Book Review: Diary of an Angry Young Man by Rishi Vohra

Raghav is an ordinary seven-year-old growing up on the 'good' side of Colaba in Bombay. His is a safe, protected world and he is kept well away from the 'other', darker side of Colaba, which nevertheless, holds a deep fascination for him with its colorful, busy alleys bustling with activity, people and mystery - the 'real' world as far he is concerned.

But life has other plans and Raghav's entire world comes crashing down one day. In the space of a few crucial hours, his childish innocence is ripped away brutally, and he also loses the one person who may have made his world right again - his mother. That fateful day alters the course of his life and the 'other' side is the only place he can escape his now truly miserable home life and his bitter father who he resents more and more each day. He never tells even his closest friends about the horrific abuse he suffered the day his mother died, the day a fierce, burning anger took root in his very soul.

Now, 20 years later, all his peers and friends are settling down into jobs and the business of growing up. But Raghav is still trapped between his now suffocating relationship with his father, his own inability to find a job and make a life for himself and the painful memories of his childhood ordeal that still haunt him. And this is when he meets Rani one day, an orphan beggar girl who knows life on the streets of Mumbai, but not in the way Raghav does. He wants to 'save' Rani from the beggar mafia and give her a chance at a better life. His strong need to stand up for something, to truly help someone is fueled by the recent Nirbhaya gangrape case in New Delhi, that evokes painful memories of his own past trauma.

Set in Bombay in 1992 and Mumbai in 2012, and inspired by true events, Diary of an Angry Young Man is a coming-of-age urban drama that explores the complex layers of humanity. And the city that engenders them.

GENRE: Coming of Age Fiction

PURCHASE LINKS: Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A Green MBA and Wine Specialist, Rishi Vohra has authored three other novels, I am M-M-Mumbai, HiFi in Bollywood and Once Upon the Tracks of Mumbai. His short story, The Mysterious Couple, was featured in Sudha Murty’s anthology Something Happened on the Way to Heaven, and another short story, Kaala Baba, in Neil D’Silva’s urban horror anthology City of Screams. His other short stories include The Saas-Bahu Conflict which was published in the HBB Horror Microfiction Anthology and In Your Eyes in Tell Me Your Story's LGBTQ anthology Pride, Not Prejudice: Decriminalising Love.

For more information, please visit www.rishivohra.com.

Review & Recommended Listening

Apart from being a coming of age novel, this book offered great insights into India's society. There was quite a bit I could relate to, actually, although I'm Filipino and not Indian.

Raghav's a great, well-rounded character, and the story displays his strengths and flaws very well. He's painfully human, and I appreciated that the most, that this isn't just some fictional story written up by an outsider. Not a surprise really since the author admits to having referenced real people for this tale, but it's well done.

The author's note also said:

I hope it inspires you to tap into the goodness of your heart and to look for an opportunity to go beyond your sense of security and do good for others.

and he succeeded in getting me to think about that one! Diary of An Angry Young Man is truly an inspiring story, especially in today's world where we're challenged by racism, violence, bigotry and so many other evils.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended Listening: As I mentioned in my open call for books to review, I’ll now be adding a song to my reviews! It’ll be one that either sums up the book for me, what I’d imagine in a trailer were it a movie, something that I associate with the story or one of the characters for whatever reason… or maybe even an original inspired by it 😉

I've heard it said

That people come into our lives for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

And we are led to those

Who help us most to grow if we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today

Because I knew you