The Bestseller She Wrote

by Ravi Subramanian

The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Thriller, Indian Literature, Mystery, India

391 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2015

About the author

Ravi Subramanian's latest book - IN THE NAME OF GOD - a thriller, releases on June 26, 2017

Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bengaluru, has spent two decades working his way up the ladder of power in the amazingly exciting and adrenaline-pumping world of global banks in India.
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He is the award winning author of eight bestselling books :
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If God was a Banker (2007),
I Bought the Monks Ferrari (2007),
Devil in Pinstripes (2009),
The Incredible Banker (2011),
The Bankster (2012),
Bankerupt (2013).
God is a Gamer (2014)
The Bestseller She Wrote (2015)
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His 9th book IN THE NAME OF GOD will release in 2017
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If God was a Banker won him the Golden Quill readers choice award in 2008. He also won the Economist Crossword Book Award for The Incredible Banker in 2012. "The Bankster", released in 2012 won him the Crossword Book Award in 2013. In 2014 he won the Raymond Crossword book award for Bankerupt. His books have been translated into Hindi and Latvian. He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Dharini, and daughter, Anusha.
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To connect with him, log on to Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorravisubramanian or tweet to @subramanianravi or email him at info@ravisubramanian.in

Reviews

[Nithya Subramaniam · Rating 1 out of 5]

WTF did I just Read ??


The Bestseller She Wrote is a story of a successful author who is also a banker (apparently this is the new cool nowadays). He suffers a minor setback and in no time the problem is solved and everyone lives happily ever after. I usually avoid books like these, mostly because they seem like a bad Bollywood script which can be made into a movie and churned for money. I guess this was written with same intention.

Aditya, the main protagonist of the book is an extremely successful author a couple of his books have been made into movies. He has a great job, a great family, and great friends. He visits IIM Bengaluru for a guest lecture where he meets Shreya. Shreya aspires to be an author (what is it with this new trend of authors who are either IIT or IIM grads?? If one wanted to be author - why study engineering then do an MBA only to become an author, seems a little extra). Shreya decides that Aditya might be her ride to fame. They have an affair. Mostly because Aditya is a vain asshole who just wants a piece of young ass and Shreya wants to make it big as an author and sleeping with Aditya seems to be the answer for her.

For a while, you think they are perfect for each other. but then the author decides that the hero has to go on a redeeming ark. Also for some weird reason Aditya's wife contracts EBOLA *cringes in disgust* and Aditya is now heartbroken but Shreya wants him to review her final draft of her book whilst he is greaving in the hospital.

This is when the pig-headed Aditya realizes his folly, he suddenly realizes Shreya is insensitive and is using him as her ride to fame. Aditya decides that he wants his wife back at any cost because Shreya was just a distraction - an ego boost for an aging author.

In the end as a twist, he realizes his best-friend was scheming with Shreya behind his back plotting for his downfall. Aditya publicly apologizes to his wife Maya during the book launch of Shreya for his moments of indiscretion. Maya decides to give him another chance (probably because she thinks Aditya apologizing to her during his girlfriend's book launch was the ultimate atonement). Shreya becomes a one-hit wonder, she realizes that she cannot write books anymore maybe because after all that scheming she has lost her ambition to write???

More than the anything I hated how Aditya justified his cheating, there is a passage in the book where Shreya asks him if sleeping with her has reduced the love he feels for his wife. Aditya considers this with this thick brain (maybe he had some brain cells to spare) and decides that sleeping with Shreya, has in no way affected his love for his wife and comes to the conclusion that it is okay for him to cheat.

He then shames Shreya, when he finds out that she had an affair with his best friend while also sleeping with him. Wasn't he doing the same thing to his wife? How is it was okay for him to cheat on his wife but not for her? Why the double standard?

In the end, it is Shreya who is constantly slut-shamed, while Aditya lives happily.

**Slightly edited for more clarity and to add a GIF :D **~~ 12/27/2017

[Aldeena]

This book left me cold and pissed off. If I have a million or whatever readers, wouldn't I at least feel the responsibility of writing a decent book for them in my head? Mr Subramanian has no such qualms. This book is sheer lazy writing. The story offers nothing new.
It is about this douchebag 'Paperback King' (ugh!) supremely awesome rock star author Aditya Kapoor (40-something years old) with a loving (and annoyingly devoted) wife and kid, who wants to boom boom bang this 20-something child/booty queen/wannabe writer/borderline creep Shreya. He forces his friend HR Guy to hire this girl who is supposed to be a voracious reader with excellent taste (who falls in love with this dude's writing. Calling it the best she has read. And the only Indian writer she likes or something. Double ugh!)
Then they get it on, and blah. Creep Child uses him to write her novel. Douchebag thinks it is love. And the Good Wife finds out their little tryst thanks to Steve Jobs. And then gets Ebola! Walaah! Douchebag suddenly rediscovers his love for Good Wife, sees Creep Child is a creep.
Good Wife survives because of the miracle of love. Hates Douchebag though. So he is deprived of booty. But not for long! Plot twist plot twist happens. Mr Subramanian liberally borrows plots from my favourite Higashino's Malice and Journey Under the Midnight Sun (Grrrr! I didn't think he even reads!)!
And then finally turns out *SPOILERS AHEAD* HR guy was evil malice man and was also getting it on with Creep Child. Douchebag after wonderful justifications of adultery in the first half suddenly changes his mind and pretty much slut shames Creep Child. Mr Rakesh Maria makes an appearance as Mr Ramesh Karia (an ardent fan!) and is a crucial part of the climax. Good Wife forgives Douchebag. Creep Child gets her bestseller but quits writing. I can't even remember what happened to HR Guy. And Douchebag's good kid? Nope..Not a clue what happened to that one.
Features unabashed endorsements of other writers of the bestselling clan, and even himself! Also cringeworthy uncle lovemaking scenes (Sample this: '"Oh my gawddd,'' he exclaimed as he opened her shirt, discovering she wasn't wearing a brassierie. "You are faster than I thought, my pussy cat," he exclaimed.' *shudders*)
AND there is also a movie coming. Kill.Me.Now.

[Soumya Prasad (bluntpages) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have heard a lot about Ravi Subramanian and the banker type of books he writes. I have only read his 'God Is A Gamer' before and found it to be an okay book. This is the first time that he has written a book on romance and I wanted to see how a banker interprets love and its varied shades. After reading a few mediocre books by Indian authors that made it up the charts, I thought the market for Indian authors is doomed. But the title of this book intrigued me enough to sign up to review it. It was a nightmare to get this book delivered to me. The courier guy screwed it up so bad that I received the book very late. Maybe that was a sign. A sign that I couldn't decipher then. The book did finally come to me on an afternoon and by night I was done with it. Yes, I finished the book in one sitting. And not because it was unputdownable.

Aditya Kapoor is in his forties and is a very successful banker and a number one writer. He writes thrillers and fame and adulation thrills him to the bone. He is married to Maya and has a six year old son Aryan. Maya has given up on her illustrious career and working with a school now so that she is able to give enough time to her son and encourage her husband's dual career.

Shreya Kaushik, freshly passed out of IIM Bangalore aspires to be an author. And it is pretty clear from the beginning that she wants to write a bestseller and is willing to do anything to get her book published.

Sanjay (I forgot his last name and did not want to go back to the book to look for it) is Aditya's best friend and partner in crime. He happens to head HR for the same bank in which Aditya heads another department. He is dating Diana Moses, his colleague.

This is how the story unfolds:

Aditya is back at IIM-B, his alma mater, to give a presentation and enters into an altercation with one of the students. Shreya is the student and she ends up reading his best seller in one night and sends out a mail to him telling him about how much she loved the book. This not only saves her ass from the director of the institute who is called Diro for some weird reason, but also helps her in befriending the paperback king and rockstar author Aditya himself. Shreya wants to be a writer and has her manuscript ready. She wants Aditya to help her get published and he goes out of his way to do that. Even if means cheating on his wife. Shreya and Aditya's affair comes to light in front of Maya and she is almost immediately diagnosed with Ebola. Aditya realizes that he still loves his wife and cannot live without her. Shreya on the other hand is only worried about how to get her book published. Sanjay is caught in the middle of all this as he tries to desperately save his friend and hide his own secrets. What happens next? You don't need to be Einstein to figure it out.

First of all Aditya Kapoor is clearly Ravi Subramanian's alter ego or atleast the man that he wants to be. Oh yeah, paperback king, popular with the ladies and all that. I understand that he jumped out of his comfort zone to explore this genre. It almost seems like a desperate attempt to do something different and something that is done in haste. The story of the book is clearly given out by the gist itself. Five chapters later I knew what is going to happen and how it felt like a soap opera. The characters are so poorly etched that you just want to laugh at their stupidity. Aditya is already a popular figure but he still risks it all by having an affair with Shreya, a wanna be author. And it took like eighty odd chapters for him to understand that she was actually using him only to get published. Fortunately, the readers are not as foolish as him.

Shreya sounds desperate to the tee. Her dialogues made me cringe and if this is the author's way of showing a bold and independent woman, he certainly has failed here. Their relationship or whatever is it that they share revolves around two things. Sex and her manuscript. Speaking of sex, just like the author in the book, the author of the book sucks at it. If I may recall "thandha" was the word that was actually used. No prizes for guessing that Aditya and Shreya were having sex, but I do not want the details of what brand of underwear the guy was wearing before he could take it off. Nor do I want to read breasts as glorious mounds of flesh or constantly talk about a woman's lace panties. Aditya, who is so in control of his life with a demanding job and a successful career as a writer is reduced to a fool as he falls for a woman who is clearly using him from the start.

The language used is so layman that you want to edit a few words into it. Slangs are used in almost every page and so are capitals. I mean, what is with that? The books also mentions the work of a few other authors including Ravi Subramanian himself. And Chetan Bhagat too. Need I say more? Anurag Kashyap (yes, the Bollywood director) too makes an appearance which I'm sure was used without his permission. The author also mentions Nirav Sanghvi of BlogAdda woven in a chapter, the very platform that is giving out his books for review. No sucking up at all, my friend! The book at 391 pages is too long and the 84 chapters make you want to rip the book apart. The reason I finished the book in one sitting was that I could not wait to be done with it and pick up something meaningful later. Apparently the book is soon to be a motion picture. I can already imagine Ekta Kapoor getting ready for auditions.

The gist says that the book is a combustible cocktail of love, betrayal and redemption. Forget about exploding, it even refuses to take off.

Verdict: Boring and predictable. This book gives life to every cliche that you can think of. If I had a penny for every time I snickered while reading this book, I would have become a millionaire.

Rating: 1 out of 5.

[Vishakha ~ ReadingSpren ~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I skimmed the second half of the book. I just wanted to be done with it soon. I cannot believe I spent money on this pile of garbage. I cannot believe trees were killed to print it.

Why! Why did I ever pick this up!?

In my defence, that cover was pretty. Although now I hate that too. Why are there Caucasian models on it when the protagonists are clearly Indians, god only knows. God and few very racist publishers.

Not only is this novel sexist. It is also stupid. I cannot stand stand a well-done novel about authors, and this was far from well done. Imagine my chagrin.

Since the protagonists were a successful author and an aspiring author there was a lot of discussion about other books. Murakami, Rushdie, Julian Barnes, etc. They also ridiculed Fifty Shades of Grey. And I felt sorry for E. L JAMES because even she doesn't deserve such insult.

I am disgusted and absolutely livid for the waste of time and energy this book has been. I would love to go into the little details of how shitty this book is but I have already spared it much more attention than it deserved. And although I try to not judge people for the books they like, but if you do like The potty she wrote stay a mile away from me.

[Vinay Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Points in favor:
+ Quick read, mostly engaging because of short chapters
+ Part of the ending reflects the thrill factor
+ Reader gets an idea of the publishing industry
+ Characters with different shades

Points against:
- Clichéd romance, bordering on erotica
- Narration rife with unbelievable/unnecessary events
- Characters & storyline not very memorable
- “Soon to be a motion picture” on the cover is a put off
- Not very thrilling

Not of the same quality as The Bankster, and definitely not looking forward to the movie

Actual rating: 2 stars


Vinay Leo R. | Reviewed @ A Bookworm's Musing

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning is quite slow. Predictable and boring but if you manage to survive the first hundred pages then the novel catches your attention. It soon picks up pace, rushing towards the climax where the grand reveal leaves you transfixed. A good first-time average read.

[Vyoma Arunprakash · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed review this is going to be... Firstly, when the story took the adultery angle, it failed in its narration to evoke any romance in the reader. I did like the twist but I'd say it was kinna predictable. I really enjoyed the turn of events, the way the protagonist is surrounded by politics all around him and he is caught so bad that it made me anxious while reading that part; a screwed up life on both the professional and personal front... That got me interested and I also liked the way he handled the whole situation... Piece by piece he put everything in place... Now, that's a huge plus, especially, when the reader finds the protagonist in a state where he cannot escape... He after all, did find a solution. I did not like the way it ended for the antagonist though... Shreya, in the entire novel, was so insensitive and all of a sudden why would things matter to her so much that she will quit the very thing she loved the most, she was passionate about... Her writing career, her stardom.
Also, this puts a woman in a low light... Ok, I know maybe, just maybe, it was not the idea of showing a woman luring her boss to get to the top as it was the demand of the story but I somehow, don't like that angle... Well, that's my feminist view but I feel it was just to show how people steep so low to achieve success that they don't even mind if it is given to them in charity.

[Sridevi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first time I read this author and to say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

What I did not like:

The characters

Aditya Kapoor is the best-selling author, whose books sell in millions but who hates reading "voluminous" books. Although, we do get to witness streaks of his inadequacy on this account, it is quickly brushed aside to focus more on his allure.

Maya is boringly flawless.

Shreya is a bitch and once again the book reinforces the stereotype that ambitious women can go to any abysmal depths to achieve their dreams(read seduce the best friend's boyfriend, seduce the favourite author, seduce the favourite author's best friend etc, etc).

Sanjay. Yes I would have loved to see this character develop more. He is flawed. He suffers from complexes and he has been overshadowed throughout his life by his best friend.

2. The ending: I would have really loved to see Shreya succeeding beyond that one "bestseller".

3.Language and Grammar: Unnecessary capitalization, tense jumps, punctuation errors at many places.

What I liked:

The pace of the book.

[Ankit Saxena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the story I expected from the title given. Not very much impressive but yes author gave the touch of his field in a good manner, Banking. Though it must have hurt many feminists in row but still facts are facts, however, this theme is not new for such genre of books. It seemed like M&B met CB.

Shreya is defined as a girl who can go to any limits to fulfill her desires and she went accordingly. But I believe such portrayals in line mostly now a days are giving bad impression to the real hard working women as well as hinting bad asses to follow the path. This is however so common these days in corporate culture, have seen myself one such case but it spoils the culture, virtue and gentility completely.

Aditya, again, is cast as a man who does mistakes just for uncontrollable senses. Very common for males, nothing new. Betraying his wife for new girl in touch is so lame, and that also when you have a child to take care of. But in real this kind of males are disgrace to society same as the females of the kind of Shreya mentioned in book and above.

Maya is the best suitable character per the dialogues given to her but again minor loopholes destroyed the very purpose of book. How come she was so much unaware of he husband's mischiefs? disregarding that she fulfill her purpose of being there in the story very well.

Sanjay, a very loose pant guy who is presented as Karan Malhotra of Humraaz, was in my suspect since starting. First he lost his love for Maya, then Cheated Diana for Shreya, and loose eventually Shreya & Diana also. What a waste? Giving ultimatums to Aditya, Sleeping with Shreya, Living with Diana and hoping to get Maya; seriously? That much confusion and perversion.

Diana is best at her role. Full of pride and honest at best. Women meant to be like that, specially in professional world.

What choked my sense of reading, is the way things happening so easily. Extra-marital affair (visiting GF while wife is at home to be specific), Book launch for debutant leads to Newspaper and film-rights, I mean really??? It works like that simply in real world? And even then Wife if protagonist is unware of anything?

What I hate the most is fantasizing of Wendy Doniger and Anurag Kashyap by the author. Tells a lot about his ideologies. Former is the most racist person I ever read about; and latter is one of the biggest anti-national element. Such a fantasy made me hate it more inside my head. These ideas kill the moment one can have with reading. A professional banking employee himself looks unaware of the terms with a difference to room or cabin.

I liked it for the emotional crumbling of Aditya which teaches a lot for a life to handle with family, For staying away from mleccha kind of friends, Knowing again that family is the only key to the happy life. Everything else is either average or waste in this book.

For me it deserves only 2.5/5.0

[Annette mathews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aditya Kapoor , a banker who also writes thriller novels for a living is more passionate about his books than his banking career since it brings him fame and more money probably more than what he could earn from his job as a banker .It also brings him Shreya , a wannabe author.
Aditya and Shreya does not start off on a good note . On their first meeting , they had a clash of words resulting in an argument.I did not like Shreya from the first second . I knew she was trouble .She was arrogant and had a lousy attitude.
Shreya soon gets hired in the same bank where Aditya is working. She starts playing with Aditya and uses him. She wants to become a bestselling Author and Aditya perfectly fit the bill. Aditya gets infatuated with her, knowing well the implications it has to be with her.See, Aditya was a married man who had a beautiful wife , Maya and a son ,Aryan. I wonder why he would sacrifice this beautiful life to someone like Shreya.It was clear from the very beginning, that Shreya used Aditya to make her as one of the best selling author. The publishing industry does not look keen on debut authors unless the author has a good portfolio. Sherya gets the full Support from Aditya . Aditya endorses her book , introduces her to established editors and journalists.
Maya comes to know of Aditya's infidelity.To make matters worse, she was suffering from Ebola, a deadly disease the time she comes to know of Aditya's infidelity.
Later ,Aditya comes to know of Shreya's ill intention and realizes how he had failed as a Father and a husband.Thanks to him, Maya survives the worst.
Initially, Maya tries to avoid Aditya .But when Maya gets of know of what Aditya did at the hospital for her, she forgives him and accepts him back to her life.
Each of the Chapters were very short making this book a fast read. This book also gave a sneak peak to the publishing industry and there were also some real life references used in the book such as Poonam Saxena , the editor of the Hindustan Times .The author also takes a dig at Chetan Bhagat several times which was not needed but it was fun reading one author taking shots at another author.This book may not be good in a literary way but it can get you out of a reading slump phase.

[Sreesha Divakaran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reviewed in detail on Rain and a Book

Lazy lazy lazy. Yawnfest.

Summary: Aditya Kapoor, nicknamed “paperback king”, “rockstar author” and other embarrassing (but seemingly glitzy) things is a 40-something banker and India’s # 1 commercial author. He gives a presentation at IIM-B, his alma mater, where he encounters is insulted by Shreya Kaushik, a student miffed by the fact that Aditya keeps referring to his book as a “product” (I echo her sentiments, by the way). Aditya’s gigantic ego takes a hit and he tells her to read his books before commenting. She does, and becomes an overnight fan. Shreya considers herself to be a voracious reader (she’s not; she only reads bestsellers, and she reads John Green only cos he’s “cute”) She also wants to become an author, and she seduces Aditya to help her become one. It is unclear whether she seduces him for her gain alone or if she is actually in love with him. (Actually, several things are unclear, but I am getting ahead of myself) Aditya is completely smitten, forgetting totally about his wife, Maya and 6-year-old kid, Aryan (could these names be more Bollywoodesque?). No, wait, he does not, because on every other page he tells us he loves his wife. And also Shreya. And also his wife. But anyway. Later, Maya comes to know of the affair and contracts Ebola at the same time. Aditya ends things with Shreya, and begs Maya to take him back. Shreya goes crazy, because of course.

The narrative is sparse, the language is rife with Indianisms, repeated stock phrases, slangs in content, and on the whole, it feels like a lazy attempt, like something written in a hurry. With respect to slangs, while they are accepted in dialogue, it’s just poor writing in narrative – unless the book is written in a first person narrative and the character in question needs to describe a certain sort of lifestyle, which isn’t the case here. Slangs when used incorrectly provide unintentional humour. The dialogues did not sit well with me on any level, because it felt – I don’t know what exactly, but the word that comes closest to describing it disjointed. Also, in dialogue when you want to stress a word, you italicize it, not capitalize it. There are also several inaccuracies in the book. For more detail and instances, please click on the link above.

This book has 84 chapters, and it’s 390 pages long. I have read books over 1000 pages that have, like, 19 chapters, filled with substance. This, on the other hand, is well padded out and airy. The characters are not likeable. Actually, no, I have read books where characters are outright evil, and I have had more emotion for them than I have had anybody in this book. This book is just an ego balm to its (dislikeable) protagonist. Everyone is a huge fan of his. There are scenes, which otherwise contribute nothing to the story, written only to show the reader how big of a boot-licking audience this man has. I can’t find myself caring for any of these characters, they’re so pointless in the world of literature.

On the whole this book is boring, predictable and highly “putdownable.” I can’t think of a single redeeming quality, except that it doesn’t take up too much of your time, 84 chapters notwithstanding. It tries too hard, and that just made me sad. Like the kid whose answers are all wrong, but has a neat handwriting. Although I have never “pity-rated” a book before, I am going to rate it a 2, instead of a 1 for this reason alone.

For more: Rain and a Book

[Bhasha Desai · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his new book “The Bestseller She Wrote”, Ravi Subramanian has told us a story about bestsellers and their glittering world. The plot of the story, his first book on a romantic intrigue, is different than his usual stories based on the theme of banking. This story revolves around two main characters. Aditya Kapoor is a banker turned into a very famous author. He has a balanced yet starry life and a perfect family of a loving wife and a young son. His books are so popular that he gets the fame that only Indian actors can hope for. The middle-aged paperback king has an impeccable personal and professional life, a life that a man can only dream of.

And then enters in his life Shreya Kaushik, a beautiful and young IIM-B student with high ambitions and strong determination to become a celebrated book writer. She is reckless, bold and competitive. She gets employed in Aditya’s team at the National Bank and both the author and his fan fall into a risky dalliance. Shreya is a fabulous writer but she ‘wants’ Aditya to help her become a bestseller, even more famous than the guide himself. Even if that means risking Aditya’s career. What will happen when the worlds of a superstar author and his enthralling protégé collide? To what extent will Shreya go to obtain Aditya’s unshared love and attention? The author has nicely depicted Aditya’s dilemma whether it was possible to love two persons at the same time.

The language is simple yet eloquent. Few dialogues are very effective. My favorite being ‘If guilt could kill, Aditya would have died a thousand times’. There are a few characters in the book but each one is well-defined and has an equally important role in the story. My favorite characters are Aditya Kapoor, his best friend Sanjay and also Shreya’s best friend Sunaina.

The plot becomes a bit predictable halfway through the book but then the story turns thrilling once again and ends with justified and surprisingly unpredictable turn of events. The only thing that I disapprove in the book is the direct and intentional/unintentional mention of author Chetan Bhagat a few times in the story which clearly defames him. In my opinion, this isn’t ethical and is against respectful writing.

I recommend this book to thriller lovers. It is definitely a one-time read, a book to gorge upon in the weekends with a cup of hot coffee. Happy reading!

[Sowmya's book world · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book about how to make a bestseller.. (2.5*)

unlike the synopsis says, love, betrayal and redemption i can make it to writing . marketing and selling.

**Spoilers ahead**

I could say he did his attempt to write a thriller and moreover ended up making a bollywood movie script. As the story was told in a very easy manner and i liked the way he was releasing the small small info(clues) in between the chapters which you try to recollect in the climax scean. I liked the way unexpected turn was given at the end but there were lot of things which were unnecessary or unbelievable

1. Ebola.. Jesus, seriously? Author didnt get any other disease to put in place and a miracle recovery in just 16 days. Wow

2.Author Don't read books !! and he is not even aware of other books and he doesn't care either ( there are authors of these kind ???)

3.Sanjay was funny man. He didn't even share books with maya. So much for love.

4.Romance was in a way too cheap.. not even "thanda"

Overall a one time fast read.. it will keep you engaged if u ignore some unbelivable facts :P You want to publish a hot seller one day , you might find some tips on marketing.

[Imon Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well ... first 50 page a break and then I finished it in one read . that speaks loads at least for me it does . you don't want to stop turning those pages, the build up is perfect, the detailing , the twists, the suspense , and in no time you are at the end and while you are reading you can't but help smile .

[Preethi Venugopala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewing is such a tough job to do. I like reading books for entertainment sake, not for tearing it into parts looking for spelling errors and plot holes. I confess, I am not an ideal reviewer.
Being an author myself I know how difficult it is to write a full-length novel. I admire any book for the sheer determination and hard work that went into its creation. And reviews are like 'manna' for an author. A good review is like the sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day. And some reviewers tend to be needlessly harsh on some authors like they have some vendetta.
I was surprised to see 1star reviews pouring on Amazon for a Chetan Bhagat book even days prior to its release. What can one say about such blatant hatred?
Anyway, many have asked me the criteria on which I rate books that I read.
My rating criteria goes like this:
5 Star: A good plot, well written, well edited and kept me entertained throughout.
4 Star: A good plot, written well but had few grammar errors which could have been avoided and also had certain things (maybe characters or plot twists) that didn't cater to my liking.
3 Star: A good plot, started fine, dragged off the path somewhere and then came back to the line with a satisfying ending.
2 Star: Gave high hopes through blurb and advertisements, then failed completely to keep my interest. 2 stars to the author alone for his/ her hard work in putting together the words in an effort to tell the story.
1 Star: Should I even explain?
Going by my record on Goodreads, I think I have not given 2 or 1 star to any book. Mostly because I don't finish reading books that don't entertain me.
So how did this book fare?

My review:
Ravi has deviated from his usual thrillers to write in a new genre with this book. That too romance. But in my opinion, he has done justice to it by telling the story of a writer who is also a banker like himself thus managing to bring authenticity into the characters that he created.
A best-selling author who is content with a life of fame, happy family and a satisfying day job. Enter a girl, and it turns chaotic. Not an unfamiliar storyline. But add a thriller undertone and it becomes interesting.
As usual, Ravi's characters have negative traits loaded in them and belong to the overly ambitious group. Aditya and Shreya doesn't blink before uttering a lie. So does Sanjay though it is often to help his friend Aditya. They have lost touch with their humane side lost in the pursuit of worldly ambition and lust.
Frankly speaking, if they existed in real life, I would not wish to belong in their friend circle. Maya is the grace of the book I felt. She represents the common Indian wives, who often trusts their men but takes on the avatar of the angry Goddess if she finds herself cheated.
Ravi has explained the world of publishing and many inside details that make the book more interesting. The glitz that surrounds the life of a best-selling author who rakes in money is given good detailing. He also puts forth his many philosophies regarding his attitude towards writing as a craft through the many dialogues.
The character of Shreya, I disliked from the beginning. Mostly because I don't like head strong girls like her who wouldn't hesitate before humiliating somebody saying they are speaking the truth. Most of them are attention seekers and mostly selfish to the core. My dislike coloured my prejudice. As expected, the story proceeded the way I had thought how she would behave at every point of the story and I think that is something that the author has to be congratulated for. The characters are drawn finely.
The characters of Sanjay, Diana and Dr. Krishnan are also extremely interesting as the many twists were orchestrated by them.
The love scenes were not to my liking. If Ravi wants to continue writing in this genre I think he should follow the example of Nicholas Sparks. I like the way he writes beautiful romances that often glues you to the chair and has a mystery or crime thriller undertone.
Also, the first half of the story could have been tightened a bit.
All is well that ends well. As to that, the climax where the author tied everything up was impressive. The final speech at the book launch was very good indeed. All in all, I enjoyed the book very much.

Verdict: 4 out of 5


Rating is according to the explanation I gave above.
(I was not a fan of some characters especially Shreya!)

[Mustafa Erfan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though at some point, it was heartbreaking, but overall, the book was hearttouching. It moved me. I loved it.

[Abhilash Ruhela · Rating 4 out of 5]

There can be nothing better than spending your weekend with a book. But when it's a book by one of your favorite authors, it becomes more special. I read Ravi Subramanian's latest book "The Bestseller She Wrote". This is his 4th book that I have read though he has 8 books under his name. I was really excited for this release as it was related with the literary world of India which I have been following very closely from last 6 years. And when it's written by Ravi Subramanian, you know that he is going to talk about some realities under the name of fiction which will make you feel connected with the characters and the story. And it happened ditto. The cover of the book is very unique and beautiful and it is great to know that the book is also under the process adapting it into a movie.

TBSW is a story about how a girl who aspires to be a writer meets India's most famous author. They meeting becomes a regularity and the married author starts falling for this young girl. But she is more concerned about her book to get published and turned into a bestseller with the help of this author who has himself written 4 bestsellers back to back each breaking record of the previous one. This is the basic plot which leads to many scenarios and leads to several twists and turns and finally in the climax, like every book of Ravi Subramanian, you are left alone for shocks and surprises.

Ravi Subramanian is an amazing thriller writer and his books start doing magic right from the first page itself. Talking about this particular book, I felt as if Ravi chose an easy way to tell his story with an intention of making it a light read for another mass of audience which do not read the genre he writes. For the whole first half, it felt as if someone else is writing it for Ravi S. Though in between of some chapters, author have kept dropping hints of something being wrong with the doings of few characters but it still does not give you any thrill until the second half begins when his marriage starts getting affected because of his extra-marital exploration.

Ravi Subramanian have integrated his story very well with many real-life incidents of famous Indian authors which keeps you interested if you have been in touch with the literary world lately. You start relating with the characters very soon and see your own favorite author in the lead character and you even start imagining other not-so-famous authors in the character of Shreya. The whole process of how a person writes a manuscript till how the book launches in a big event, everything is perfectly described by Ravi. And the way story unfolds in the end, it makes you happy that you have finally witnessed the excellence of Ravi Subramanian once again. The most unexpected person turns out to be the ill-wisher of everyone.

Talking about the drawbacks- I would again say that the first half is particularly very slow and not been written in the same language in which Ravi writes. There is not much happening in first half except one character continuously compelling the other person to publish her book and it becomes repetitive and boring after a point of time. Also the book isn't one of the best thrillers over all except what happens in the climax. And this is exactly half good of what Ravi Subramanian have himself written before. If this book would have been by a debutante, I would have easily given it 4.5 stars but because it's written by someone who have only gotten better with each book of his, I am giving it 4 stars. It is a great book which surely deserves 4 stars just that it doesn't look like one written by THE GREAT RAVI SUBRAMANIAN himself. He has set very high standards for himself to achieve. :-)

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!

[Viju · Rating 3 out of 5]

Around 15 months back, I had read Ravi Subramanian’s ‘God is a Gamer’ and had a line in the review which said, “… a read for person who would like to observe how Indian writing continues to evolve, for the better. Mostly.” Between then and now I have had my fair share of reading (almost 120+ books) which has comprised of both classics and contemporary writing. When I saw that the new Ravi Subramanian book ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ was up for review, I was excited to see if he would be able to engage me decently with this book as he did with God Is A Gamer.

‘The Bestseller She Wrote’, as the cover states, is a combustible cocktail of love, betrayal and redemption. Before dwelling deeply on the story and the characters in the book, I will focus on one aspect that this book touches in multiple chapters. There is a character in the book who is an author with a…… no surprises there…… management and a banking background. The author (in the book) refers to a book as a ‘product’ which is refuted by another character in the book. It is not surprising to see Ravi Subramanian unravel (almost) all that is going on in the Indian ‘writing’ scene in this conversation he has with the other character and later on in the book. Unmistakably, Ravi has learnt how the literary world in India works and how bestsellers are ‘made’. It does remain to be seen if the technique of ‘marketing’ bestsellers using the pedigree of an author works better than using his/her literary worthiness. The idea of marketing a book via blogger reviewers and via our dear portal blogadda also finds a mention in the book. As I said, it is impressive to see the author (both in the book and that of the book) understanding the book-selling scene in general.

Coming to the premise, it is one of that of a successful author and of an aspiring author and the lives of others around them. With some sheer lazy characterisation of the aspiring author, Ravi definitely shows that he did not put in as much effort to shape out that character the way he shaped out that of the successful author (maybe it is easier to shape out their own character in books). The book does come with another caption stating 'Soon to be a Motion Picture' which sort of explains why the book steadily follows a screenplay format with more dialogs than description and some twists at the end of a few chapters. The book, mostly centred in India moves cringe-worthily to France to introduce an unwanted plot element and I wonder if this was done to make it more Bollywood-friendly!

Ravi Subramanian has definitely been consistent with his books from what I see in the past and continues to do so with this. But some bit of laziness, the complacency by settling in his comfort zone and shifting of interests to make the book a base for a movie definitely shows. While I would not blame Ravi entirely for that, but there definitely is a lot more that he can do with his writing with some experimentation!

I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

[Uday Kanth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Ravi Subramanian book, so I had no idea what to expect. And to be honest, I did not quite enjoy what I was reading at first. Sure the little tidbits of insight into the world of authors of publishing was interesting, and I did think the author did a great job at combining reality seamlessly with fiction. What I did not quite warm up to are the characters. This book is no Gone Girl, with characters you loved to hate. Neither Aditya Kapoor nor Shreya came off as particularly interesting people to me. Shreya started off intriguing, before she turned into a first-class bitch. Maybe I also have a thing against home-wreckers, but the truth of the matter is, for a purported antagonist of the book I felt nothing towards her. And there came a point in the story when I wasn't interested in anything that was going on and just wanted to know how it ends.

But then, Ravi throws that breathtaking climax at us which made the slog before at least a bit worthwhile. I thought the clue-dropping was well done, and I liked the way the truth is finally revealed with all the stake-holders present. All in all, an okay book.

[Anil Swarup · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no doubt that this could be made into a Bollywood block buster. It has a gripping story line that has been narrated in a manner typical of the author. The characters and their evolution keep you engaged till the end that has a new twist. The manner in which the chief protagonist, Aditya converts his weakness into strength to take on the strong willed and reckless Shreya forms the essence of the novel.

[Kashish · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why does every novel by an Indian author feels like a readymade Bollywood script?

Why do I even bother reading Indian authors when there are so many classics and great books that I still haven't read?

These are the questions, I need the answers to. If you answer the first one, I would answer the second one.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average at best. The writing was mediocre, the plot wasn't paced well, and a couple of the twists were simply unrealistic. The conclusion was the only thing salvaging this story. In short, I wasn't impressed.

[Vinoth Srinivasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book full of twists and turns most importantly at the unexpected places. In a long time I have not read a such a fabulously written book ( A romantic thriller). The screenplay is awesome that it would greatly qualify for a movie.

[Sagar Bhatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt more like one of the movie stories. The story feels like a bollywood movie which will grip you, its a chill time read.

Language is super easy and you can easily skim through.
Do not expect any learning as such from the book.

[Girish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ravi Subramanian sure can write a fast paced thriller. Even if the thriller doesn't have a major criminal plot. Except this book was predictable despite the smart literary devices.

Aditya Kapoor, an IIM author, is hailed as the paperback king of India. Happily married to Maya, a global banking career and supportive friends - he seems to have it all. Till he meets Shreya, a feisty IIM student and an aspiring author who later joins his team as an intern. He gets drawn into an all consuming affair pivoted on Shreya's bestseller.

A guy who has an affair and the effect it has on it's family isn't really something new. But building it up till the protagonist has absolutely no way out is interesting. But then there are just too many convoluted sub-plots trying to redeem the protagonist - which seems forced. Also the fact that the author tries to build the mystery with abrupt chapter endings is juvenile.

The book does give you an insight into the publishing industry which is first hand. Also, it does give IIM Bangalore a not so flattering image - All the characters from the institute are shown in gray.

Not a washout but not a great book either. Just above the mediocre.

A fast read!

[Selva · Rating 3 out of 5]

A kind of book hard to write a review for. If we look at it as a thriller, it is a decent read. Not very bad. Nothing great either. It falters intermittently and kind of redeems itself towards the ending. That happens with most thrillers. It is hard to write a pitch-perfect thriller nowadays because whatever there is to write has already been pretty much written. For a story, the writer has taken aspects from the worlds that he knows well: Banking and writing. About the publishing world, he does throw some light on certain aspects that is interesting. That being said, the writer sucks at writing emotional drama. His writing/plot is so cliched I was like 'should I spend more time on this book?' midway. One thing he is good at is planting clues beforehand and tying them up and all the loose ends in the end very much like Christie. Except no detective here. But the funny thing is we see the clues straightway - most of the time that is. What the protogonist realizes in page 250, I knew it in page 50. But he springs a few interesting surprises too. Recommended for ppl who want to read thrillers with an Indian setting.

[Aradhita · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading this novel I won't ever judge a book by it's cover .

Apart from an appealing cover this book has nothing new to bring on table. The loophole of this story is that the protagonist's deeds portray him as an antagonist. Lack of a good character may bore the reader. In the beginning the book is gripping and a fun to read but as we move on it turns out to be dull and it seems that the story is unnecessarily extending.
At the end the book has a twist but the way twist is revealed it makes it's impact fatal. This book is damn disappointing.

PS: the cover reads "soon to be a motion picture " ......lol

[Rakshita Nagayach (books_n_unicorns) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half is very loose. There's too much description of protagonist Shreya's beauty, too much stress on Aditya's accomplishments. The reader can notice several loopholes throughout the story, including Aditya involving Shreya way too much into his life despite claiming to get over her, Shreya being at every party and gathering, Maya not suspecting even a little of her husband's extra-marital affair, and what not.
The book gathers an interesting pace in the second half. It gets quite gripping but the ending seems a little forced-shut.

[Priyanka (ReadwithBanner ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently came across a Web series "Bestseller" which is an adaptation of this book. After watching the series, I bought the ebook and read it over night.


Everything comes at a price... How price one is ready to pay to fullfill these ambitions.
A successful, egotists author met an over-ambitious IIM student who aspires to be a successful author one day. She is restless and ready to turn all stone in favour by any means.

After reading alll Subramanian's work, I was disappointed with this one. It was quick read.

[Vedha K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Ravi Subramanian's best... Started hence had to finish it.