Who Told Men Not To Cry - Book Review

Book: Who Told Men Not To Cry?

Author: Azar

ISBN: 9781630414306

Pages: 249 

Ratings: 2/5

Price: 150

Something from the book:

It gave me the happiness

It gave me the pain

When a book starts with wrong grammar, you know for sure it is going to be a disaster and same was the condition of ‘Who told men not to cry?’, by Azar. The story is of a boy with adjustment issues. Raj the protagonist of the book belongs to a middle class family and is termed unlucky from the very start because the day he was born, his father suffered a loss in business. The book then moves on to his school life where for Raj the whole world revolves around his friends, teachers and ‘his girl’ aka Keerthi his love interest.

 He was a topper and was loved by all till class tenth but life took a turn (like it does for everyone) when he had to shift to high school. That is when his real struggle started as he had to face the consequences of not being a topper – no more the apple of his teachers’ eyes, no more genuine and trust worthy friends and no more ‘his girl’. Raj then works hard and tries to overcome his adjustment issues in order to sustain the pressures of High School but one of his biggest concerns is if he will get ‘his girl’ back.

Pros –

1.   Funny moments and light jokes in the book keep you going to some extent.

2.  The end – For a book with a very week plot to end in a funny satisfying end, it is a big thing. I liked the quirky poem in the end.

Cons –

1.   Grammar – A full length novel that starts with – “My son, it’s again you are going to be late to your college,” shouted my mom as I was busy singing in my bathroom. – gives you the picture of the book and takes the rating of 5 straight down to 3. (Sorry I am a Grammar Nazi)

2.  Raj’s Character sketching – Why does Raj call his friends mothers mom? And how does a flirtatious guy become teachers’ favourite by literally being cheesy and flirting with them? Also Raj hardly ever talks about his own family; his friends’ families have been given more importance in the book than his own mother and sister.

3.  My Girl! – Keerthi is her name. I found myself saying this God knows how many times in the 3 hours I took to finish the book. The author addresses his girlfriend as my girl almost everywhere. It gave the book very non – bookish feeling.

The story seems like ranting of a teenage boy and the storyline is not something an avid reader would enjoy. This book is the debut of the 20 year old author, Azar; and for his age it is a decent work but as a book or story it is a big failure.  Unfortunately the book needs a hell lot of editing and serious revision in case of grammar. Except for the end – atleast it was realistic, tragic yet funny, I personally didn’t enjoy the book much. Might be a onetime read for many but I wouldn’t pick the book again. 

P.S.- This book was given to me by BlackBuck Publications for review and the review is completely my own view about the book.