Book Review – My Father is a Hero

My Father Is A Hero

Source: http://srishtipublishers.com/images/book
/my-father-hero-1.jpg

‘My Father is a Hero’ by Srishti Publishers is Nishant Kaushik’s fifth novel after four bestsellers. At it’s core, it is a heartwarming story of the love between a father and his daughter. Does it work? Let’s check it out.

The blurb goes like this –

Vaibhav Kulkarni has had few accomplishments worth boasting about in his modest life and career. Yet, his happy universe lies intact in the love and pride his ten-year-old daughter inspires in him.

Nisha Kulkarni justifies every reason to be the favourite child of Pune’s premier school – be it her academic brilliance, her exceptional facility with music, or simply her unassuming charm. With his daughter showing promising signs of a stellar success story, Vaibhav has made peace with own unrequited dreams of the past.

But when the girl mysteriously starts losing her mojo and spirals into despair and seclusion, Vaibhav faces the toughest test of his life as a single father – to reclaim his child’s trust and happiness. What distance will a middle-class man with limited means go to show his daughter the merit in believing in a dream? Read this gripping tale of love, courage, and of the emergence of an ordinary man as an extraordinary hero.

For starters, the book has a nice cover design which perfectly captures the essence of the story. Everything about it be it the bag or the father and daughter holding hands is so well thought of.

Nishant has a lovely story at hand. The book starts off slowly as it shows the deep bond of love between Vaibhav and Nisha. Along with going out of his way to ensure that the smile never leaves her face, he also makes it a point to instill the right virtues in her despite the challenges of bringing her up as a single parent.

Vaibhav is that simple man who gets bullied by people at different walks of life just because he doesn’t want to get into a fight. But when anything or anyone affects his loved ones, he goes out of his way to protect them. Though he may not have fulfilled his dreams and ambitions, he makes it a point to go that extra mile just to ensure that his daughter can fulfill her own.

One of the biggest downsides of the book is the fact that the climax seems pretty unrealistic and rushed. Yes, it does make for a good movie ending but am honestly not sure if this could actually happen in real life. The movement of the story from India to Australia seems quite sudden as well. Though on the other hand, the sights and sounds of Melbourne and Sydney are described pretty well which I assume is due to Nishant’s familiarity with the country.

On another note, few questions are also left unanswered. How did Vaibhav afford the expensive trip considering he didn’t have a great job? What was the reaction of his boss to his trip? Why didn’t Vaibhav talk to Nisha about going to Brazil? While there are always questions left unanswered in any story, it would have been great to get answers to some of these.

Last but not the least, I would have loved to know a bit more about Nisha’s mother, Varsha Kulkarni and what exactly went on between her and Vaibhav. Though I understand that the story is about the relationship between a father and his daughter, a little more detail from a mother’s point of view could have given the story that much more meat.

There are 2 main characters in the book. Vaibhav Kulkarni as the father who does everything to see that smile on her daughter’s face reminds me of so many fathers who give up their own dreams to see their children happy. Nisha is the bubbly sweet little girl all of 10 years full of life with some lovely friends, excellent grades and a great talent for music.

What could have turned out to be an unputdownable book ends up becoming a fairly mediocre fare with excellence thrown in here and there. Nontheless, if you are looking for a book with some heart, go for this.

Rating – 2.5/5