before being magically transported to her grandmother’s house. She discovers that it is 1982, and her teenage mother and aunts do not know her. Neither does her grandmother.

Her mother and her aunts also have summer holidays and are waiting for the mysterious boy, from the picture. They think that Tamanna is a pen pal from Australia of the boy’s, whose name is Manoj. But Tamanna is forced to stay with the girls, because Manoj lives with his grandfather. Her aunts, all have a crush on Manoj, she finds that her mother’s crush is the strongest, though it is not reciprocated. 

Tamanna is shocked when she finds out that Manoj knows that she is not his friend, but is nice to her, because he knows all about the magical properties of the time travel polaroid. He takes her to his grandfather and together they tell him of how she came to be here. Eccentric and brilliant is the grandfather who wants to find a way to send her back.

Tamanna soon discovers that Bangalore is prettier in 1982. It is smoke free, vehicles are lesser and the buses and movies are so much cheaper. She soon falls for Manoj, who is in college. The two of them spend a lot of time together, but they both know that she will have to go back. 

What would happen when Tamanna goes back to the present? Where is Manoj today? Why was he never mentioned? Would their love story survive the time travel? This they discover through the time, which she spends here and there. How it happens is something, you have to discover… 

I was pleased to hear that Andaleeb Wajid has a full trilogy planned. She wrote a simple love story, with a dash of romance, mystery and drama. 'No Time For Goodbyes' has simple and plain grammar, and absolutely no errors, as far as I could see.

Its description of Bangalore is wonderful and for me it is a nostalgic piece, probably because I studied there, and lived close to the surroundings. I finished this book in a day, probably because I have something in common with the book. But, it was a fast moving piece of work, which has created enough mystery, which I want to discover.

Author: Andaleeb Wajid
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 9789382951568
Price: INR 250


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