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The long road
This is the story of young doctors as they pursue post graduation in medical college and then make their way into the real world. In the tumult of everyday life, personal aspirations and professional goals get mired. Rahul and Sarika are in love right from their bachelor degree days but they keep fighting till a potentially fatal accident decides it for them. Hina, an impoverished woman from the by lanes of Bhiwandi, finds the lifestyle of her co-students more difficult to adjust to than the academic challenges. Ranjiv, a rich kid turned rebel who would travel his own path rather than the one laid by his famous doctor dad. Sagarika, who finds her American dream shattered unexpectedly. “The Long Road” explores the vulnerabilities of growing up of young doctors and the rigours of their studies. This tale handles with sensitivity the challenges of young doctors in the profession to the demands of a new India where old paradigms are fast crumbling. It also talks about the interpersonal relationships of Doctors and hospital romance. The pressures of medical profession and its impact on the personal life of Doctors are explored in the later part of the novel.
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 24, 2010
3 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Vivek Banerjee
10 books17 followersA pediatrician by profession, Vivek Banerjee is an author by accident.He lives in Saharanpur with his parents, obstetrician wife and two children. The pressures of his profession leave him with little leisure but he still finds time for his varied interests. An avid traveller, he has covered the length and breadth of the country in real life and the rest of the world in his imagination. A voracious reader, music lover, self-confessed geek and an amateur ornithologist, he would rather walk the road less travelled, given the time and opportunity. A Bengali by birth, he has grown up in various towns of North India and studied in many different schools and colleges. He started writing on Rediff blogs where he is known as Ben and went on to write his debut novel THE LONG ROAD.
He has also been published by Westland in 'Chicken Soup for Indian Doctors Soul', Grapevine India in 'Shades of Love' and APK Publishers in 'Shades of Black'.
He won an all India short story competition for his story 'The hunter'which was published in 'Kaleidoscope' by Parlance publishers.
An anthology of stories about the paranormal, 'The Other Side', co-authored with Faraaz Kazi is a recent offering.
He is also a part of 'Carnival' by Litizen.com
He has also been published by Westland in 'Chicken Soup for Indian Doctors Soul', Grapevine India in 'Shades of Love' and APK Publishers in 'Shades of Black'.
He won an all India short story competition for his story 'The hunter'which was published in 'Kaleidoscope' by Parlance publishers.
An anthology of stories about the paranormal, 'The Other Side', co-authored with Faraaz Kazi is a recent offering.
He is also a part of 'Carnival' by Litizen.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 17, 2015
It is the story of the young doctors as they pursue PG in medical college and then make their way into the real world. Rahul and Sarika are in love right from the UG days but they keep fighting till a potentially fatal accident decides it for them. Hina, a young women from the by-lanes of Bhiwandi, find the lifestyle of her co-students more difficult to adjust to than the academic challenges. Ranjiv, a rich kid turned rebel who would travel his own path rather than the one laid by his famous doctor dad. Sagarika, who finds her American dream shattered unexpectedly.
I was skeptical to pick up this one, mainly because the theme of Medical romance has been exploited numerous times in the past specially on Indian TV with shows like Sanjivani on Star plus and Dill Mill Gayye on Star one. Most of these shows start as medical dramas but ultimately side track into full blown romances. 'The Long road', however, creates an optimum balance between the challenges of the medical profession and interpersonal relationships of doctors and hospitals.
Not as funny as Anirban Basu's Bombay Rains, Bombay girls nor as emotionally compelling as Erich Segal's Doctors, its a done-and-dusted kind of book which won't stay in your head too long once you are done reading it. But it has inherent sincerity attached towards it, the dialogues are relatable and effectively brings about the pressures of the medical profession. Relying more on content than treatment, the book moves at a brisk pace shuffling between the vulnerabilities and complications of professional and personal lives of its characters. The charm of the narrative lies in its simplicity and your ability to feel empathic with the four main characters here.
However, the 5th character of Sagarika is poorly developed and could have been completely edited out as it makes an iota of a difference to the main story. She disappears miraculously after her initial introduction scene at the start of the PG degree and appears only on the last day of the college. The twist in her 'American life' is not only cliché but so predictable, you can guess it as early as the first scene after her marriage to a NRI husband.
Paradoxically, the strength of the book is also its drawback. It is so simple in its narrative that the inherent drama is almost absent. The conflicts between the characters are resolved too quickly and too easily making you wonder what was the fuss all about in the first place. The only saving grace is tight editing and avoiding self indulgences which have become so common with debut authors. On the other hand, it suffers the same too-much-info-in-chapter-title as Chitralekha Paul's Delayed Monsoon, it just gives away all the suspense.
I am going with 2.5/5 for Vivek Banerjee's first book, 'The long road'. It's fun in parts and at 176 pages, it is a easy, breezy read. If you are fan of simple storytelling and not looking for too much investment in a book, this one is just right for you. But I tell you honestly, Dr. Banerjee can do much better than this!
I was skeptical to pick up this one, mainly because the theme of Medical romance has been exploited numerous times in the past specially on Indian TV with shows like Sanjivani on Star plus and Dill Mill Gayye on Star one. Most of these shows start as medical dramas but ultimately side track into full blown romances. 'The Long road', however, creates an optimum balance between the challenges of the medical profession and interpersonal relationships of doctors and hospitals.
Not as funny as Anirban Basu's Bombay Rains, Bombay girls nor as emotionally compelling as Erich Segal's Doctors, its a done-and-dusted kind of book which won't stay in your head too long once you are done reading it. But it has inherent sincerity attached towards it, the dialogues are relatable and effectively brings about the pressures of the medical profession. Relying more on content than treatment, the book moves at a brisk pace shuffling between the vulnerabilities and complications of professional and personal lives of its characters. The charm of the narrative lies in its simplicity and your ability to feel empathic with the four main characters here.
However, the 5th character of Sagarika is poorly developed and could have been completely edited out as it makes an iota of a difference to the main story. She disappears miraculously after her initial introduction scene at the start of the PG degree and appears only on the last day of the college. The twist in her 'American life' is not only cliché but so predictable, you can guess it as early as the first scene after her marriage to a NRI husband.
Paradoxically, the strength of the book is also its drawback. It is so simple in its narrative that the inherent drama is almost absent. The conflicts between the characters are resolved too quickly and too easily making you wonder what was the fuss all about in the first place. The only saving grace is tight editing and avoiding self indulgences which have become so common with debut authors. On the other hand, it suffers the same too-much-info-in-chapter-title as Chitralekha Paul's Delayed Monsoon, it just gives away all the suspense.
I am going with 2.5/5 for Vivek Banerjee's first book, 'The long road'. It's fun in parts and at 176 pages, it is a easy, breezy read. If you are fan of simple storytelling and not looking for too much investment in a book, this one is just right for you. But I tell you honestly, Dr. Banerjee can do much better than this!
September 20, 2016
the long road is a simple and gripping novel written by a doctor. it reflects the life of post graduate students. its very realistic and it leaves you a lasting image in your heart.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews