"Point is that if you ain't a celeb or an influential person, no one will be interested in you. But forget me. Ravinder Singh's sort-of-autobiography is complete trash. Sorry for spoilers, but I'm extremely not satisfied. The writing style is also childish, with half the conversations in Punjabi language - you can't figure out if you don't know Punjabi."
Like it Happened Yesterday is a novel by Ravinder Singh. If you've read his earlier novels, it's pretty normal for you to expect cheesy love stories. But not this time. Ravinder has twisted his way. Guess what the subject of the novel is? Another love story? Oh no. It's about childhood memories of the author and recollections from his teen years.
Unlike what I've read, this is a unique book of it's kind. The book cover, along with a heart clip art, deceived me into thinking that it was another 'lovy-dovy' story. Many of my friends had read his earlier novels and suggested me to pick up one. And I did. Huge mistake. Big blunder.
Like it Happened Yesterday is quite boring to be true. Sure, there are a few pages at the end of the book that you can't help not reading, but, elsewise, 90 percent of the remaining is damn crap. I have lost my faith in Ravinder Singh after reading this novel. Not good at all. Why do I think so? I'll summarize the points and give it here.
The main thing I don't like is it has way too much of personal memories. Now, be frank, no one wants to spend hours reading an author's personal recollections. Do you? I mean, if I just published a sort-of-autobiography (i.e you can consider an alternative name for LIHY), would you spend your hard earned money and time on this? Would you?
No. I know, I am a small writer who writes articles. Neither am I a superstar nor am I Sachin Tendulkar. Point is that if you ain't a celeb or an influential person, no one will be interested in you. But forget me. Ravinder Singh's sort-of-autobiography is complete trash. Sorry for spoilers, but I'm extremely not satisfied. The writing style is also childish, with half the conversations in Punjabi language - you can't figure out if you don't know Punjabi.
The only thing I liked about Like it Happened Yesterday is, the innocent character that is portrayed in the book and some thrills on a few pages, where you get to use your brain. According to me, the greatest achievement of an author is if he/she gets readers to think. Thinking is the greatest gift of man and the person who makes his readers think is a truly great author. See, O. Henry, Shakespeare, and actually, the man from Bengal- Sri Rabindranath Tagore himself. Just a few small examples, to be true.
The overall verdict is that if you have enough time and want to read a few lines that can help you trace back your childhood, go for this. Else, don't even think of this.
Rating: 2.5/5
