Believe

by Varun Gwalani

The book is set in and around the fictional town of Levion. The protagonists are Conner White and Victoria Parks. Conner is a controversial author who finds out that his negative and pessimistic books have resulted in someone committing suicide. So he reaches Levion with the purpose of reconnecting with people and finding himself. There he encounters Victoria Parks, a girl who is fighting her own demons. Dark secrets, including ones of death and illness, are exposed all around; with several prominent characters all seemingly having their own inscrutable motives. And Conner White has to save Victoria and the town of Levion. But to do that, he has to first save himself.

298 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2013

Reviews

[maitreyee · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the time of love stories, it is so refreshing to see a book not based on love but based on religion, spirituality and philosophy.
Believe has a strong conceptual foundation. There is a plot, there is character development. The secondary characters too have a detailed back story. The writing could have been better but it doesn't affect the plot or the reading experience much. Plus it must be noted that the writer was 17 when he wrote this book so let's cut him some slack.
The thing I liked the most about Believe is that it made me think about my religious beliefs. If a book makes the reader think, then it has fulfilled its destiny. Believe definitely made me think.
I am definitely going to read Varun's second book. Meanwhile, I recommend Believe to everyone who wants to read a book about religion and society that does not get preachy or boring. Do check it out.

[Divya Kaushik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good story.... There are very few novels that you just want to read overnight. "Believe" being one of them. There are parts in the story where you can relate yourself with the characters. A really motivating one!

[Abhinav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by telling you a story. Picture a village or a really, really small town. The hero arrives from the big, bad city - perhaps to rediscover his roots, or maybe take a break & start over his life with a clean slate. Where there's a hero, there's a heroine as well, so we have the hero either falling in love or helping her out of trouble in some way or the other. Then think of the other people in the town/village, the really important & influential ones such as the mayor, the doctor, the priest, the policeman/sheriff - all of them are in on the conspiracy to keep their stranglehold on the minds of the townsfolk. The hero tries to battle all these individuals but is suppressed as an 'outsider' & warned not to meddle in their affairs or face consequences. And just when all hope seems lost, the hero (by a miraculous twist of fate) manages to save his girl, the townsfolk & himself as well almost single-handedly & walks off into the sunset.

For those familiar with Bollywood movies, that is pretty much the formulaic plot of most 'masala' fare from the 1980s.

Now name the town Levion, call our hero Conner White & the heroine Victoria Parks & continue to connect the dots, you can tell it's pretty much the same story.

Despite all this, I came quite close to giving this 4 stars at one point. Why so, and why I didn't, here goes my review.

Let me make it clear that the point I was making by pointing out those similarities was no joke. It's indeed a bitter truth that even to this day, there are indeed many places in my country where one would find instances of regressive thinking, anachronistic social customs, superstition & blind faith. The author does a decent job of depicting the trauma of the female protagonist after an unfortunate incident & the kind of treatment one usually faces at the hands of society.

I'm in two minds about the writing. I wasn't lying when I said this guy is one of the better ones given the current standards of Indian popular fiction (for those who don't know, it's on the horrible side) & I stand by it. But there are a few basic flaws (excessive use of adverbs & adjectives, for one) that need to be ironed out & hopefully that will come with time & maturity. For the author is only 18 years old at the time of writing, so he does have time on his side.

Coming to the plot, I was initially awed that someone as young as the author attempted writing an allegorical novel by creating an alternative world, but then somewhere around the halfway mark, he forgot to continue with that & it's obvious the book dips in the latter half. The author chooses the easy (and formulaic) way out of what could've been so much better had he shown a bit of courage to push through with what he begun. There are too many gaping holes & inconsistencies which almost ruin whatever goodness there was to be savoured.

So I'm going with 2.5 to 3 stars for Varun Gwalani's debut novel 'Believe'. At the end, I'm slightly disappointed with his effort but I do hope he churns out much better books in the future, for he does have talent. Recommended for readers of Indian popular fiction, who are probably willing to look beyond love stories & mediocre coming-of-age dramas.


P.S. I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway & I solemnly maintain that my review was in no way influenced by the same.

[Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws · Rating 3 out of 5]

Varun Gwalani has whipped up a fictional town and a bunch of fictional characters to show us the reflection of some of our harsh realities.

Conner White is an author with a number of depressing fictions under his belt. When a reader commits suicide after reading his book, Conner takes on a journey of self-discovery and ends up at a small town of Levion. There he meets a variety of characters but it is Victoria Parks who he gets close to. When bodies start to fall in Levion, it is up to Conner to save the day.

First of all, though the plot of the story is not extraordinary, it had great potential that was not fully realized. It turned into one of those formulaic hindi movie script with over the top ingredients that are sometimes hard to digest. The characters swoop in and save the day… I liked the way Conner is developed and somehow is ‘hero’ like persona suited him well enough. Victoria Parks is also an interesting character with her own baggage though I would have liked to see a bit more development in her case.

As for the writing style of the author, his youth shows through his writing. It needs some working but for a debut author his narrative style works well. Another thing irked me a bit – the fact that an Indian author has used international names for his character has not gone down well with me… Why use Tom, Dick & Harry when you belong amongst Ajay, Vijay & Rahul? Especially since the plot rolls out like a Bollywood movie!



http://www.b00kr3vi3ws.in/2015/02/Bel...

[Sakshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent book, i really like this

[Sheetal Dash]

Finally, a book by an indian author that seems really really interesting.Want to read it soon.

[Himanshu Inamdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believe is a fantastic debut from Varun. Having come to this book after reading his other books, it was interesting to see not just the journey of the protagonist Conner, but also the journey of the author himself.

The book has a focused plot which does not lose steam on the way to its conclusion and keeps its characters warm, alive, and engaging. While the book is primarily driven by its plot, the themes of compassion, kindness, love, and warmth that are a hallmark of Varun's work are present here too. While handling all these different themes, the book also manages to touch upon sexual violence and the impact it leaves in a chilling way that reveals the kind of emotional devastation it can leave behind.

The possibility of redemption exists for everyone, and it is through love and in love that it can be found. Perhaps, the point of Believe is to help us believe in that, whether it is for ourselves or others.

[Dakota Strauss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked Believe. The plot of the story is very different and unique, and the flow was very cinematic and surprising. While it was hard to find rhythm right at the start, it quickly changed with the events hitting the reader one after the other, and I enjoyed the pace very much. The part with the parents... It's really funny that they're like that worldwide. But moving on, the exposition and rising action was such fun to read. And the twists... as Vibs would say, "scam" O_O . I really loved that there was such a great resolution to the book, because sometimes debut authors tend to have great ideas, and they rush the ending and destroy it. I felt that the book's ending did great justice to the plot. I liked the way it was done very, very much. It may have been my favourite part. I was excited to hear about The First Storyteller though, because it seemed much more up my alley. Eager to read that.

[Somen Sen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing novel with some creative narration... storyline is nice... characters are awesome... in short I like this book... overall a good work by the author.

[Aashraya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believe is an extremely well written, concise, yet intense and emotional novel written by the very talented author, Varun Gwalani. The story is revealed piece by piece, fragment by fragment and these fragments are connected with some very beautiful emotions, which makes you feel more connected with the characters. To summarise it briefly, it's about what I would call a search or a quest for self understanding, a search for a purpose in life. A search for a chance to start over and right all wrongs. Conner White, the main character is what you would call, upon first glance (or in this case, read) a depressed character with a lot of baggage that haunts him and drives him to escape his miseries and go to the town, Levion, where through a lot of twists and turns he finally finds himself through his experiences and his writing. However as we delve deeper into the story, we see that his character has layers. He wants to make a difference, he wants to do right by helping people through his writing. He even helps another beautifully portrayed character, Victoria, fight her demons and come out stronger than before the traumas in her life occurred. She is portrayed as a submissive and downtrodden character, but as you read further, you see her opening up to Conner, and in this way blossoming and flying like the free bird she always wanted to be. She almost emerges as the strongest character in the end, because she finds a way to get out of the metaphorical, scary prison of fear she's living in and proves to be an inspiration to women everywhere. Believe is not merely a story. It is a bundle of emotions and values personified. It is written with such honesty, that you're automatically drawn in, to the extent that you start empathizing with the characters, you start living their lives with them, you start rooting for their success. You breathe with them. You laugh and cry with them. And this according to me, is the mark of a wonderfully written book - it doesn't preach, it doesn't tell you what is right or wrong. It merely speaks.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Believe, and I would recommend it to everyone. It has a way of liberating one's soul along with the characters' souls. I found myself in it's pages, and i hope that my review encourages others to read it and find themselves in the process too. Happy reading!

[Jeni Ranita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was up until 2 am reading Believe to escape from my troubles, and it was a fantastic journey. Found it to be a very different and unusual book, and it was full of unexpected turns and great characters. This book in particular was unusual to me because of how it was run by the emotions of the characters more than the setting they were situated in. This makes it very different from other books I've read from a lot of Indian authors.

I imagine the symbol in the front is an illustration of the Natis eye; it was really clever. Speaking of, the whole culture that was created- whoa. It was well described, especially given that this is a standalone book; not a part of the series. I admired how these details were quietly passed on to the reader. The whole flow is very similar to a movie's and that made it fun to read. You could almost hear the background music whenever a scene was going on or transitioning.

There was a good balance in the storytelling (see what I did there? it wasn't much of a thing, but I'm still slightly amused by it) of both the MCs. I love female main characters, I love male main characters, but they were actually written as fair equals, each with their own troubles. Each resolved in their own way towards the end. However, I would have loved to read more about them. I related to the characters, I loved them, I felt their emotions. But I wanted more! It was like meeting an enchanting stranger on a train ride and never seeing them again after that.

Anyway, the conclusion of the book was pretty awesome. I mean, sure, I'd have loved the additional expressions, the conversations between the MCs, but the silent understanding was special. I enjoyed that very much.

It was a goodread ;)

[Finitha Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember a story that I heard in my childhood: "a kind hearted man was taking his usual morning walk. Out on the streets he finds a boy starving to death, neglected by the passers by. The man takes the boy home, feeds and clothes him and when the sign of a faint smile appears on his face, the man turns to God and asks, 'why can't you do anything to alleviate the suffering of men?'. God replied,'I have done what I can. I created you'.
The story mirrors the answer which I got from my father when I asked, 'If God is all powerful, why didn't he prevent World War II (or more personally I wanted to ask how can he let my money purse being stolen)?' Papa has his usual reply ready, 'no need to blame God for what man has done'. Hmmph, a lot to digest.
Varun's fictional narrative validates the theory; we need to do what we can to save our pathetic lives, help will come for those who seek. Conner White and Victoria proves so.
Though I was feeling some similarities with some other stories, reading proved quite fruitful in spite of the predictable narrative pattern. Fast paced, it will glue you to the spot for one day (or till you finishes it off). One thought troubles me though, concerning the characterisation of Victoria. Why is she a rape attempt victim, rather than a rape victim? Are our authors (or readers) still reluctant to accept a non-virgin as a heroine even though speeches abound stressing the fact that purity lies in the mind, not in the body???
To know the summary of the book, please visit http://finithajose.blogspot.in/2014/0...

[Vinay Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review @ A Bookworm's Musing: http://wp.me/p2J8yh-2S1

Varun Gwalani’s “Believe” is a debut from a young Indian author that is, thankfully, not a romance fiction. It brings with it a fictional town with interesting characters. Conner White is an author who goes to the town of Levion, but finds that he can’t find his peace over there. Instead he finds himself trying to save himself, Victoria and the town from the people who control it. The book is different, and the character of Conner, slowly and steadily developed, holds promise and makes the book intriguing, but the issues it deals with seem more local and that makes it seem like the characters are out of place. It makes it seem like the plot is not as rounded as it could have been. Nothing too good, nothing too shabby, Believe is a decent first novel from a young author.

[Sidharth · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young Indian author, not writing a social-media driven love story; rather writing about ambitious topics of self-discovery, rape, crime, conspiracy. An ambitions attempt with distracting writing and unconvincing plot and narrative. Mostly fails because of lack of consistency and substance. Though the narrative style and different themes might just work for you.

The Goods:
- Cinematic Narrative Style
- Refreshing Theme.

The Bads:
- Corny, Lack of Substance and Filmy
- Distracting Writing Style
- Unconvincing Plot & Motivations

Read the full review