243 pages packed in 6 chapters and a brief on 5 people. ‘Walk in the Park’ I assumed to realise ‘When you assume. You make an ass of u and me!
A Grisham or a Ludlum could have been read much faster; there is the difference in this, as the contents here have to be read, understood and reflected upon. As the back cover text reads ‘ Things were never the same for five ordinary individuals who were lost at crossroads and there was no way back. They had no other choice but to take a plunge into their deepest fears and leave the rest to destiny.
The individuals were tested away from their comfort zones and it produced abstruse results. A PhD scholar fights to win a pizza making contest and a tennis prodigy runs for his life on a war torn, bloodied island.
Each individual or individuals, unlike the other, are but creatures of today’s world whom you and I can easily relate to- our next door neighbour, or our peer in the next cubicle. If you are honest you may find shades of you in all characters; likewise all characters created with great thought and clarity by the author- a banker who is also a sailor, teacher, trainer and author. The stories are creative and imaginative. With no story and situation similar to the other, the author makes it interesting.
But there has to be mystery a twist in the tale. That all these people oblivious to each other, absolute strangers to each other, have been assisted by one person. Is he the person who each saw as a stranger assisting them in the moment of peril when everything was lost and the situation seemed hopeless? Did he ever exist and if he did how did he appear at the right time for each sometimes as an old man, at times a neighbour, at times a college buddy. Or is it John Donne’s ‘No man is an island entirely of himself’ proved in real life.
Recommended for all across age groups. This reading shall if not anything else, result in making you think positive. And to think, stop and think whether are we really living our lives or doing the rat race rounds!
