PLOT: 4/5 CHARACTERS: 4/5 WRITING STYLE: 4/5 CLIMAX: 4/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4/5
Those who lived in a hostel during their university days in India will be listed Hostelitis: Living a living life. They would certainly relate to the honest ideas that the residents of the hostel cook for, and how they get a difficult engineering course in their first year.
What is the book about?
Based on the author’s own experiences, he spent four years at Regional Engineering College in Surat. Hostelitis: Living a living life it is a humorous, moving, and adventurous journey that takes the reader through transcendent and multi-directional paths of friendship, work goals, and true love.
Those special years
In short, it is an ode to all the years of not being a child or an adult, and yet without letting the child inside the adult die. However, as the title suggests, the idea of being in a shelter is a contagious disease. When someone enters the shelter life, it may seem difficult at first, but it will be difficult to say goodbye.
First impressions
The cover of the book deserves special mention. The title of the book is written in bold black, in large letters, with a few small things that are the main shelter around the word. This includes an Idli Dosa a plate, a compass, a bucket of water, a pair of shoes, a book, and a few Maggie and Samosa with chutney.
As the story goes for free
The plot revolves around three friends from Manish, Thomas and Swami, who are in their first year of college. It’s a story of the adulthood of Manish and his friends who are learning to strike a balance between being adults and having children, and not feeling it at the same time.
It is an appointment with exams, college elections, college politics, toilet quarrels, heartbreaks, and finding new lovers.
Writing
The plot has several ups and downs, with multiple twists that make it attractive and at the same time relatable. The book is relatable, as it is still the same situation in most hostels in engineering schools today, which adds to the eternity of the argument. Only perhaps technology has invaded life through mobile phones that were not so common in the 1990s.
However, the plot is quite episodic, which removes the monotony of recording the daily life of the hostels. It presents an overview of the notable events that take place with the characters. There is a lot going on and a lot at stake when parents send their children to engineering schools in India. This is very much reflected in the novel.
It shows the various aspects of what the book calls it ‘hostel’ or must be cared for by a student living in a hostel. This includes the smell of urine, potato fights and a mess of food. The general plot is applicable to students studying in Indian engineering schools and the book seems impossible.
Characters
All the characters are crafted in a special way. They are from different backgrounds and of course their families have high hopes for them to make a big difference in their lives after they finish engineering. However, the characters have their goals, priorities, and responsibilities in mind.
However, they are in a phase where they have just entered the adult world and have moved away from their parents’ eyes. These characters want to experience new freedom, try new things in life, have fun and get out of the way. In this sense, they are very relevant because of all the confusion, heartbreak, and stress of the exam.
Language
The writing style is fairly easy to follow, but a lot of slang is used throughout the book, both censored and uncensored at the same time. There are many circumlocutions, especially in the names of the chapters Eggjam Phever. Otherwise, there is a lot of humor and speech. If that’s not enough, it’s often there shayari used in the text, and some of them are just ridiculous.
Judgment
Overall, the book is easy to follow, humorous, and light-hearted, perhaps some of the best days of every student’s life before entering the real world.
Who should read it?
The book is essential for all those who have experienced a life of lodging, and certainly not for those who have not, to know all that they have lost.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy Hostelitis: Living a living life using the link below.
