Author: Ahmed Faiyaz
Publisher: Sanbun Publishers
Price: 150/-

Love Life & All That Jazz (LLATJ) is another book by the new age Indian writers, and to join this club this time is Ahmed Faiyaz. LLATJ is a book which focuses on life of a group of friends and their transition from college kids to professional. Based in the landscape of Mumbai, Ahmed has picked up a tale which a lot of people would relate to of their college days, their close group of friends. It’s a story of strong friendships surviving and flourishing despite the turmoil in life.

The book starts the set-up with Tanveer, Sameer, Vicky, Tania, Naina and Tanaz as characters set up in the crossover from college to professional life. Ahmed has distinctively chosen all characters from a different religious, economical, social and professional backgrounds which actually makes the story of all six different and yet closely intertwined.

The book moves around as these characters progress in life as they move on in life to pursue their professional goals and in search for love, their personal equations with each other and their group dynamic goes for a toss. The plot is bound together on the solid foundation of trust and friendship between Sameer, Tanveer and Vicky.

The book is an easy and fast paced read, the story moves at speed where the reader remains interested as the plot keeps shifting between the lives of all the characters. Though Ahmed has not emphasized on the backdrops and landscapes much but one thing which he has managed surely well is despite his story is written as Tanveer being the central character, he has managed to maintain equal focus and interest in the other characters. The reader is engaged with all the characters and associates with the group of friends instead of a single character, which I believe is the winning point of this book.

Over all this is a simple breezy bollywood style story which ends on a positive note of happy ending or all is well. Characters find their calling in life, both professional and personal, ensures that reader leaves the book on a good and a happy note. This is a first book by Ahmed and seems promising compared to a lot of other new age Indian writers coming off the block. The book doesn’t try and accomplish some great literary feat but leaves you with a gooey warm feeling leaving you remembering your old friends and groups, might even tempt you to make a call to an old friend and relive those old days.

Summary- A nice breezy read which one can finish quickly, while enjoying the portrayal of the fabric of friendship and relationships in the modern Indian context.

Rating- 3.25 / 5