Source - amazon.in
“No wonder most
singers and actors and artists have such screwed up love lives. They are all
looking for that heartbreak, that failure, that death, that will change them as
a person. And the pursuit of that leads to strange people and strange places.” - Durjoy Dutta
‘When Only Love
Remains’ by Durjoy Dutta is one of his most popular novels of all time. The
story revolves around a heartbroken singer, Devrat, who is trying to make it
big in the industry, and Avanti, a dedicated flight attendant- living her
dream, and also a big fan of Devrat since his very first gig.
The story of these
two characters is an intense one, that revolves around the two deepest emotions
that anyone feels – love and loss. Where love for someone makes you the
happiest, the loss of your loved one makes you lose everything you have. While
this novel might seem like a normal love story read in the first half of it,
the second half catches the reader off guard and takes him/her on a
rollercoaster ride of emotions.
About The Author
Source - Telegraph India
Durjoy Datta is a
dynamic 36-year-old author, who is widely loved for his romantic novels.
Married to Avantika Datta, a travel blogger, and an air hostess, Durjoy Datta
continues to be the favorite author for the youth because of his ability to
connect with them through his words.
Datta was born in
Gujarat, to a Bengali family and in turn, was brought up in New Delhi. The
contrasting colors of his upbringing are reflected in his works beautifully. His
first novel was published by Srishti Publishers in 2008, while he was still in
college. In 2011, he decided to quit his job as a market analyst and became a
full-time writer.
Along with authoring
numerous novels like The Boy Who Loved, Durjoy Datta has also authored short stories and famous
Television shows like Kuch Rang Pyaar Ke Aise Bhi (2016-17) and Never
Kiss Your Best Friend (Screenplay Writer) (2020). Datta has been awarded
Young Achiever Award by The Times of India, Crossword Book Award (Popular
Choice Award, Fiction) for Our Impossible Love, and many more.
Play Of
Contrasting Personalities
As a fanatic of
romantic novels, I have read enough books to understand the ‘opposites attract’
trope. In some works, this gets a bit annoying too, that a longing hate
suddenly turns into love. But in ‘When Only Love Remains’, this trope gives an
organic build-up to the story. The contrast between the characters is just the
façade they put in front of the world; somewhere deep down they are shown as
similar in many terms.
A drunk heartbroken
singer and an ambitious career-oriented girl sounds like most movies we watch.
So, story-wise, the suspense was just whether it’ll be a happy ending or a sad ending.
And I’ll let that be suspense as of now.
What carried the
whole story was not this mere suspense. Surprisingly, it was how beautifully
the characters were described and how the author established a connection between
them and the reader. In the beginning, the characters seem like a stranger
you’d like to know, but by the end, Devrat and Avanti became the friends you
were rooting for since their eyes met.
Slow Start,
But A Banger End
In my honest opinion,
the first half of the book was not that appealing to me. I was reading the
first half for the characters and not the story. Maybe that was the author’s
intention too. The first half is all about the build-up, so it seems slow. A
word of advice, power through it as soon as you can.
The second half of
the book is the total opposite. That’s when the story escalates and the
suspense starts to build up. Twist and turns, emotional turmoil, tears in eyes
with a smile on the face; everything awaits the reader in the second half.
This novel seems like
a perfect movie, starting with the eye contact that everyone swoons to, leading
the story with dialogues that put the readers to a thought, plot twists that
surprise us, and the ending that sums it all up.
Overall, the book is
the perfect read for a romantic fanatic. According to me, as love stories are
mostly repetitive, it’s the characters and the author's ability to connect them
with his readers is what makes any romantic novel special. And Durjoy Datta did
a good job on that part.
Overall Rating –
3.8/5
Written By – Simran
Mahon
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