Digital creator Prajakta Koli’s debut novel begins with the words, ‘I hope this book sets the romantic bar in your life so high that everyone you meet brings a ladder to the first date. Don’t settle for less, cutie.’
And therein lies the problem. The romance between the kurta-wearing Avani, who works in a bookstore, and the Rude Hot Guy, also known as Aman, who turns out to be the ‘every girl’s fantasy’ kind, begins in the most filmy manner, only for them to be completely smitten with each other, and so the romance does seem too good to be true. To give Koli credit, the title did warn us.
Where the author does score is making the reader care for her protagonists—both of them. The diary-like quality of the narrative allows both Aman and Avani to speak directly to the reader and express their thoughts and feelings. The book is an easy read and even the conflict that occurs is a minor issue—the reader can see the resolution from miles away. If you are a fan of the creator and want an easy, uncomplicated read, this book ticks all the boxes.
Koli, who was a speaker at the Jaipur Literature Festival, sat for a quick chat about the book.
When did you realise that you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve been a homebody since I was young and loved staying indoors with my books. My parents encouraged me to start journaling. Five years ago, when we moved houses, I came across a stack of all these journals that I had filled. While going through them again, I realised they were not half bad. That’s when I realised that this has always been a dormant pleasure. I’ve always loved writing, but I never had the courage to publish it. During the lockdown, I realised that I wanted to do a lot more. That’s when the idea for the book came to me.
The conflict in Avani and Aman’s love story is not overly dramatic. Is that how you intended it to be?
A 100 per cent. Building characters is the most exciting part of a story for me. I make family trees and backstories for the characters. I never found quirks exciting as a creator. I find simple and relatable characters beautiful. I’ve always said that this is an extremely ordinary story. I don’t think it’s something you’ve never heard before, but what makes it special for me is that my characters are beautiful and that is what was fun for me to work on.
Have you always been a fan of love romance?
Not till three years ago! I used to read a lot of autobiographies and mythological fiction. There was a phase when I was reading Haruki Murakami back-to-back. The world of romance had not opened up for me. I happened to be early at the airport once and picked up a romance book on a whim and that set things in motion.
Going ahead, do you want to explore other genres?
I don’t think I can write other genres because I don’t feel as excited to read them. I didn’t realise that I could feel all the joys and the emotions that I did when I read all those romance novels. Now that feeling is unlocked, it’s going to continue.