Blog Tour: THE OTHER END OF THE CORRIDOR by Sujata Rajpal

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My Review

Disclaimer: I received a MOBI version of this book from the author via The Book Club in return for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for the same.

I wanted to read this book from the moment my eyes fell on the cover. It’s simply gorgeous. Yeah, I am like that. I so fall for an eye-catching cover. I filled the form with alacrity when the book came up for blog tour via The Book Club, without even checking out the blurb or genre.

When I started reading the book, I couldn’t understand the first page at all. After finishing the book, I feel it’s been placed wrongly, not giving the right impression of the book. It’s important that the book begins in an interesting way.

The moment I started reading the second page I was hooked. But...

Spoilers galore from here on... STOP READING if you haven’t read the book yet

I could so relate to the beginning, the people from the guy’s side coming to view the girl, she being a manglik, the astrologer insisting on being a know-all, the parents desperate to get rid of the girl, a duty to be performed for the sake of society and more.

As I read more and more, I started feeling depressed actually. Wasn’t there an end to Leela’s woes? What’s a story that can’t make her a heroine? were the questions that came to my mind. I trudged on and am I glad I did!

The language is flawless and the proofing perfect. This is a major plus for me when I read a book. So a special kudos to the author and publishing house on this!

Here is this girl – yeah, Leela is a girl who’s not even out of her teens when she gets married to Vishal – struggling to lead a life, smothering all her dreams. She treated so badly by her husband and also by her highly educated, educationist mother-in-law. Vishal is a spoilt brat who doesn’t have a job to go to. He’s a chain smoker and a wife-beater. Leela is shocked with the turn her life has taken and doesn’t know how to get out of it. Her parents wouldn’t hear of her woes. They are not interested. Her elder brother is too selfish and doesn’t want to listen to his sister’s problems.

Vishal getting a job based in Bangalore appears to be a relief. But away from Delhi and her mother-in-law, it’s not funny for this housewife of barely twenty to manage the household, especially on such a tight budget that her husband gives her.

Leela happens to meet two other women who used to live in Patiala during her school days. Priya is an airline pilot who’s confident and doesn’t need men in her life. She’s got a career and has adopted a girl-child, bringing her up all by herself.

Harleen is married to a super-rich guy and has a posh life. She and her friends are ready to befriend the middle-class Leela.

It brought tears to my eyes as I watched Leela finding some fun in life when she gets to have a makeover at Harleen’s home; gets to wear some of her classy clothes. This is a kid who doesn’t have a life. Why wasn’t I surprised when she tries her hand at smoking and drinking and a bit of flirting? Facebook comes to her rescue at one point. I couldn’t blame her for creating a fake account. Come on, who doesn’t want appreciation? She has no life with her son-on-a-bitch husband.

Even as I felt depressed reading the book, I couldn’t help being fascinated reading the way Leela’s life unfolded in front of my eyes; how she bounces back again and yet again, never giving up on her life. She scored a major point in my eyes as not once did she think of committing suicide.

I waited and waited for someone to rescue her. Nobody did. For a few pages, I thought it was Jai who’s going to be her knight in shining armour. But no!

In the end (okay, I won’t go into the details; please read the book to find out what happens), it’s Leela for herself. Okay, she has her girlfriends who help her out.

What for me was a moment of triumph as a woman was when Leela comes up aces, landing on her feet after all the abuse she undergoes.

My hats off to the author for penning such a touching book! Yeah, I shed a lot of tears on this one.

Congratulations Sujata Rajpal! This one is a must read for all those who believe in women empowerment.

The title is perfect too!

The Other End of the Corridor 

by 

Sujata Rajpal 

Blurb 

When your dreams are tainted with lies and deceit, you have no other choice but to walk to the other end of the corridor.

Leela has nothing extraordinary about her except the dream to become famous. Her desires take wings when she gets married to a handsome boy from a respectable family in Delhi. But her dreams are shattered even before they have a chance to take flight.

She happens to meet two friends from a long forgotten past, which infuses hope and opens new avenues to realize her dormant aspirations.

Leela delves into previously unexplored paths of deception and forbidden passions that only make her stronger. 

In an attempt to rediscover herself, she falls in love with life and with herself but her life takes a sudden turn again…

No matter what, Leela will continue to chase her dreams.

Where does this journey take her?

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Excerpt

"The corridor, I was walking down didn't have a trace of illumination. I couldn't see the other end. But I kept moving and now, I realize that more than the light, you need the determination to keep moving, keep struggling for your dreams, for your existence, for your survival."

I had lived in a dream world all my life, always blaming the circumstances for my own weaknesses. I could never gather courage to stand up to circumstances. For how long would I keep blaming others for my own shortcomings. And for how long would I keep dreaming- my dreams never aligned with the real world; my dreams and real life never converged at any point. ‘I definitely had experience but only in building castles in the air.’

About the Author 

Author’s profile :Sujata Rajpal is a Corporate Communication & PR professional turned a full-time author. She holds an MPhil degree in Economics and has studied Mass Communication from Panjab University, Chandigarh. She also writes articles and short stories for publications and journals. Sujata is a yoga enthusiast and enjoys being a Toastmaster. She currently lives in Mysore.

The Other End of the Corridor is her first novel.

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