Book Review | The 'Y' Boyfriend by Atul Kumar

Rating: 4/5

Literature is very vast. I’ve explored a very small portion of it, with what I read and everything I come across. And within those I’ve found some amazing gems. The kind of books that add a lot of value and knowledge to life, make you aware of history, the whole thing. However, as much as I like those books, they’re the ones that keep me on my toes. But then there are the kind of books that ignite that sense of happiness in me, the kind of books I curl up comfortably with a hot chocolate are the cute, mushy romance fiction books. They say these books aren’t eternal. But that’s not what these books are for. They don’t want to make the characters or the particular story to stick to people’s mind. They want that feeling that envelopes the reader to stay till they come across another romance like that. They make that feeling eternal.

Rahul, our protagonist, is someone who has went through a divorce, a tough phase of his life. But life doesn’t end with the one who left. It starts with the one who comes next. He finds someone, who, like him, has had her trust betrayed and her feelings downplayed the same way. The two dare to love again and its not that easy this time around either. The only question: is the effort worth it?

I like this book for the road it took. In a society where divorce, separation, wedlock, these things are still looked down and the people blamed for something that just didn’t spark, it’s a thing of beauty, and necessity, for a story like this to come forward. I’m glad it showed a vulnerable man accepting his vulnerability in a world of toxic masculinity, and of a woman taking charge of a relationship and the two being partners.

I will not deny the stereotypes in this book. There are plenty. But when there is so much more overpowering that, it feels natural. Like it isn’t a gender role, but more of a personal characteristic. Kudos to the writing style for that. Further on the style, it is a really cute flow of words. It is a simple way but it drips of romance and I loved that.

The book has some really mesmerising doodles and illustrations and they go so well with the plot and at where the story is at the point. The illustrator, Nidhi as mentioned in the acknowledgement, has done as amazing job and captured the essence of the story.

The one thing that really bothered me about the book was the lack of attention while either writing or editing. There are some very minor disconnectors, such as some simple basic plot points. And that really broke the flow of the story for me. As someone who is very attentive to details, that bothered me a lot. I think a simple proofreading can rectify this.

That is the one reason I think this book is a 3.5, rounding it off to 4 just because I loved Bhabhi’s character too much to not give her any credit.

It’s a great romance read and being a second chance at love thing, it is still a very fresh take on it. It busts myths over gender discrimination, casteism, long distance relationships, matrimonial sites and so much more. I definitely recommend this.

Reviewed by Muskan Rajani