Shreya Thakkar

The pandemic has prevented most of us from travelling any further than our own City. Fortunately, books still provide us safe ways to explore different cultures. Bookshelf Whispers by Bhagyashree Ranade is set in Prabhu Wada which is a huge house where people from different culture reside together as tenants. It is a story of Emilie, who is a foreign exchange student and Akinsa, an aspiring Kabaddi player. Emilie falls in love with Akinsa. Due to the cultural and traditional differences, there arises conflict in their relationship. Will they make it, or will it end in heartbreak? This is not just a usual love story but has unique cultural aspect to it. The story has many subplots and each can evoke different feelings in reader's heart. There are many unique characters, each with their own sets of struggles ;various emotions rushed through me while I read about them. The book talks about love, destiny, dreams, struggles, hopes, persistence, family values, patriarchy and managing differences . The family values are described in best possible way and it makes one think about the importance of family. The book portrays Marathi tradition in various ways and many Marathi words are used as well. (Thank you to the author for providing a glossary which was quite helpful to understand those words) The illustrations in the book made the whole experience more fun and lively. The book is quite a short read and can be finished in one go but some instances felt rushed into. But other than that this was a wonderful read for me with an amazing plotline and smooth narration. And let's take a moment to appreciate this beautiful looking cover!! I absolutely loved both, the title & the cover and once you read the book, you'll understand how relevant both are to the story.