The first thing struck me as I began reading
this book is its language; it couldn’t be more apt. Not too complicated as many
authors nowadays tend to write to make their novel look complex,
neither is it too simple where you feel you are reading a primary school
English text book. Mr. Sharma uses perfect English language, that encourages us
to look into the dictionary at times and gives us a chance to enhance our
vocabulary. I was marveled by the apt use of words, intricately describing
each scene in the book – “... as if to
display both a love of these prized possessions and a distrust of this tall
Westerner, about as common as dew in the desert”, “... as the first rays of the Indian sun danced along the colorful horizon”,
“it was as if the tensions ... had sensed
that they were not welcome to the summit of serenity and moved on to more
inviting prospects”, to mention a few.
Every para and every line is good to be
quoted at in lectures and writings. But all together in a book, it is not as
touching as a Paulo Coelho or a Khalil Gibran. It’s more of a management in
philosophy rather than a philosophical journey. As Julian enlightens us with
his story, I feel like I am still hearing the lawyer in him speak, rather than
the Monk who sold his Ferrari.
After about 30 pages or so, the narrative
takes a slow pace. It is quite preachy too in some places which makes the reading
boring. You can relate this book to Swades, that SRK movie, remember? Although
Swades was a good movie, with a brilliant concept, the script got monotonous
after a point. It’s the same with this book too.
I know I am repeating myself here, but
there is absolutely no doubt about the fact that the language of the book is
absolutely of the highest standard in the new era of English writing. I am so
much more impressed by the language in the book, rather than the book itself. :)
To be frank it was not my personal interest
in the book that got me reading it. The book had been lying in our house since
a long time and I had heard from few of my friends that it required quite a bit
of will power to read it or rather complete it. ;)
But a few days back, one of my friends who
had started reading was in full praise of the book, so much so that it awakened
my curiosity and I rushed to my bookshelf to form my own opinion of the book.
So finally, to put it in gist, the book is
a perfect text book for an MBA in philosophy of life. Though it is not effortless
reading, all you need is a little bit of will power to continue the started
journey and trust me; once you reach the destination you will feel nothing but
satisfaction and content with the knowledge to improve your life. Just as Julian
teaches you to overcome your weaker thoughts and monotonous life, you need
execute the same to chew, eat, swallow and absorb this book.
The exercises and pearls of wisdom
mentioned in the book are no doubt effective, viz if you sincerely put them
into practice. You can find a million books at any book store that teach you
the same pearls of wisdom maybe with different colors, but this book could be
considered as that ‘foreign author’ text book we are all told to study to score
well in the exams.
