Hua.. I'm back folks!! After a long hiatus, I had the familiar itch of a review wanting to burst forth. This is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time... Written by the indefatigable Jerry Pinto, one of the leading journo's in the country, in response to its counterparty ''Surviving Men'', written by who else, Shobha De.
This has to be one of the most irreverent books I have read on this highly sensitive topic. Jerry pokes fun at everything and everyone, male and female, sparing none and yet does manage to score quite a few home runs.
Lets begin by defining what this book is and isn't.
Is: This is a guide for the CIM (Confused Indian Man), who after being so used to the woman in the house just being another part of the furniture, is suddenly confronted by the strange new species - The Modern Woman. She knows her own mind, earns her own money and generally will not tolerate playing second fiddle to anyone.
Isn't: Do not expect to be a different man overnight, after you read this book. This book doesn't have any readymade answers. No sir, more often than not Jerry ends a chapter by saying ''You decide''. It is more like a portrayal of the various avatars women in your life take, and how the AIM (Average Indian Man) has been dealing with them till now. Of course there are suggestions as how to deal with them but no black and white answers (life rarely has them anyway).
Now lets look at what the book has to say.
The different chapters in this book deal with the different women/situations you can come across when you deal with the stronger sex (I firmly believe women are stronger than men). So you have chapters like surviving romance, surviving her friends (heh heh, who hasn't had to do this), mummy, daughter, female colleagues, being dumped (ouch), ex-wife and what have you...
The book deals with these various situations by interviewing different men, some women and at the end of each chapter Jerry adds his two bits worth (actually its worth a whole lot more than that).. In all this he tries to answer the question every urban man is asking..
How in the world do I become this fabulous New Man, who is expected to....
fly, cry, love, nurture, meditate, mediate, enjoy, relax, earn, achieve, verb, verb, verb. Who can strangle a bull with his left hand while he opens a bottle of champagne with his right, all the time staring deeply into the eyes of his beloved and mouthing perfect couplets from Khalil Gibran.
Sounds impossible right, well blame it on advertising, who has created the Perfect Raymond man and all that jazz.... Sheesh!!!
Some Brilliant Soundbites
Chapter ''She was just Sixteen''
Aah first love and spring is in the air, and this is why most men (boys) make perfect chumps of themselves and become totally tongue tied. ''at that age, it all boils down to cool. Cool don't ask no questions. cool don't want nothing from nobody. Cool is self-sufficient. Cool waits for things to happen because things happen to cool. Love is the ultimate loss of cool. Because declaring love can bring rejection in its wake. And when you're young its difficult to contextualise rejection.''
Chapter ''Surviving her friends''
''Surviving her friends is almost as vital as surviving her. Therefore do not feel free to criticize her friends. She may in moments of stress, describe them in words venomous, vile and vitriolic but that gives you no right to a)repeat those words back to her, b) dislike her friends because of this, c)say, feel, believe, think anything''. Confused, well read the book and find out....
Chapter ''Surviving being dumped''
''You don't get over a rejection. Getting over it implies you have some kind of control, but here you have none (if u did, you wouldn't be in this mess, would you)''
And many more of these gems....
Why read??
Well, this is not a classic, and makes no pretense of being one. What it is, is a rip roaringly funny jab at todays cliches, interspersed with some genuinely moving moments and great advise.... Especially the parts about dealing with her friends, your mom and daughter, and the first love...
This book should be read by both men and women, with an open mind. Remember it's not a philosophical treatise on the ills of society. Rather a frank and free discussion of the intricacies about day to day living and interpersonal relationships.
Read it and find out....Oh and do tell me abt your experience...
Cheers
- Thank You! We appreciate your effort.
