Book Review: Destiny of Shattered Dreams by Nilesh Rathod

Writer: Nilesh Rathod
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Year: 2016
ISBN: 9788129139757
Rating:

Destiny of Shattered Dreams, Nilesh Rathod’s maiden venture as an author seems like it has been commissioned by Karan Johar because he is running out of scripts. The story of Mr.Atul Malhotra (eagle eyed, handsome corporate honcho) has a good flow. The politico-corporate nexus he finds himself terribly entrenched in gets quite titillating towards the end. Buy Destiny of Shattered Dreams here

Alas! Things aren’t good throughout. There is an eerie similarity between the protagonist of the book & Leonardo DiCaprio of Wolf of Wall Street. The rise, the unscrupulous operations and the redemption follows the plot of the movie a little too closely for comfort.

The Story

Atul Malhotra will stop at nothing to further his ambition and his company’s name. TTL’s is the brainchild of Atul & three of his colleagues who trustingly support all his ways to expand the business. Atul’s ways include, taking the author’s analogy, “Jumping in the deep sea and shaking hands with the devil”. TTL is subsequently embroiled in multiple fraud allegations, extrication from which requires him to use out-of-the-box ways. The story mainly comprises of Atul’s rise and falls and complications in his personal life, as one tragedy after the other befalls him.

The Characters

The leading lady changes once, when Atul’s feelings swing towards another woman. Apart from Atul, no character is well developed. We know about his decisions, his mysterious philosophical mumblings, his grey personality. What we dont know is the reactions of any of the other characters or the reasons for arbitrary decisions taken by them. His girlfriend, who seems quite sensible towards the beginning, changes as his fortune’s change, which would have worked better if her character had been fleshed out better. Atul’s personality has a deliberate shade of grey, which seems to be inculcated so that the readers can accept his (many) wrongdoings to get to the pinnacle of success. The whole thing seems a bit forced.

The Verdict

All in all, Destiny of Shattered Dreams is a one time read, which may not stand out in the panoply of business/thriller/fiction books that are flooding the market. Buy Destiny of Shattered Dreams at the best price here