Have you ever felt ‘meh’ after reading a book? I was left with this feeling after finishing Mukta Sathe’s debut novel, A Patchwork Family. I was looking for a short read and the title of the book intrigued me. The story started with the narrator, Ajoba( grandfather in Marathi) and his relation with his best friend. It then spins in to how a bond of friendship, love and trust develops with his best friend’s grand daughter Janaki. While the narrator talks about this beautiful bond, he sites certain misdoings of the society and the system may be to create more awareness among the readers.
When I started the book I had an expectation that people with losses will explore the contours of the uncertainties of relationships and get together to weave the fabric of a patchwork family. But I was utterly dissapointed. Sathe in this debut novel of hers has made an honest attempt to create the drama and explore the depth of human emotions but somewhere it was very loose and shallow. In all honesty the relation between Ajoba and Janaki didn’t make any sense to me and felt very unrealistic.
The book didn’t have much to offer. It lacked depth. What added to my frustration was the underdeveloped characters. I felt the premise of the story was beautiful and it could have been developed into a full-fledged novel.
I will award 3 stars out of 5 to this book