“I knew something was wrong when Sreenath wouldn’t come down to see the new car.”
The book’s opening provides the reader a sense of unease as well as excitement. The short book Teen Couple Have Fun Outsides explores the unsettling subject of sex tapes and pornography and how it impacts an Indian middle-class family.
The story of Teen Couple Have Fun Outsides is narrated from the viewpoint of the unidentified 20-year-old narrator, who becomes entangled in the family strife and his feelings toward various facets of Indian society. He also discusses his reaction to his brother, who was included in the sex tape together with his girlfriend. He struggles to comprehend the subtleties of relationships and makes unsuccessful attempts at bringing the family members together during this turmoil.
This book illustrates the social stigma, the pressures placed on the younger generation by society, the communication gap between generations, and the issues brought up by deeply ingrained beliefs derived from Indian customs and values.
After an illicit filming, the regrettable footage of 22-year-old Sree and his girlfriend Anita has finally appeared online and is making the rounds on local porn sites. Slowly at first, the news gets out there. In a nation where the phrase “regressive” is used almost daily, handling the fallout from a pornographic video that has gone viral is undoubtedly challenging. As a result of this incident, Shree and Anita experiences the worst trial of their life from their family member, friends and society.
Sree is brash and uncaring while his parents struggle with what will happen to the family’s reputation—or lack thereof—in the future. The generational divide does not get any bigger than this when sensibilities collide. Conflicts intensify and all relationships collapse.
Sree’s one-dimensional view of his circumstances and lack of empathy for his parents’ feelings, values, and beliefs are what really touched me as I read this novel. In addition to losing their social standing and portraying their son’s actions as illegal, Amma and Appa failed to show empathy for their son and provide him the security and safe haven he needed to deal with the circumstance.
Although the book is an easy read and has excellent writing, for some reason it didn’t stick with me. The book lost its unexpected factor and appeared ordinary in the latter part. I wanted to love the book and hence read till the end but I didn’t. It had a distinct sense of humor and had plenty of drama, but the plot was not unique.
I would give it a 3 star out of 5