Between The Headlines by Shweta Ganesh Kumar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
‘Between the headlines’ is an easy simple read. Despite the machinations of the plot, the diverse swinging emotions and the turns the story takes, the author, Shweta Ganesh Kumar has kept the narration going at a pace that’s comfortable, easy to follow and engaging.
The story is that of Sathyabhama, a young aspiring journalist who as any other aspiring career driven youngster goes through the difficulties of realizing the realities of their dreams. She comes into town full of idealistic views on creating a niche for herself, but instead gets rebuffed at different times, which in turn helps her grow. She learns her way around, some by destiny and some by sheer hard work and by failing and trying again, and we find ourselves rooting for her as the story goes along.
The author touches upon drama, emotions and situations in life without stressing too much on any and yet covering each enough to impact the story well. There is romance with her lost-childhood friend, jealous colleague, the unfair higher boss, the understanding immediate superior, the supporting cameramen and more who would groom her through the time.
What particularly fascinated me was the behind the scenes (and much close to the truth as one can get, I’d imagine) take on the TV industry. The ruthlessness with which stories were cut, framed and tweaked to satisfy the ratings and the popular big wigs, both shocked and made sense to me. It was a sad reality that I was introduced to and I hated the situation for what it became to be. There were parts that rung autobiographical, and on going back and reading the blurb on the author, it seemed to all fit in 🙂
To me, it was a simple, hard to put down, page-turner. Something that very few Indian authors have managed to bring about. There are colloquial Kannada words, the setting and language is Indian style, something that will take a chapter or two to get used to (only because I have lost touch with reading Indian authors) but it meshes well together.
Shewtha Ganesh is also on Goodreads and blogs here”.
A short quick shoutout to her and the publisher for being gracious enough to mail me a copy of the book across the seven seas for my reading pleasure and review. This review has been long overdue and I have to blame the kids, the husband and my own cranky love affair with fitness and I know am vindicated!
Do grab a copy and read. It’s not your usual cup of tea!
