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Hooked, Lined & Single
If you are a woman in your 30s, and are yet unmarried or deserted or divorced, living in India will make you belong to a category which finds extremely hard to find the right man to just be with. Such women will be labelled as cynical, and acquire disastrously special statuses such as unreasonable or demanding or chronically single or bossy! In this title, one such woman is pleading with God, asking the same question that might be resonating inside the minds of the rest of her kind – “where have I gone wrong?” Alafia Singh is on a similar journey, as she has set out to find a life partner for herself, but by following traditional methods. Will she be successful in her attempts?
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 17, 2017
Alafia Singh, our protagonist, is in her 30s now and wherever she looks, she finds people getting married and settling down. Her life seems to have become stagnant and at a point where she starts to wonder if there is something wrong with her. So, she sets about actively looking for a match for herself through any and all sources available to her. ‘Hooked, Lined & Single’ narrates Alafia’s story as she meets prospective grooms and her experience of this part of her journey.
Alafia is a strong and likeable character. Her individuality shines through the novel. A lot of people will be able to relate to her directly too. It was kind of fun to have her as our protagonist, because feels like one of us common people who make the masses yet is never under the spotlight. I have a bone to pick about her character though. I was never completely sure about her motivations behind wanting to find a groom, marry and settle down. Was it because she had reached a stage where she truly wanted that for herself? Or was it more because of the pressure she felt as she saw people around her doing the same? At time it felt like she was ready for it and that is something she wanted for herself, but then again at times it felt like it was because everyone around her was settling down that she needed to do the same. It might be because of this, that I found the conclusion to the story to be perfect.
There were a host of other characters that made an appearance in the book. Each had their unique quirks that added to the story. But they all played the ground levelly and no one else particularly stood out. The plotline is simple enough and the author has done an impeccable job of keeping her narration witty and engaging. When I picked up this book, all I was expecting was a ‘masala’ type of novel that would make for a light read of couple of hours. The novel delivered on that account and offers bit more. There are lots of laugh out moments, moments that will make you contemplate life and moments that will warm your heart. My only gripe with the story is its pace in the middle. It felt like we were not making any progress at all and it became a bit droning for a while.
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December 23, 2015 It is a very interesting story about Alafia Singh, a 31 year old divorcee writer. She was married at the early age of 21, and the marriage lasted 11 months. Since then, she has tried long and hard to find a groom through a matrimonial website. But she finds it hard to connect with all the men she meets. Either they are too rich, or too boring or too one-dimensional or too intimidated by her or… The list goes on. IT comes to a point where her 24-year old sister is getting married and Alafia still remains unmarried. The many men that came in her life through this means only add to misery to her all ready troubled life. She was used by those men either sexually or emotionally thus to hurt her from the core. After her younger sister's marriage she decided to take a firm decision on her marital status. The story revolves around the path she took to find a right destination for her. She ends up asking herself why she needs a man in her life and the eventually makes peace with herself.
All Indians unite over two things: food and marriages. While this book doesn’t delve in the former, it talks largely about the latter. This book talks about the difficulty of the arranged marriage system, and more largely, the pressure that is put on girls to find a boy and “settle down”.
The book is engaging and is filled with humor. There are fun characters sprinkled all around the book that seem quite life-like. There is always a certain person from real-life you imagine filling up this role. The characters are also fleshed out well, not too meaty to bore yet not too insubstantial to dismissive. Each character has a certain purpose and there would definitely be a void without. The instances with Tara, the spiritual healer and Myra, her best friend are interesting. The book flows simply and the writing seems to come naturally to the author.The climax was quite interesting with twists and turns to unfold the same you need to read this book.
Now my Positive viewpoints:
The positives of the story are the primitiveness in the narration impressed me. The character of open minded independent girl came out superbly with the narrative. The marriage scene of Alafia's sister presents the true image of Indian marriages. All men characters were different from each other giving a humor to the narrative in anecdotes about them. and the book flows beautifully, like a serene river. I loved it, and I am sure that the target audience will love this book too.
Some suggestive points:
Overall the author had wonderfully narrated the story. Though at some places story was stagnant and moved an inch only in the end to give a one line message of the book. I feel the narrative was coming back to the same point after each change of scene without adding much to the story line. The author seems confused in building the plot. The way it ended lives the reader cheated. Even philosophically it has not much to offer.
Final words:
Overall if asked I would say this is a light and simple book, perfect accompaniment to your evening coffee. And a special mention to the cover that has simple, mellow colors and doesn’t look overtly jazzy and cliched.... Overall if asked I would say...this is a good job done by Author (Rashmi Kumar) … I would give 3 stars to this book.
All Indians unite over two things: food and marriages. While this book doesn’t delve in the former, it talks largely about the latter. This book talks about the difficulty of the arranged marriage system, and more largely, the pressure that is put on girls to find a boy and “settle down”.
The book is engaging and is filled with humor. There are fun characters sprinkled all around the book that seem quite life-like. There is always a certain person from real-life you imagine filling up this role. The characters are also fleshed out well, not too meaty to bore yet not too insubstantial to dismissive. Each character has a certain purpose and there would definitely be a void without. The instances with Tara, the spiritual healer and Myra, her best friend are interesting. The book flows simply and the writing seems to come naturally to the author.The climax was quite interesting with twists and turns to unfold the same you need to read this book.
Now my Positive viewpoints:
The positives of the story are the primitiveness in the narration impressed me. The character of open minded independent girl came out superbly with the narrative. The marriage scene of Alafia's sister presents the true image of Indian marriages. All men characters were different from each other giving a humor to the narrative in anecdotes about them. and the book flows beautifully, like a serene river. I loved it, and I am sure that the target audience will love this book too.
Some suggestive points:
Overall the author had wonderfully narrated the story. Though at some places story was stagnant and moved an inch only in the end to give a one line message of the book. I feel the narrative was coming back to the same point after each change of scene without adding much to the story line. The author seems confused in building the plot. The way it ended lives the reader cheated. Even philosophically it has not much to offer.
Final words:
Overall if asked I would say this is a light and simple book, perfect accompaniment to your evening coffee. And a special mention to the cover that has simple, mellow colors and doesn’t look overtly jazzy and cliched.... Overall if asked I would say...this is a good job done by Author (Rashmi Kumar) … I would give 3 stars to this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2015
What I liked the most about the book? It's straight, crisp tone of language; it's closeness with the reality and corelation with heart and mind alike. Next, was the character sketching of Alafia and her buddy - Myra (I hope every single women born in this world be blessed with such a supportive and unconditional friend in her life).
This book is a 'must have' for brainy ladies who are just fed up of hushy mushy romantic literatures. Bonus point - Men readers out there... Gift her a copy and she might appreciate you for respecting her feelings, emotions and Intellect!
Read complete review at: https://booksnewsindia.wordpress.com/...
This book is a 'must have' for brainy ladies who are just fed up of hushy mushy romantic literatures. Bonus point - Men readers out there... Gift her a copy and she might appreciate you for respecting her feelings, emotions and Intellect!
Read complete review at: https://booksnewsindia.wordpress.com/...
March 27, 2015
Hooked, Lined & Single is a story of Alafia Singh, a 31 year old woman who has been divorced. Her marriage with Ram had no values of love, attachment and concern. It didn't last long and they happily part away. While Ram gets married to someone else Alafia starts her search for Mr Right. She and her family try every possible way to reach out eligible bachelors through newspapers, marriage portal website and family functions. On one side Alafia is attractive, confident and mentally strong while on the other side she is emotional, sensitive and naive. She easily get to believe in almost every man she meets. They hook for some time, get lined on the bed even but due to one or the other reason they get separated. One after the other emotional trauma Myra, her best friend uplifts despondent Alafia.
This book is an insight of India's custom regarding marriage and especially when it comes to the marriage of a woman. Alafia's life become hell after her younger sister, Anushka's marriage. Her relatives and everyone else start taunting and blaming her alone for the fault in her marriage and because of her grueling she is still single. The search for her Mr. Right leads her to a psychologist. From there she realize a need to find herself and exact reasons for why she wants a man in her life. She do find reasons to her desire but will she be able to find her Mr. Right? Read the book to find out.
The narration style of the author is smooth and convincing. Book has been edited very well. At a few places I find the story losing its grip and repetition of same story line makes read a bit boring. The emotions have been displayed rightly. At many places author has left readers imagination to assume. Apart from that, book cover is awesome!
This book is an insight of India's custom regarding marriage and especially when it comes to the marriage of a woman. Alafia's life become hell after her younger sister, Anushka's marriage. Her relatives and everyone else start taunting and blaming her alone for the fault in her marriage and because of her grueling she is still single. The search for her Mr. Right leads her to a psychologist. From there she realize a need to find herself and exact reasons for why she wants a man in her life. She do find reasons to her desire but will she be able to find her Mr. Right? Read the book to find out.
The narration style of the author is smooth and convincing. Book has been edited very well. At a few places I find the story losing its grip and repetition of same story line makes read a bit boring. The emotions have been displayed rightly. At many places author has left readers imagination to assume. Apart from that, book cover is awesome!
February 6, 2015
Alafia Singh wants to get married... desperately. One may ask what’s so different about it, everybody wants to get married. But the thing is that Alafia is 31 and was divorced after a mini marriage at 22 which lasted 11 months and 10 days. The pressure is immense from the ‘deeply concerned relatives’ and acquaintances she meets at weddings and festivals.
She tries to find Mr. Right through matrimonial websites, newspaper ads and even tells random uncle or aunt to search for a match for her. Hooked, Lined & Single charts Alafia’s journey cum misadventures as she meets some prospective grooms.
I enjoyed reading this book! I read it in one sitting during a train journey, where my bouts of giggles and smiles attracted some amused and weird glances from my co-travelers. I liked Rashmi’s voice in this book which is engaging and is laced with humour. The characters are real people, with multiple dimensions and one can relate to all of them. At one point of time, I found myself rooting for Alafia and wished that everything turned out well for her. The book sparkles with an interesting and fun story line and just the right amount of introspection. Though somewhere around the middle, the story sounded a bit monotonous but soon the story line changed tracks and all was well once again. I liked the climax but wished it was amplified a bit more.
Hooked, Lined & Single is an engaging and entertaining read. And that it is free from editing errors, well, that’s a plus too. Go for it!
http://shilpaagarg.com/2015/02/hooked...
She tries to find Mr. Right through matrimonial websites, newspaper ads and even tells random uncle or aunt to search for a match for her. Hooked, Lined & Single charts Alafia’s journey cum misadventures as she meets some prospective grooms.
I enjoyed reading this book! I read it in one sitting during a train journey, where my bouts of giggles and smiles attracted some amused and weird glances from my co-travelers. I liked Rashmi’s voice in this book which is engaging and is laced with humour. The characters are real people, with multiple dimensions and one can relate to all of them. At one point of time, I found myself rooting for Alafia and wished that everything turned out well for her. The book sparkles with an interesting and fun story line and just the right amount of introspection. Though somewhere around the middle, the story sounded a bit monotonous but soon the story line changed tracks and all was well once again. I liked the climax but wished it was amplified a bit more.
Hooked, Lined & Single is an engaging and entertaining read. And that it is free from editing errors, well, that’s a plus too. Go for it!
http://shilpaagarg.com/2015/02/hooked...
June 14, 2015
‘Hooked, Lined and Single‘ is about Alafia Singh, a 31 year old divorcee writer. She was married at the early age of 21, and the marriage lasted 11 months The book mostly deals with getting married again, finding another man and dealing with misadventures in that process.
There are portions of dry humour and inspired lunancy - like the one in which Alafia try matchmaking through mujhseshadhikaroge.com or another one in which constantly spluttering whatdfuck friend is trying to impress her through culinary skills. But these moments are far and few in between. Structurally disjointed and too many loose ends in the book makes you wonder where exactly is this book heading into climax. There are long portions where nothing really happens in the story unless you encounter yet another man our lead protagonist is so desperately looking out for leading to a certain repetitiveness which is hard to fathom as a reader.
You never get a true sense why Alafia got divorced at 21 and what went wrong in the first marriage. Instead you are provided this as a FYI situation leading up to many more men. Most of the characters are introduced at a superficial level and soon forgotten. You just sense this book more as a collection of diary entries rather than forming a concrete story.
I am going with 2/5 for Rashmi Kumar's second novel. It is a much more improved than author's debut work but there is still scope of better things. We, as readers deserve much better work from her.
There are portions of dry humour and inspired lunancy - like the one in which Alafia try matchmaking through mujhseshadhikaroge.com or another one in which constantly spluttering whatdfuck friend is trying to impress her through culinary skills. But these moments are far and few in between. Structurally disjointed and too many loose ends in the book makes you wonder where exactly is this book heading into climax. There are long portions where nothing really happens in the story unless you encounter yet another man our lead protagonist is so desperately looking out for leading to a certain repetitiveness which is hard to fathom as a reader.
You never get a true sense why Alafia got divorced at 21 and what went wrong in the first marriage. Instead you are provided this as a FYI situation leading up to many more men. Most of the characters are introduced at a superficial level and soon forgotten. You just sense this book more as a collection of diary entries rather than forming a concrete story.
I am going with 2/5 for Rashmi Kumar's second novel. It is a much more improved than author's debut work but there is still scope of better things. We, as readers deserve much better work from her.
June 3, 2015
A simple engaging and entertaining book with enough humor to make your day. So, if you find this at any bookstore or a bookshelf - don't hesitate to pick it up. Also I'd say, this is a must read for all those who are looking for a perfect life partner in their future
Read full review here - http://sulaimansait.blogspot.in/2015/...
Read full review here - http://sulaimansait.blogspot.in/2015/...
August 11, 2015
A stagnant story which is good in rawness in its narrative and anecdotes about narrator's encounter with different men. Read to know the psyche of 30+ divorcee who is an open minded author and an independent woman. Read full review Here
December 3, 2014
A book with a wonderful humor and all those who are single and searching for a life partner must read book.
Full Review: http://www.himanipassion.com/book-rev...
Full Review: http://www.himanipassion.com/book-rev...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews