Lie has many faces but truth has one. Likewise, lust has many faces but love has only one – dedication, understanding and support. Sunain Banga’s second novel, and he is just a student in his early 20s, The Perfect Couple, depicts the same thing – love in its earliest form – love among teenagers who are growing up with a feeling of loving someone and equally being loved by someone. The young people in the novel, Raman and Ananya, are amazing, passionate and very aware of their lives and days to come. In short, Sunain’s protagonists are lively, realistic and ambitious…
Majorly, the story is about Ananya and Raman, two teenagers who are together (almost) since 13. The timeline Sunain has been able to manage in his novel is between 30 November 2010 and 30 November 2015. A total of five years has been discussed and because the novel is written in a first-person narrative, it has come up with a two-folds – lively because you feel that someone is talking to you; a little ambiguous because you never get to know what the characters other than Raman might have been feeling. So, one thing that might ring the familiar bells is that this novel might be based on the real events related to the novelist – Sunain Banga – maybe closely related or related remotely.
“I don’t care anymore. Let people see us. We are together and that’s all that matters to me now. I was afraid earlier because I don’t want to ever lose you…”
So, the novel is mainly about the romantic relationship between Ananya and Raman. They love each other and in between, they doubt themselves too. Raman is a guitarist, a singer and Ananya is a student. Like any ideal Bollywood love story, you might have been guessing where it might go. And you may well be right too! However, Sunain might have many surprises for the readers in the store, depending upon how much you read romantic fiction.
The one thing that kept me interested in the story is timestamp; the young novelist has timestamped almost everything in his novel. The meeting, the ice cream, the hug, the kiss, the dinner, the late night waking… be ready to see a lot of AM and PM in the novel. You know you are reading fiction but that seems a lot assured and at the same time, surreal!
I will give the novelist thumbs up for catching up with the expectations of teenage readers. I will say I am impressed with his plot and communication expertise. I would have expected a little more at the plot though. Moreover, the theme could be a little broader and could have accommodated a few more key elements. Nonetheless, with whatever it is, the novel is so fantastic for the target audience and I am sure young readers will have a good time reading it! You can get a copy of The Perfect Couple from Amazon by visiting the link below:
review by Akhilesh for Literature News
The Perfect Couple - Sunain Banga
Summary
An ideal romance for the youths… a good novel for all!