Requiem: Will the Dead Come Back for Love?

by Rakesh Ranjan

Requiem is about love although it doesn't look so until the latter half of the novel. It's the story of the unfulfilled love of the narrator. It's about Death, Love and Life. There are mistakes that a person makes but love often persists. And when it becomes so integral to your existence, you always tend to go back to it. It may haunt you in a sense but is often the sweetest memory that you carry. Requiem introduces Death as the beginning of a life beyond Life. Despite the vagaries it is associated with, Death can be a fascinating aspect of Life. It then moves to Love and describes how the two persons met and fell in love. And before love surmounts everything, one often loses to lust. Requiem details that journey of love. Requiem portrays Death and Love as the two continuous pursuits of man. While one fears the former, they always want the latter. Requiem shows how imagination can be a twisted reality. It shows the conflicts inside a human mind. The novel is written in a simple language and is an attempt to connect with the masses.

150 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2012

About the author

Rakesh Ranjan describes himself as a passionate writer and crazy investor. He is an MBA from Management Development Institute, India and Edhec Business School, France. He also works in a technology consulting firm. He has stayed in different parts of India and travelled to places in Asia and Europe. He loves travelling and experiencing diverse cultures. His experiences have been a huge help in his writing. He is a keen observer of human behaviour. His interests are varied and he tries to find meanings in ordinary things. His first novel, Requiem: Will the Dead Come Back for Love? is available in print and as an eBook on major stores.

Reviews

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful novel. I can easily relate to it, I think everyone can. The basic themes in this book are love, life, death,... Just the themes of life itself. So simple, but truly beautiful.
Although it was written good, it was a bit annoying that the writer didn't use abbreviations. I haven't seen that yet in books and it takes some getting used to.
This isn't a long book and it reads pretty quick, to me at least. I do recommend it to others that love this genre.

Short review, but I don't have much to say about it. :)

[Akshaydeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not often do you come across a literary work which relates so closely to you. Requiem - Will the Dead come back for Love, is one such work. It makes you take a time out from your busy life and think about the very basic elements which make our lives happy. It has been subtle to ask, how one actually wants to live his life like? Have your choices been actually yours or is it dictated by external factors? Have you been truthful to yourself, to the people you care about and what could happen if you take relationships for granted. The novel conveys a basic message, never to compromise what you love the most. This we all know at the back of our minds and hearts but have compromised it for momentary whims and fancies. Like the way story moves on and the elemental questions which author asks himself every now and then. It portrays how the present society and the people treat relationships like and how a certain character being good at heart but weak at controlling his desire for women fall into various traps to lose his beloved. Lessons to be learnt and path to choose, the story has been successful in bringing out the comparison between the rights and the wrongs and the consequences it can have on not only the individual but people around him. A must read, for this is written in our times about our times.

[Rich Klinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to REQUIEM expecting--because of the title--to find a mostly morbid story of traditional burial in India.

I was treated to a soul's story of love and loss, life and death, wealth and poverty.

And, a bit of an insight into the mind of a young Indian man.

I met this young author of a long train ride across Europe and we spoke of family and education and jobs and food and traditions.

It was as if that train ride was a prelude to my reading REQUIEM.

Except the sound of the train wheels couldn't possible mute the roaring stories of romance and love to come in the book.

[Deepak Jangid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many other love stories, this one also has a lot of romance, betrayal, compromise, tragedy and memories but what sets it apart and makes it truly awesome is the way Rakesh has introduced them into the story and then connect them with life and death. The most interesting and touching part which should lead to introspection is when the dead is portrayed as so benign, self-less and giving. I highly recommend reading this book to people of all age groups (above 18) as the message in it can answer many of your questions and induce a positive change in you. Being an interesting short story which many of us can relate to, it could be easily finished in a day.

[Somak Dutta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very rarely does one come across a book like this which transcends genres and is about life---the three themes of Death, Love and Life are sure to resonate with everyone. While very entertaining and fast paced, it also raises important points about life,love and choices that a person has. I would recommend everyone to buy this book. At Rs. 95 only it's very affordable and worth purchasing. Even if one gets nothing out of it---at least one is sure to have a good time while reading it

[Jo Notary]

104p Requiem is about love although it doesn 19t look so until the latter half of the novel. It is the story of the unfulfilled love of the narrator. It is about Death, Love and Life. There are mistakes that a person makes but love often persists. And when it becomes so integral to your existence, you always tend to go back to it. It may haunt you in a sense but is often the sweetest memory that you carry. Requiem introduces Death as the beginning of a life beyond Life. Despite the vagaries it is associated with, Death can be a fascinating aspect of Life. It then moves to Love and describes how the two persons met and fell in love. And before love surmounts everything, one often loses to lust. Requiem details that journey of love. And when love had made things even, the tragedy of Death strikes. Requiem portrays Death and Love as the two continuous pursuits of man. While one fears the former, they always want the latter. Requiem shows how imagination can be a twisted reality. It shows the conflicts inside a human mind. The novel is written in a simple language and is an attempt to connect with the masses.

[Brandy Nacole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Requiem is a great story about life, love, and how paths we choose in our life can affect those we love most in our life. Author Rakesh Ranjan does a fantastic job in portraying one's decisions in life, decisions that can be influenced by others, and how those decisions may not be what we desire.

Requiem is a fast paced, fantastic read, that leaves you sitting back to look at your life. It is easy to forget those we love, the consequences of our actions, and the end result. As a society these things are in the back of our mind, but Requiem brings them to the forefront. I, myself, after reading this book took the time to dwell on my own life and actions.

Ranjan does a wonderful job with portraying his main characters thoughts and memories.

Requiem: Will the Dead Come Back for Love is a wonderful short story that I highly recommend everyone to read. Can easily be read in one sitting but bring to light so many issues that could change your life forever.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

:)i loved it awesome plot

[Sandeep Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about the author, Rakesh Ranjan is that he knows how to play with words. Requiem is not just another love story, its a kind of a unique journey created by the author. In every sentence of the book, there’s a kind of simplicity and yet a great impact too. He tries to take you to a journey which keeps everyone on toes; the journey after life.
The author has separated the story in three segments namely Death, Love and Life. Personally I liked third part the most. Love part looked too much exaggerated. First part of the book starts pretty well but losses it’s grip over the mind of readers at the end. But the third part is pretty cool and it gives you a great sensation once you are done with the book.
The only thing which lacks in it is the presentation part. The story is nice but the presentation is poor. And another thing is that, many times author flows with his own creation so far that the reader forgets the main story and kept on flowing with the words.
Rakesh is having great potential, he is great when comes to playing with the words. He fills the life in non living but he should work on the presentation part too. I’ll recommend the book to all those who loves to read something different from the main stream writing.

FULL REVIEW AT 'THE AUTHOR'S BLOG'...

[Tanya · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all I would like to thank Goodreads and you, sir, for having sent me this book for free.
Now, the story is good and all but sir, I must say you really should practice writing a bit.
Be straightforward, don't dwell on the same things. And don't write the whole story in such big paragraphs; not easy on the eyes you know. No one really likes reading endless text. Give a little more breaks. Make the scenes seem more real. You have to entrance the readers, have them weave with the character.
There is always room for improvement, so please don't be disheartened. I know how it feels to get a bad review but aren't they the ones that truly help us? I wish you all the best sir.