Book Review #69 Best Seller : Ahmed Faiyaz

This book has been sent by the author in exchange of an honest and unbiased review.

Blurb:

Akshay Saxena, an out of work editor of a defunct literary magazine in the UK, is told to move to India for a year to help shore up the value of Kalim, an ailing Indian publisher.
Akshay finds himself in a job where he has to do the impossible. Angus Lee, the new owner of Thomson Lee Books, wants at least five bestsellers in the coming year, failing which the business would be wound up.
He has to find a way of making a success out of books he would never publish or would never even read. To complicate things further, he has to contend with motley crew of has-beens and misfits working for the publishing house as well as wannabe writers, dealing with their follies and derisive tactics, and battle his own affections for Zorah Kalim, the impulsive daughter of his former boss.
Will he succeed in bringing out that one ‘bestseller’ from his publishing house? And what about his own life and love in office? Find out in this riveting read.

My Take:

Some authors weave magic.Till now, I was under the impression that magic can be weaved only with exploring mythology (as that is one genre where I saw the best creativity at work) but this one just set up new bench mark in contemporary fiction too.

Honestly when I had seen the cover in Amazon, and best sellers section I thought of it as a serious genre book which shared some heavy duty stories and real life experiences , so I never first bothered even to read the blurb. But suddenly one day I was searching for this author's any other work as I have read his "Love,Life and All that Jazz" and it pretty much stayed with me in thoughts for long. It is my go to book that I read on and off for its story line and well etched characters. It was then that it rang the bell that the author has come up with a new one and that it is the same I am avoiding without reading the blurb. After reading the blurb, I realized this might not be a serious heavy duty one as I assumed it to be. So I approached the author and he very promptly shared a copy for me to review. Thank you Ahmed for the gesture.

Akshay, who joins the dying Kalim Publication house as a editor is thrown a challenge to churn 5 best sellers in a year. To revive a failing publication house, the people he meets, the stories he believes and the risks the publication house takes to do the needful forms the bottom-line of the story. To what length people/ newbies do to become an author and the politics and games they play to be successful/ among the best sellers makes it a compelling read. How Akshay changes from being a naive and honest editor to a calculative and manipulative one and what transforms him back to being honest and protective self towards this venture makes a riveting connect.

A strong plot sharing insights of what a publishing house does, cheeky humor sprinkled along with some day to day challenges a subtle, sarcastic and witty take on how a publishing house works and what a editor really does. For a book reader/ reviewer, this is a window that gives a peep in what goes in writing, editing and publishing a book. 

My Rating:

I would rate this book 4.5/5 for the simple narration and crisp writing. Buy a copy and you won't regret choosing this.  You can buy the book here.