Book Review: Maples Rejuvenating Cocktail

It is not very often I do a review for a book I am not keen on. In fact, after the first few pages I doubted I would be able to read the book at all. And one certainly doesn’t want to write a negative review, but this story had me baffled. The author, Bhavna Khemlani, was born in India and raised in Taiwan. She is an ESL teacher. The book was published by an independent publisher, www.frogbooks.net or www.leadstartcorp.com. When I looked them up I found they were less than reputable.

The book was either written in another language and translated into English, or it is just poorly written. The author seems intelligent at times making profound statements about life, and at other times she sounds like a teenager. Instead of using the word “said” she grasps for every other alternative, some that don’t even fit. She changes from past to present tense on occasion as well. In her acknowledgements she mentions an editor. I shake my head at that.

As for the story, once I got used to the broken English I rather enjoyed the story – enough to stick it out and read the whole book. Several characters residing in different parts of the world find their lives entangled. The main backdrop for this story is India, specifically Mumbai, which is where the characters coming from the U.S., Canada, and Singapore all meet up for a week long road trip. The author obviously knows Mumbai very well and gives a wonderful account of the characters’ excursions there. As she tells the stories of the characters she describes the beauty of the country. It is obvious she has personal experience and a passion for India.

“Life is like a cocktail. How each one of them fills up their glasses with tempting happiness is a mystery. When the glass starts to get empty, they forget they need a refill – an alternative solution for a new compassion to reignite the magic of love.”

If you can get past the poor writing, the story itself is worth the read.