R.S.V.P. : A Novel-Ruchira Khanna

Book: R.S.V.P. : A Novel
Author: Ruchira Khanna
Publisher: Self Published

Do you think there is more to life than money?

RSVP: A Novel by Ruchira Khanna is the story of Jay Sethi, an Indian born American, who is living with a past that is refusing to let him go. With love turning its back on him and facing massive debt, he decides to take control of his life and settles in a small town in California. Things take a turn when his cousin Gina comes to stay with him for a few days, which is when he decides to take on his bucket list and embarks on a cruise with his canine best friend, Yogi, however things are not meant to go his way. Jay is shipwrecked and washed ashore on an island. It is there he realizes the importance of love and the salvation in letting go. This is a story that explores the idea of family and the will power to let things go.

The book has a wonderful storyline that takes you on a journey as the protagonist takes a journey to find himself. The story told through Jay in the first half shows the monotonous life he was living in pursuit of material comforts, and how for him everything was a transaction with no space for emotions. The story is excellently told, and the reader gets to experience the emotions that Jay is feeling through vivid imagery and Ruchira’s words. Another thing that stands out is that the story moves on its own, without much required to do the same. The second half of the book is something that is what took me by surprise. The manner in which the story transforms is an experience in itself. I did feel that the first half of the book did drag for a bit and probably could have been trimmed to enhance the reading experience, but the second half moves at a decent pace. The climax of the story is well crafted, and it is a wonderful Christmas story.

Coming to the characters, the arc of Jay was something that takes the show away. His association of identity with money and material life and its transformation into a person who is able to detach is very well told. Gina was a wonderful character, a polar opposite to Jay and she was the one who manages to balance the story in the first half. Mack and his island are people who inspired not only Jay, but me as well and that part of the story is a wonderful fable that entertains and teaches. Lastly, Yogi as a character did not speak much, but highlighted the fact that love as an emotion creates inseparable bonds, one that can transcend species and time.

Overall, a wonderful story that I would recommend you read. It scores a 4.19/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book from Amazon India here.