Skip to main content

Book Review: Pyjamas are Forgiving by Twinkle Khanna

Blurb:
There sitting on that porch, that light-eyed man, a pitta like me, was my ex-husband and that woman whose inner element I was unaware of unless bitch is accepted as an undiscovered fourth dosha, was his young wife.
In the serene sanctuary of Kerala’s Shanthamaaya spa where food is rationed, sex is forbidden and emotions cantered, Anshu meets someone familiar and deeply unsettling – her ex-husband. Bittersweet, funny and wise, Pyjamas Are Forgiving confirms Twinkle Khanna as one of our great storytellers.
About the book:
The book is narrated by a woman named, Anshu who is in her early 40’s (divorced) and is childless.  To take a well-earned break, Anshu is in a Kerala Ayurvedic Shanthamaaya spa, where food is rationed, sex forbidden, and emotions cantered, whilst on her journey to remove dosha, Anshu is met with a familiar, yet a deeply unsettling sight- her philandering ex-husband, Jay, with his much younger wife, Shalini- who is quite opposite from her, both in physical and emotional term. Initially, Anshu is shocked and feels indignant, but slowly she is ready to balance and accept the sheer emotion of facing her ex-husband who left her for a younger looking woman.
Apart from the daily regime of drinking ghee, to performing the physical discomfort of Yoga poses, Anshu revisits the memory of her broken marriage in the ashram where she and her ex-husband were frequent visitors. As what the author has said in one of her interviews, the book ‘Pyjamas are Forgiving’ is reverse, a flip-book store where you start from the end where you have fallen out of love instead of the beginning. What would that look like? You need to grab a copy to find out, in the meantime, you can read my take on the book.

My Take on the Book:
I have been an avid fan of Twinkle Khanna right from the start of her writing journey, so, when she announced her third book, (a novel) I knew it was going to be unique, refreshing, hard-hitting and yes, with a good amount of humour and witty lines.
Pyjamas are forgiving is an in-depth understanding of strong women who many thinks do not have frailties, but yes, as humans they do. Anshu has been one of them.  She is mellow, wise, an old soul and worldly. The theme of the book delves around yoga, Ayurveda, wellness and little workings of the human heart when it comes to forgiving. 
The book is a slightly dark tale about love, sex and paths retrodden, it will make you love, laugh and cry. It is merely about Pyjamas being forgiving which sometimes tend to be too accommodating and have a longer drawstring than it should. A refreshing as well as a unique style of plot line which will make you keep turning the pages and devour in one sitting.  You may find yourself feeling an empathy towards Anshu, who in the midst of healing her broken heart find herself flirting with a young man, which she later discovers that he is sick (mortally) . The book is the journey of Anshu, as a divorcee who is seeking for redemption, who is trying to remove the grudges against her ex-husband with rigorous treatment in the spa, a sentimental chaos of moving on, confronting with the old memories of her ex-husband revisiting her. The book also have other reference of what is happening in the world right now, taken from the inspiration of the current buzz #MeToo.  

 The book is unique, riveting, gripping and the title is apt. If you find yourself asking, Why Pyjamas are Forgiving? Then you will see that when all things fall apart, your pyjamas will still hold on to you with its drawstring. And, in the words of Anshu, “Pyjamas are forgiving in nature, it’s jeans that really know how to hold a grudge.” Also,  I feel Pyjamas are not just forgiving, they are also generous and welcoming even when you put on an extra pound. 

   Book Details
Book Title: Pyjamas Are Forgiving
    Author: Twinkle Khanna
Paperback: 256 pages
Price: Rs. 325
Publisher: Juggernaut (7 September 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9386228971
ISBN-13: 978-9386228970
My Rating: 4.7/5




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: Birth of the Fae: Locked Out of Heaven by Danielle Orsino

About the Book What would you do if all you knew had abandoned you? Abandoned by their creator, two factions of angels remain on earth after the Great War with Lucifer. These Virtues and Power Angels struggle to comprehend their Creator’s plan while their wings, a symbol of their angelic lineage, slowly and painfully decay. Unaware of one another, the angels learn to survive and reinvent themselves. With no hope of returning to the Shining Kingdom, both groups denounce their angelic lineage and develop into their own factions. They call themselves the “Fae.” This is their story. The Fae world is ruled by two distinct courts: the Court of Light, led by Queen Aurora, a former Virtue Angel, and the Court of Dark, ruled by King Jarvok, a former Power Brigade Angel. The two monarchs have opposing views on how to govern their kin and, more importantly, the way humanity plays into their survival. The one belief they agree on is human worship equals power. Exactly how the two go about capturin
4 comments
Read more

Book Review: The L-word By Aastha Atray Banan

photo credit: Shethepeople Blurb In a world where a left swipe means you could be alone and sexless forever and taking a chance could mean you find ‘The One’, the question we often find ourselves asking is, what is love? When romance writer Aastha Atray Banan found herself getting asked questions about the daily struggles of love she decided to start a podcast, Love Aaj Kal, that dealt with everything about love and relationships. The L-Word is about modern love: from ghosting, polyamory, love in the times of social media to more every-day problems like dealing with heartbreak, infidelity and getting out of toxic relationships. Love can be many things – sometimes intimidating, frustrating, and often exhilarating – this book tells you how to make sense of it. My Take On The Book The L Word- Love, Lust, and Everything In-Between , I guess the title is self-explanatory of what the book is about. This is the first book I read by the romance writer Aastha Atray Banan who found her
Post a Comment
Read more

Reading in Quarantine- #Birthdaybloghop

Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people – people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.” – E.B. White With the Coronavirus crisis and most of the nation quarantined inside the comfort of their homes, I can presume all the bookworms silently rejoicing, not that the world is coming to a standstill (that would be rude), but because of the reason that we will have all the possible time in the world to be reading and ticking off our TBR lists (Not precisely though). At least we thought we will have all the possible time in the world to read and read till our eyes are sore, but guess that remind yet another excuse of, ‘maybe, I will start reading tomorrow.' And, one would probably be asking, ‘why read? when we have other things to keep ourselves engaged. There are so many other things to do and catch up with- for instance, binge-watching book adapted series, attending zoom calls, video calling old friends to ch
8 comments
Read more