The Dumb and the Dumbfounded

by Prerna Varma, Abhinav Shrivastava

For few, college is the temple of learning, for some it is their
ticket to romance, for others it is a place to make new friends,
creating countless memories !

What does ‘college’ mean to you?
Does it remind you of your ‘best friend?’
The friend who has been there, shared your dreams, acted as an
advisor and an agony aunt.

But what if this same ‘friend’ betrays you, tries to sabotage your career and threatens to reveal every single detail of your life?

Would you sit in a corner and sob? Or would to stand up and
retaliate?

‘The Dumb and the Dumbfounded’ is a tale of two friends- Aarav and Dhruv, who embark on a thrilling ride of life.
But soon the thin line between thrill and fright starts to dissipate.

Aarav begins to lead a ‘dual life.’
Dhruv gives a new meaning to IIT.
And one of them discovers other’s plans.

Would they forgive and forget? Or would they seek vengeance?
But first, they have to make the ends meet, without actually making them meet!

This is a journey where there’s nothing right or wrong.

232 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2012

Reviews

[Gaurav Sahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is surely an un-put-downable book. Eager to know how the things change when the most precious person in your life turns against you? Grab your copies now. Read full review at
http://thewordbookie.wordpress.com/20...

[Abhilash Ruhela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth book of 2013 is been read. Reading is the best habit that I have and hence, I keep on promoting as much as I can so that others reading this medium can also indulge into this habit as it is been said to be the best Habit by many great men in history. :-) This time, I have read "The Dumb and the Dumbfounded" which also has the tagline "Life as we see it!". This is 231-pages novel published by ABC Publishers. This is the first time when I have picked up this publisher and I am satisfied with the quality of the cover page, pages, binding etc. I would like to specially mention that Cover Page of the book is something that I have seen very rarely- 5/5 to it. The book is written in co-authorship by Abhinav Shrivastava and Prerna Varma. Both of them are debutantes and it is the first time when they have written a novel. Both are writers who have pursued their education from Amity University and Delhi University. They have written over 500 articles for local sections of leading newspapers and websites while freelancing for magazines. They work for causes like cerebral palsy, fight against female feticide and right to education.

For few, college is the temple of learning, for some it is their ticket to romance, for others it is a place to make new friends, creating countless memories !
What does 'college' mean to you?Does it remind you of your 'best friend?'The friend who has been there, shared your dreams, acted as an advisor and an agony aunt!
But what if this same 'friend' betrays you, tries to sabotage your career and threatens to reveal every single detail of your life?
Would you sit in a corner and sob? Or would to stand up and retaliate?
'The Dumb and the Dumbfounded' is a tale of two friends- Aarav and Dhruv, who embark on a thrilling ride of life.But soon the thin line between thrill and fright starts to dissipate.
Aarav begins to lead a 'dual life.'Dhruv gives a new meaning to IIT.And one of them discovers other's plans.
Would they forgive and forget? Or would they seek vengeance? But first, they have to make the ends meet, without actually making them meet!
This is a journey where there's nothing right or wrong.


Coming to the authors- As they are young debutantes, I did find some drawbacks in their writing but I was satisfied with no grammar and spelling mistakes in the book. They have kept the book as simple as possible. They have generally targeted the age-group of 16 to 22, it seems. Because, the book is too simple for anyone who has passed out from college. The college children would love to read the book. Narration is fine. At few places, it seemed as if authors wanted to touch a landmark but missed it by couple of steps. They'll have to work little more before writing their 2nd novel. I would suggest them to read more books in this genre. It will surely help them to get the real way in which one should carry forward a story which has suspense hidden in it. Else, I would say that their writing skills didn't disappoint me.

Coming to the review, the first chapter of the book itself gives a feel that we are not going to read something that young authors publish these days. The initial pages of the book are very interesting when it's about lying to the stranger by the characters of the book and later meeting him/her co-incidentally and then dealing with it casually. The characters are defined very well. What I liked about the book is that authors haven't inserted sexual and intimate scenes to add spices in the story even when the book is about flirting, loving, committing, ditching etc. They have kept it decent. Kudos. College life ends soon in the first half itself. Another exciting feature of this novel. As soon as the ambitions and career's talks comes in the book, my reading pace fastened. The fights that both-Aarav and Dhruv keep having with their girlfriends in respective relationships are funny and cheap. Haha! The second half of the book is, actually, the winner. And the best part of the book is its climax. It saved the book.

Coming to the drawbacks- The book is very slow. I felt that they should have added more ingredients in these 231 pages than the very few that they have. The diary part should have been written in some different form and format rather than in the same tone as the whole book is been written. Narration sometimes felt weak, I think its because of the lack of co-ordination between both the authors at times. I felt that there wasn't any need of describing few things in detail as they are already understandable. As the book is about unfolding the suspense in the end of it, authors should have made the plot little doubtful at times so that it would have been fun when the story unfolds in the end.

But still, the climax is the winner and for me, it saved the book, literally. I can say that this is a book-form of the comedy movie- Garam Masala where two males keep fighting for girls and also against each other. If you enjoyed watching Garam Masala, you will love reading this book. :-) I would give it 2.75/5. One-time read? Yes, for the age group of 16-22.


Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU

[Ashwina Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't write reviews.
And honestly, when a friend initially asked me to check this book and forwarded the link, I saw it and was unimpressed. I mean, it looked like some random college love triangle. I felt dismayed at the level of Indian Authors and messaged the author about her standards of work aren't worth reading.
For a day I didn't receive a reply. I have done this to another popular 'female author' and she bashed me on her blog for saying against her. So, I was prepared to fight with this random person.
But to my utter surprise, the message that came was- 'I am very sorry that the book didn't interest you! I hope that someday I ll write a book that shall interest you. Thanks for your feedback, I ll keep that in mind. But yeah, I have a request, if you know a new reader or a teenager who might like something comedy, please refer it to them. I am sure a new reader would love it!'
Somehow, her apparent humility interested me and I ended up buying the book!
First thing, its not a 'love triangle.' I don't know why the writer didn't mention it when I bashed her for writing a love triangle. It has love and different angles, but love triangle is far away from the story.
A thing that I loved about the book is that it has subtle humor. You laugh at places, you smile at some and you definitely feel tearful at a point. But then, there aren't any sad endings, no character is unhappy. No sex, nothing profane (probably that's why she asked me to recommend it to someone young).
The only thing I disliked was Sameera's character. She shouldn't even be the part of story.
Yes, I read the book only because the author was sweet to me, interceptive. And I am glad that I read it- for the humor behind it!

[Hitesh Mittal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dumb and the Dumbfounded is a funny book, like a funny bollywood movie- without any insane dialogues or sex......
I loved the first half of the novel, really stuff like moon over the car, Aarav's love for night and Hrishant's unkempt hair-few things are memorable.
It seems authors have a particular liking for bathroom- the instances are mentioned time and again.......
But I think there is still a lot to be known- the book could be part of chronicles, because Dhruv's life can be explored more and more......

[Book Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

When India only has romance or religious writer it seems, but this book is a refreshing respite.
It has romance, but comedy is the word that describes it. Most of all, you don't really have to leave your brains at home for this comedy.
At some points, the writers seem to have taken the book to a whole new level with quotes that would remain with you forever. There are a few glitches but the plot is smooth, climax is awesome.

[Aastha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, first of all, I give 3.5 stars on the book and that's because there are quite a lot of things that might not be true in reality.Nevertheless, the book is a good read. There are 10 pages precisely that bored me, but otherwise good. Everything gets smoothly to the climax.
The cover is beautiful, something quite different from the rest. There are few lines that will win your heart. But yes, authors need to brush up their skills on smoother storytelling. Otherwise, a good attempt.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read earlier reviews about this on book rack and flipkart and picked this book, to see how two authors dealt with a subject of this sort. Interestingly I found this interesting. Though this book is easy read, Some how I took time to read. Interesting reading. Love, friendship, college life relationships breakups etc., though common, some how I felt this has different style in narrating the story.

[Abhimanyu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. Quite different from the rest I have seen these days.

Good things:
Awesome narrations,
descriptions are beautiful,
characters especially Medha and Trisha are well defined.
story runs over a period of 7 years
double narrative
pacy at most points
Climax is a win win


Bad things
Dhruv's part could have been longer
Sameera's character wasn't really required.

PS- I would actually give 3.75 stars to the book, but since goodreads doesn't allow it so I give a 4

[VaultOfBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

By Abhinav Shrivastava and Prerna Verma. Grade: B+

I believe that the books which mean the most to you are either those which make you feel a part of its story, or the ones which remind you of someone from your life who is closest to one of the characters. This time I read ‘The Dumb and The Dumbfounded’ by Abhinav Shrivastava & Prerna Verma, which not only reminded me of many of my old mates, but also narrated a story that took the tales of friendship to a new dimension.

Mr. Shrivastava and Ms. Verma, graduates of Amity University and Delhi University, have more than 500 articles under their pen. Apart from writing, they work for social causes such as the fight against female foeticide, cerebral palsy and right to education. ‘The Dumb and The Dumbfounded’ is their first fiction novel.
For few, college is the temple of learning, for some it is their ticket to romance, for others it is a place to make new friends, creating countless memories!

The Dumb and The Dumbfounded
What does ‘college’ mean to you?
Does it remind you of your ‘best friend?’
The friend who has been there, shared your dreams, acted as an advisor and an agony aunt!
But what if this same ‘friend’ betrays you, tries to sabotage your career and threatens to reveal every single detail of your life?
Would you sit in a corner and sob? Or would to stand up and retaliate?
‘The Dumb and the Dumbfounded’ is a tale of two friends- Aarav and Dhruv, who embark on a thrilling ride of life.
But soon the thin line between thrill and fright starts to dissipate.
Aarav begins to lead a ‘dual life.’
Dhruv gives a new meaning to IIT.
And one of them discovers other’s plans.
Would they forgive and forget? Or would they seek vengeance? But first, they have to make the ends meet, without actually making them meet!
This is a journey where there’s nothing right or wrong.
Right from the cover jacket, the book marks its presence. The cover is unusually good. It is nowhere in sync with the story, but still it stands apart from the regular cover jacket designs. Later some more designs of the same have been introduced, which are equally good as well. The back blurb is one of my favorite, because it doesn’t give away much about the story, but still manages to convey the right idea.

‘The Dumb and The Dumbfounded’ is a story about two friends Dhruv and Aarav, (Tada! It’s not another campus love story!) who are made for each other (Tada! It’s not a gay-love story either), and are trying to find the purpose of their lives. In course of finding this purpose, they start to drift apart, but their fate keeps bringing them closer again and again; making them remember the bond they share. To support their lives, Aarav has Medha, an intelligent girl with angelic beauty, and Dhruv has IIT: Ishanvai, Ira and Trisha.

The story is divided into five parts: campus life, the last few years of college, professional life, the ‘marriage’ dilemma, and post marriage. The narration is somewhat similar to the TV-serials; every chapter ends at a cliffhanger. Only the horrible music they place in Ekta Kapoor serials is missing. While it’s a good technique in some chapters, in others it only served to break the flow, and led to inappropriate and artificial chapter breaks. However, the narration does have a strong grip on the reader’s mind which is maintained throughout the book, which not only makes it hard to put down, but a cover-to-cover read as well.
When I read these lines on Page 173, it made me realize that it’s the most beautiful description of death I’ve ever read:
“He was dead.
No trace of pain, no sufferings, no victimization.”
And another on the same page:
“I felt that he slept for a while and woke up for an eternity.”

The authors used simple English that would appeal to nouveau reader, but avid readers looking for fancy word play and subtext might be disappointed. At times there are too many unnecessary details and then no details at all. There are some chapters which are written as pages of a diary, which could have been made more engrossing if the authors had decided to avoid using the same format for the rest of the chapters. However, witty one-liners and a strong sense of realization of truth bring a smile and keep the reader turning the pages.

To conclude my review, I would say that the authors did a decent job with ‘The Dumb…’ and hit the right chord with most of the young readers. Better chapter breaks would have enhanced the reading experience and could have saved it from becoming a Bollywood-inspired novel. The book is not enough to satisfy avid readers, but is a wonderful read for beginners and casual readers. The best thing about ‘The Dumb…’ is that it stays away from the cliched debuts: no love triangle, and no ‘stuffed’ sexual encounters.

Note to Publishers: I must confess that this is the first book I’ve read from ABC Publishers. ABC Publishers, I’m quite impressed with the page quality and editing of the book. I hope the book is well marketed in the target regions, because it does hold a lot of potential considering the average Indian reader’s mindset. Keep up the good work.


Originally reviewed at http://vaultofbooks.com/

[Simran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply loved the book mainly becoz of the ease with which each minute detail crosses ua mind.. The best part definately were the little humour every now and then.. one of my fav. incident in the novel is when Dhruv is with Trisha and he is being chased by Ishanvi n Ira both at the same time..i could actualy visualize it..n it was hilarious :) Eagerly Waiting for the sequel :) By far one of the different kinds of novel that i have read havin a judicious mixture of suspense, humour and romance and strikin a chord with the youth..:)

[Saumil Kakkad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an easy read.
There is a sparkling charm and freshness.
The enthusiasm of a writer's first book is felt constant throughout.

Its the story of every youngsters cool, hip and happening life...full of uncertainties.
The book brings forth a striking reality - how in those uncertain moments, youngsters take decisions on either side of the line.
Who is really true to you and who is not...Read the book to know.

I feel the book is a wonderful beginning of a witers literary sojourn.
There are some places where one can feel flashes of pure brilliance.
Enjoyed reading it..

[Aakriti Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the best books are simple. And that is what it is. Yes, by far not a best book, but definitely good. In fact, some portions are remarkable. The story flows with an ease. Even though the stuff is what you usually get in the market- the students, work, love etc, but the story is very different, narrative heartwarming.
3. 75 for the book.

[Meghant Parmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book which will fool with it's outer appearance.

It has portrayed the relationship called "friendship" with witty and freshness in the plot.

The story has quite a few points where it scores positive points.


The only downside are the few diary chapters which could have been handled better.


It's not a regular college type romance. It's serious in its approach. :)

[Aman Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed good in the beginning but started to bore me before I reached the mid of it. Still completed it some how.