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Those Small Lil' Things in Life and Love
Have you ever known a guy who would gift his girlfriend soap? Well, say hello to Raj, a young architect, who is a huge film buff and believes that life, is full of filmy angles . He hates his job and has an almost evil boss. He has a shoddy love life, is heart broken and feels that he is the loneliest person on the face of this earth. It s a story connecting all those small little incidents in one s life that one never forgets. It s a journey through growing up. A journey from love, to out of it. Through joy, sadness and anger. About childhood friendship blooming into love. About the one you love not loving you back. About friends making each other happy, and about friends making each other sad about friends fighting. It s about being completely sure about things, and at the same time, being utterly unsure about them. It s about school, college and professional life. It s a lot about the heart, and its desires. It s a story about finding it tough to adjust at times, and then missing it later when they are over.
244 pages, ebook
First published November 1, 2011
45 people are currently reading
503 people want to read
About the author
Rahul Saini
20 books63 followersRahul Saini is the bestselling author of seven hugely popular books – Those small Lil’ Things, Just like in the Movies, The Orange Hangover, Paperback Dreams, Just For You and most recently, Love to Hurt You and The Part I Left With You. His book, Paperback Dreams, created a lot of buzz and raised many questions about the current scenario of the publishing industry in India. All his books have featured in various bestselling lists across the nation.
His books have strong comic tones and present the up-beat stories that portray the fun loving, free spirited and the outgoing character of today’s youth. Apart from being light entertainers, his books carry relevant social messages. His first book has also been
translated into Hindi which won the award for the best translation by the Federation of
Indian Printers and Publishers. Trained as an architect from Sushant School of Art and
Architecture, Gurgaon, apart from being a novelist, he is a keen photographer and an artist and has had successful art shows. He is into film making and script writing as well.
Currently he is working as a visiting faculty member for an art and design program at a
prestigious university in India.
His books have strong comic tones and present the up-beat stories that portray the fun loving, free spirited and the outgoing character of today’s youth. Apart from being light entertainers, his books carry relevant social messages. His first book has also been
translated into Hindi which won the award for the best translation by the Federation of
Indian Printers and Publishers. Trained as an architect from Sushant School of Art and
Architecture, Gurgaon, apart from being a novelist, he is a keen photographer and an artist and has had successful art shows. He is into film making and script writing as well.
Currently he is working as a visiting faculty member for an art and design program at a
prestigious university in India.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
December 5, 2009
I picked up this book, just by chance at the Ahmedabad railway station. I like these kind of books cause there are light reading, there are situations you can relate to. The new breed of authors Chetan Bhagat and Tushar Raheja and many more, will never be a classic, but will be entertaining.
Author Rahul Saini introduces Raj who gifts his girlfriend a soap and then also introduces all the women in the life of Raj unlike Khuswant Singh's In the Company of Women. Raj's love (read as mostly infatuation) story starts when he was in pre-school, and continues through out school, college, and then work with different women in a very Bollywood-ish style. He works as a architect where is always in the company of women, not like he flirting with them, but he is always surrounded with them for friendship and emotional support.
Raj elucidates his relationship about the 8 women in his life and you can pick up any chapter out of random and start with any one. Please note, the grammar, style of writing, for emphasis using ALL CAPS. Thank God, for not using abusive language or mom had done the proof reading and she ordered the author, "beta, the 'f' word is not necessary here; please delete it, right now".
Author Rahul Saini introduces Raj who gifts his girlfriend a soap and then also introduces all the women in the life of Raj unlike Khuswant Singh's In the Company of Women. Raj's love (read as mostly infatuation) story starts when he was in pre-school, and continues through out school, college, and then work with different women in a very Bollywood-ish style. He works as a architect where is always in the company of women, not like he flirting with them, but he is always surrounded with them for friendship and emotional support.
Raj elucidates his relationship about the 8 women in his life and you can pick up any chapter out of random and start with any one. Please note, the grammar, style of writing, for emphasis using ALL CAPS. Thank God, for not using abusive language or mom had done the proof reading and she ordered the author, "beta, the 'f' word is not necessary here; please delete it, right now".
Read
December 16, 2013I refuse to rate this book. While I have nothing against the amateurish youth novels (I absolutely enjoyed Anything for you Ma'am, That Thing Called Love and 2 States), I found this one as a downright insult to literature, amateur or otherwise. This is the only book that I have shredded to pieces and thrown away in the stinky garbage of my hostel, mid-way. Writing anything more about it would be condescending to the very act of writing.
May 5, 2013
There was no preplanning to read this book, it just happened that it was lying in my shelf for quite long time, so getting some free time, I planned to finish it. So here I am.
Story: 1/5
If I have to describe the story in line, I would say that it was just the most simplest, most commonest story one can even think of. There is nothing new to read about, no adventurous, no breath-taking events, nothing to make you laugh like mad, nothing to make you cry. It was just the simple story of everyone, the usual classes and events related to school, usual college life and then the usual monotonous office life. Thats it. Dont expect anything more. Else you are gonna be totally disappointed.
Story Telling: 0.5/5
You look from the eyes of Raj, his thoughts and perspective of the events happening around him from his childhood to his adulthood, from his elementary school to high school to college and to his office. The story switches between past and present making alternate chapters (most of the time) with each chapter ranging from 3 - 5 pages. Though we have seen such story telling in many really good books, but there has been nothing interesting in this. And throughout the whole book, the author have to go through block letters every now and then. Though they sometime get the feeling convey but using them for a whole line and all the time, beats the job and not to mention appears quite un-professional.
Characters: 1/5
The main character Raj, tells us about all his incidences around him and his friends involved in them. Though the author tried to make it interesting by taking the references from many bollywood movies, but he terribly fails in them making it look like a failed comparison which appears childish most of the time. And such reference of characters looks and behaviour to movies, takes place from the start till the end, which after sometime appears totally lame and appears as if the author doesnt want to describe them and leave on the readers to remember the movie and get it by themselves. There were few of the instances where you would get a smile to read about some and that overrated 1/5 is for those parts.
Enjoyement: 1.5/5
I wont say you wont enjoy it AT ALL. But such movements are very very less. At some point of time you would think that why are you reading this book at all, since there is no story going along with it. As the end approaches, there would be some eagerness to know how it ends, but its short lived.
Conclusion:
Its a book, you would like to stay away from them. There is nothing you are going to miss if you dont read this book. On the other hand, you are gonna waste a good 4-5 hours of your valuable time by reading it. Final verdict: STAY AWAY FROM IT. ITS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME.
Story: 1/5
If I have to describe the story in line, I would say that it was just the most simplest, most commonest story one can even think of. There is nothing new to read about, no adventurous, no breath-taking events, nothing to make you laugh like mad, nothing to make you cry. It was just the simple story of everyone, the usual classes and events related to school, usual college life and then the usual monotonous office life. Thats it. Dont expect anything more. Else you are gonna be totally disappointed.
Story Telling: 0.5/5
You look from the eyes of Raj, his thoughts and perspective of the events happening around him from his childhood to his adulthood, from his elementary school to high school to college and to his office. The story switches between past and present making alternate chapters (most of the time) with each chapter ranging from 3 - 5 pages. Though we have seen such story telling in many really good books, but there has been nothing interesting in this. And throughout the whole book, the author have to go through block letters every now and then. Though they sometime get the feeling convey but using them for a whole line and all the time, beats the job and not to mention appears quite un-professional.
Characters: 1/5
The main character Raj, tells us about all his incidences around him and his friends involved in them. Though the author tried to make it interesting by taking the references from many bollywood movies, but he terribly fails in them making it look like a failed comparison which appears childish most of the time. And such reference of characters looks and behaviour to movies, takes place from the start till the end, which after sometime appears totally lame and appears as if the author doesnt want to describe them and leave on the readers to remember the movie and get it by themselves. There were few of the instances where you would get a smile to read about some and that overrated 1/5 is for those parts.
Enjoyement: 1.5/5
I wont say you wont enjoy it AT ALL. But such movements are very very less. At some point of time you would think that why are you reading this book at all, since there is no story going along with it. As the end approaches, there would be some eagerness to know how it ends, but its short lived.
Conclusion:
Its a book, you would like to stay away from them. There is nothing you are going to miss if you dont read this book. On the other hand, you are gonna waste a good 4-5 hours of your valuable time by reading it. Final verdict: STAY AWAY FROM IT. ITS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME.
January 8, 2012
I am not very familiar with Indian fiction. But I decided to try out a couple of books. I picked up Saini's book because.. well, it had the most attractive cover. Not gonna lie about it. If you're a grammar Nazi or one of those people who can't bear it when punctuation goes wrong, you probably want to stay away from it. To be honest, it's not really a.. novel. It's more like an extended version of a Chicken Soup story. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to read some fun prose.
November 24, 2011
Enjoyed reading it.... Simple Rom - Com .. I could relate to the events , childhood crush , college infatuations, work life , irritating Boss , etc etc... A Fun book.
July 21, 2017
I had read this book when I was in my Second year of college. I remember how relatable the story was, it wasn't any literature masterpiece but there was some innocence in the story which I had loved about it. The writer I felt was very much like me, though he was sharing his own childhoon to teenage stories, I felt nostalgic myself. I would rate it 4 stars, one star extra for being simple and for it being written in a nostalgic tone.
March 21, 2013
I finished it more than a week ago but wasn't able to write a review. I was confused how i should begin so i decided I'll start by sharing my reason to choose this book as my to read book.
I decided to read this book only because i loved the sound of the title and the cover (I know we should never judge a book by its cover but I couldn't help it). Though I am an Indian and live in India I never came across this author and the book, so i thought lets give this new find a try and ta-da my friend brought it for her self and i borrowed it.
Now stories apart I'll come to my review.
Plot The story revolves around a boy named Raj and his love intrests and his life at his workplace. Raj tells his story by taking us alternatively back and forth in his past and present.
In past we get to know his crushes and love intrests, how he had his 'heart broken' in kindergarten and how the following years uptill finishing college have it broken many times, it consists of funny incidents.
In present we are introduced to his workplace with bully boss and jerk n lifeless colleagues. I had pity towards his drab n torchering worklife and alo liked to meet Manisha (his senior at his workplace) and the of his intern juniors Raina, J.J and Deep, who some what make the job less torchering.
Characters Raj the main character is a total movie buff and somewhat had a tendency (or talent) to make only females as best friends, this made his life in boys school a miserable one. I had mixed feeling for him initially i was like ok so he has a crush at the age of 4 and then when i read further i was all the way saying he is such a big JERK hitting on every girl, and then at the end he was not that bad.
In other characters i likes his mom very much, Pragya and Manisha, JJ, Raina and Deep they were awesome. I also loved his best friends Aksha,Shalini and Guneet; I liked Guneet very much because she was just like me crazy.
Overall Overall i had mixed views its kind of 50-50 for my I wont say i hate it I like it but not loved it what kept me going was the anxity to know what happens at the end, does he finally gives his boss a answer or does he go on enduring the torcher- and at the end what happened was satisfying i loved it, and also i wanted to know does he get his love or again a rejection from the same girl- but we do not get any such ending instead we are given the option to choose whatever ending we like thats up to us, and i kind of liked it that way.
Recommendation If you can not tolerate grammer mistakes and are looking for some serious and proper read then this is not for you. But, if you are looking for simple not too serious and somewhat funny light read go for it.
It was a one time read for me. I don't see my self picking it againg in a near future(i.e. not coming 1-2 years) ;)
*do not own the copy borrowed it from a friend
I decided to read this book only because i loved the sound of the title and the cover (I know we should never judge a book by its cover but I couldn't help it). Though I am an Indian and live in India I never came across this author and the book, so i thought lets give this new find a try and ta-da my friend brought it for her self and i borrowed it.
Now stories apart I'll come to my review.
Plot The story revolves around a boy named Raj and his love intrests and his life at his workplace. Raj tells his story by taking us alternatively back and forth in his past and present.
In past we get to know his crushes and love intrests, how he had his 'heart broken' in kindergarten and how the following years uptill finishing college have it broken many times, it consists of funny incidents.
In present we are introduced to his workplace with bully boss and jerk n lifeless colleagues. I had pity towards his drab n torchering worklife and alo liked to meet Manisha (his senior at his workplace) and the of his intern juniors Raina, J.J and Deep, who some what make the job less torchering.
Characters Raj the main character is a total movie buff and somewhat had a tendency (or talent) to make only females as best friends, this made his life in boys school a miserable one. I had mixed feeling for him initially i was like ok so he has a crush at the age of 4 and then when i read further i was all the way saying he is such a big JERK hitting on every girl, and then at the end he was not that bad.
In other characters i likes his mom very much, Pragya and Manisha, JJ, Raina and Deep they were awesome. I also loved his best friends Aksha,Shalini and Guneet; I liked Guneet very much because she was just like me crazy.
Overall Overall i had mixed views its kind of 50-50 for my I wont say i hate it I like it but not loved it what kept me going was the anxity to know what happens at the end, does he finally gives his boss a answer or does he go on enduring the torcher- and at the end what happened was satisfying i loved it, and also i wanted to know does he get his love or again a rejection from the same girl- but we do not get any such ending instead we are given the option to choose whatever ending we like thats up to us, and i kind of liked it that way.
Recommendation If you can not tolerate grammer mistakes and are looking for some serious and proper read then this is not for you. But, if you are looking for simple not too serious and somewhat funny light read go for it.
It was a one time read for me. I don't see my self picking it againg in a near future(i.e. not coming 1-2 years) ;)
*do not own the copy borrowed it from a friend
Read
August 1, 2010A story of a boy, Raj, that revolves around his girls from childhood. He loves a school friend ,and continues to love her despite the fact that she is not with him. In the mean time falls in love with another girl named NeelHans and they break up during their graduation.
Raj had girls as his frd akk through his life, and tried to be away from Bossy Boys who always bullied him.
The novel is narrated in a very good manner which is able to get the attention of the readers. It mainly has 2 stages, one is his Present office live , where her works as an Architect and he is irritated with his office life while in mean times get some philosophical sharing of ideas from his room mate and the other side of his novel revolves around how his past life was with his friends and love.
Raj had girls as his frd akk through his life, and tried to be away from Bossy Boys who always bullied him.
The novel is narrated in a very good manner which is able to get the attention of the readers. It mainly has 2 stages, one is his Present office live , where her works as an Architect and he is irritated with his office life while in mean times get some philosophical sharing of ideas from his room mate and the other side of his novel revolves around how his past life was with his friends and love.
March 2, 2012
Ahhh we suddenly have Chetan Bhagats springing out of nowhere these days. Another book of a guy's life (with focus on girls during this school and architecture college days), this appears to be a light read- of simple things in life, heart breaks, lost love found, and realizations. But seriously, the story-telling is very disappointing, very juvenile, and just silly. Not Recommended
May 15, 2013
A random pick + Indian Author + wanted to Kill travelling time = Disappointment
Just finished reading it. And trust me if you have not read this book you are not losing something great in your life.
For me it was more of a personal daily dairy or blog written in a lil fancy way and some good childhood memories.
And i wasted my 2 days reading it..!!
Just finished reading it. And trust me if you have not read this book you are not losing something great in your life.
For me it was more of a personal daily dairy or blog written in a lil fancy way and some good childhood memories.
And i wasted my 2 days reading it..!!
July 15, 2013
The WORST novel I have ever read.This book has no story .The only good thing about this book is its cover. There was no ending and then author claims its a reader's book and we can imagine our version of ending.Read if you have all the time in the world.
August 11, 2010
I have read this book last month , For Indian readers ofcourse. Quite a gud book...Read it and enjoy it...
June 9, 2012
The worst ever written by any Indian author.
August 21, 2012
I'm not reading Rahul Sainy ever again. Definitely not my type.
Felt like i was reading a teenager's Diary. May be that's how its supposed to be !?
Felt like i was reading a teenager's Diary. May be that's how its supposed to be !?
January 30, 2014
putting it one word 'YUCK' don't go for this book even if u r getting it for free
October 10, 2017
very good book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2018
nice book..for light reading. One time read..
February 26, 2019
It's a very cute and finish it at once kinda book.. Loved it to the core
Read
July 10, 2019I would like to go with author's advice to warn my circle to not to read it.
July 12, 2022
Taught us how all the small little things made up the beautiful thing called Memories 💌✨
January 30, 2011
Picked up this book for a light read and it truly was, finished it in around 4 hours or so through a flight. Not impressed by the writing. The plot is a typical back and forth between the present and past, highlighting all of the main characters love interests (more infatuation since it dates back from kindergarden). The writing style was NOT impressive, irritated me to an extent to read all caps for effect and changes in font styles and sizes throughout the book. Also, while the intent has been to write colloquially, it seems very amateurish. To be fair though, the author did mention at the beginning of the book that he was not good at english but will still write the book!
You will not miss anything if you pass on this one.
You will not miss anything if you pass on this one.
August 30, 2024
Being in my worst phase I went through a comforting fav book. I don't know why I can't remember its plot even while reading it time and time again.I bought this up for no literal no reason. And even a year & half after finishing it this book still soothes. But I'm damn sure if this gets published today it'll tagged as a 'Story of a pickme' or 'Green flag ke ch**e' etc. But that's it some people are like that & I'm proudly one of those. It was more like a journal. And really sometimes you don't need Virginia Woolf's writing in moments of despair.
And last thing read it,feel good,forget it and repeat.
And last thing read it,feel good,forget it and repeat.
February 15, 2010
It was a so-so book....It is all about Raj and his experiences in life that was ranging from the age when he entered the school for the first time and now. Its about all the girls who loved him and all those whom he loved.
Its not a book which will keep you intrigued.
Frankly if you miss this book not much will be missed. If you read then you will have a time-pass for 3-4hrs(in which you are gona be bored).
Definately not worthy for my second read (wasn't even for my first read)!!!
Waste of money..waste of time...
Its not a book which will keep you intrigued.
Frankly if you miss this book not much will be missed. If you read then you will have a time-pass for 3-4hrs(in which you are gona be bored).
Definately not worthy for my second read (wasn't even for my first read)!!!
Waste of money..waste of time...
August 9, 2016
My friend bought this book one fine early morning pestering me to keep it in my book shelf. the first thingI saw in book was cover(dats so obvious actually no need to mention it). I loved the cover. so innovative it was that I literally thought that the book is gonna be awesome.
and that was how I started reading it.
There was not much interesting about book. story line was revolving around the girls, job,friends, first love,etc. nothing was new.
and that didn't excite me really.
i wanted light-reading and that's why I ended up reading it. but didn't enjoyed reading much
and that was how I started reading it.
There was not much interesting about book. story line was revolving around the girls, job,friends, first love,etc. nothing was new.
and that didn't excite me really.
i wanted light-reading and that's why I ended up reading it. but didn't enjoyed reading much
November 17, 2014
Those small and lil things in life and love is an everyday story of every loner who is always in look for a sweet company in his life. It is not your regular novel, but the incidents that happen in the story are close to the things that happen in our life everyday. It is a story of love getting blossomed, misunderstood, broken up and separated. If you have encountered emotion called 'love' in your school, college and office, then you definitely connect to it. If you are keen to read a sweet, light-hearted story with lots of wit, then I recommend this one to everyone.
October 6, 2012
I am qite flummmoxed by the faact that this became aa best seller. There is nothing of value in the book. Neither is it readable. Once love affair from LKG till date itself is boring and add to it a non-starter climax!!!
May 1, 2013
This book is beyond pathetic. Its a serious waste of paper and ink. I read it only because someone close had gifted it to me, otherwise I would have thrown it in the dustbin, just looking at the title.
November 21, 2014
Read this book just because the author was from my city, Jalandhar. Apart from the mention of my school, which the lead character studies in for 2 years, there was nothing that appealed to me while reading this book. A below average read and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
July 26, 2015
I agree that those small lil things in life do make a good read but some sequences in the character's life were too boring. the girl who dumped him twice and more, never had a feeling for him and the end was real abrupt. one thing good abt the book is the cover design .
January 27, 2010
good... I identified myself in the charecter
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews