The Tales Pensieve

A simple love story written in an extraordinary manner, Advantage Love addresses the age old issue of love albeit from a different perspective. Madhuri Banerjee’s novel explores the arena of love, life and career through the eyes of the protagonist Trisha Mathur. In a strange way the novel seems to be a search for love – true love as one would call it! Will Trisha really find it or will she give it all up as an impossible dream?

It had all started in college. She had met the debonair, young budding political leader Vedant Kirloskar in a debate competition. As they discovered a kinship in their likes and dislikes, Trisha had fallen head over heels in love with Vedant who swept her off her feet with his roguish charm and flowery poetry.  But very soon they had found some grave differences in their social status which Trisha, even with her romantic mindset, could not overlook. When these differences surfed, , they were pulled apart and Trisha had found herself leaving Lucknow for Delhi where she had secured a wonderful job offer with the UNICEF. Henceforward she concentrates only on her career and keeps away from men and love. Her friend Juhi tries hard to bring her out of her self imposed loneliness. Things change drastically when she happens to meet Abhimanyu, the suave and handsome famous tennis star at a metro station. He once again initiates her to love and laughter, and Trisha seems to come out of her shell to rejoice again. But, as fate would have it Vedanta comes back to her life bringing back lovely memories o f their passionate interlude.

Trisha is left at the crossroads…should she revive her past or welcome the new?

There is something breezy and unconventional in which the writer sketches her novel – touching upon the nuances of a woman’s heart who is constantly looking for commitment and stability yet letting herself go; on many occasions succumbing to primal emotions.

As T.S Eliot has explored in ‘The Cocktail Party “Modern men and women are confused… they are constantly looking for meaningful relationships yet indulging in amorous encounters.“

Trisha’s search for true love reminds us of this duality in modern minds. She cannot resist the rakish charms of Vedanta when she meets him again even though she is totally involved with Abhimanyu. Except for occasional glimpses of reality like the appearance of Leander Paes, the tennis star or the world of politics, the novel is totally in the Mills and Boon genre of romance.

The writer summarizes the novel when she says ‘Love….. also the best feeling in the world, one that you need to experience at least twice in your lifetime.’

All in all, Advantage Love is a good read. A brave, powerful story about relationships laced with steamy encounters and brilliant dialogues.

Title: Advantage Love
Author: Madhuri Banerjee
Publisher/ Imprint:
Pages: 191
Genre/ Sub-Genre: Fiction/ Romance
Rating: 3.00 of 5
Reviewed for: Publisher

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