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Friday, June 20, 2014

Tales From a Vending Machine by Anees Salim : A Review



BOOK TITLE: Tales from a Vending Machine

ISBN: 9789350296899
AUTHOR: Anees Salim
GENRE: Fiction
NUMBER OF PAGES: 223
FORMAT: Paperback
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: Won this in a Readers’ Cosmos giveaway
SUMMARY:  
Hasina Mansoor is many things: devoted sister, blushing lover and ambitious young woman. Unfortunately, a stint at the airport lounge's tea vending machine does not seem to be getting her any closer to her dreams. To pass the time she daydreams, chats with air-hostesses and takes part in mock anti-terrorist drills. At home, she studies her English, fights with her twin and engages in a secret love affair with her cousin and neighbour, Eza. But when a scandal threatens her tenuous happiness, she must pull out all stops on her overactive imagination, and seek a terrible revenge.
REVIEW:
          A simple girl handles a vending machine at the Domestic Airport. She sees flights everyday and dreams of being on one soon. Hasina Mansoor is a girl with a creative, imaginative mind to boast of, and handles the vending machine for her distant uncle, Haji Osman, whose only motive is profit. Hasina envies the air hostesses with their fancy, rich looking dresses and their plastic smiles.
          Things don’t look too well for her at the home front. She has a twin who goes to complete graduation while she works away. There is a kid brother who has a Learning Disability and there is her cousin Eza who she loves. But lo, Eza’s mother and her own father are caught in a property duel. In such a confused life, with the raging hormones of adolescence and her own dreams, Hasina goes about her job with both a resigned defiance and a burning ambition.
          The characterisation of the narrator/ lead warrants some discussion. Hasina has been created neither to be loved nor hated. She is a girl you could come across anywhere. She lies her way through her job and also tries to jump ship. Her life is much more interesting in her head than the mundane daily routine. She makes sure that you think of her, love or hate, either way.
          Her wrong pronunciations and the way she talks about ‘juice’ (Jews) and how the microbes were found by Bill Gates (Microsoft, I guess!) she comes across as a stunning simpleton. But the climax surprises the reader and leads to more confusion. It is like we have been taken on a funny uphill ride and let go of at the cliff.
          There is no actual plot, but as the title says, this is a book of tales from a vending machine. It is about Hasina’s learning experience and the life and feel of a girl from a simple family. The summary sounded exciting and intriguing, but the book is not as enticing. It carries you forward with the bits of wit and humour and simple innocence. The narrative lags occasionally but the sentences take you through. The characters are easily graphic and well etched. This book is Hasina’s journey, and you can enjoy the ride if you don’t judge her!
WHAT I LIKED:
          The wit and the nice flow of words. Though irritating occasionally, Hasina’s misinterpretations are funny, if you have the right outlook towards the author’s idea of a joke.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
          There could have been some more thickness to the plot. There is actually no set plot or idea of where the story goes.
VERDICT:
          Go for it, learn about the juice and microbes! It is fun!
RATING: 3.5/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Anees Salim is an advertising professional and is employed with Draft FCB Ulka. He loves being invisible and lives with his wife and son in Kochi. Vanity Bagh is his second novel.
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback
PRICE: Rs. 221 for Paperback

BOOK LINKS: http://www.amazon.in/Tales-Vending-Machine-Anees-Salim/dp/9350296896/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403139260&sr=1-1&keywords=9789350296899

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