Book Review: Vivek and I

Author: Mayur Patel

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Pages: 377

Price: 299

Publishers: Penguin Books India

ISBN Number: 9780143067924

(Published by Review Team)

About the book:

The book Vivek and I, is love story. It is all good and portrays love like many other novels of the day. And yet once you start reading the book you will realize that the book is all about male bonding. The love that men share and build their lives on is the focal point of the novel. Oh yes, Vivek and I is a gay love story. 






The book by Mayur Patel is an intriguing read and certainly talks about love in a way that very few Indian authors have. One of the apt things to do would be to start off with the paragraph, 

‘Vivek was all I wanted. I was ready to do anything for him. He reminded me of Krishna, the love that I had lost and yet he was so different—young, innocent, totally oblivious to the ills of the world, unmindful of my deep desire to possess him, make him my own. It was all consuming, this need, this craving . . . ’

Yes, the story is undoubtedly a steamy romance between two men. Author Mayur Patel has indeed taken a chance with the book. 

Before getting into the book it is important that we think about the topic that the book touches. In a society where love stories between men and women are often frowned upon, the author makes a huge gamble. The topic gay love is indeed a taboo and is hardly something that everyone would feel comfortable about. It deserves a chance at representation the same way as any other straight love story. The author makes a gamble and what remains to be seen is how people take it. 

Coming back to the plot of the story, Vivek and I, is an intriguing love story set in the backdrop of a small town of Valai. The main protagonists of the story are Kaushik and Vivek whose exploration at male bonding forms the main them of the story. Considering the sensitive topic it undertakes the author does a good of expressing the emotional intricacies of the two men. The small town where it is situated forms a complimentary feature of the whole story and plays its part in shaping it.  The story is written from Kaushik’s point of view and is frankly quite enlightening. 

The main idea of the story is male bonding. It is presented in such a way that it is never sleazy but is actually a portrayal of love at its finest. The book is published by ‘penguin books’ which is a clear indication that it is a justly written book. In spite of its major twists and turns, the truth remains that the book is highly intelligent. It dwells on the feeling of love rather than same sex love. And it just works out fine for the book. Love as it is represented in the book wins at the end of the day. What drew my attention was the intensity with which the story was carved out. At times we forget that the entities of both the genders are equivalently present in each of us, and it is the social and natural bindings that make us adhere to one creed in our life time. The feelings of the protagonist at places made me realize with the innate sentiments of a woman. Like Maurice and The Impressionist- the present book marks a new wave into the pink sections of our libraries.

about the author:

 

Mayur Patel has a diploma in Civil Engineering and is working in the filed of Interior Designing at present. He lives in Valsad, a small town in south Gujarat, with his family. Writing and reading is a passion for him and besides that he loves singing, dancing, watching movies and travelling.  

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