Foreword:
Stilettos in the Newsroom. Isn't the name catchy enough? If you are on the impression that this book is a 'chic-lit', well, I can't justify you. When I first heard of this book. My reaction was the same. But considering the thin book, that this book is, I didn't hesitate to select this book for reading.
Actually, it is the other way around. I was selected to review this book. As you, readers, know Subho (Subhasis Das) is one of our stackers. It is in one of his interviews that Rashmi Kumar - the author of this book - is interviewed and I was chosen the winner so the book was sent to me, or maybe because I was the official reviewer of Subho's blog.
For the link to the author's interview, click here...
You might be wondering that how I accepted to review a 'chic-lit'. Well, the author herself had confirmed that this book is no chic-lit and can be read by anyone and everyone.
After completing reading the book, I am still left pondering over whether the book is a 'chic-lit' or not...
Plot (from GoodReads):
A racy and lively account of a bubbly 28-year-old journalist Stilettos in the Newsroom unravels itself through the eyes of Radhika Kanetkar right from the time she took her first step into the newsroom, got her first story, made bloopers and handled pressures to meet deadlines. In the midst of all this, Radhika experiences a journey of triumph, anguish, jealousy and of course finds her true love Sameer.
About the author (from the back-cover):
Rashmi Kumar was born in Pune and raised in New Delhi. She graduated from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University. She has worked with newspapers and currently works with Business India. And when not writing, she is busy radio jockeying and travelling.
The Review:
The very basic impression that both, the title and the cover design, gives is that the story is a 'chic-lit'. As I have already said, even after reading the entire book, I am wondering whether the book is a 'chic-lit' or not. Well, if I ponder anymore, I certainly will go crazy and would have to leave it review incomplete. So I leave it to the readers and other such people.
Firstly, I am unsure of the traits that a book must fulfill to be a 'chic-lit'. (Sorry, I can't get rid of this point out of my mind.) If the protagonist is a female and the story revolves around her flings and her career, is it considered 'chic-lit'? If you ask me, every story that is girly and has a girl as the protagonist is a 'chic-lit', for me. However, let me try to abandon this aspect here, for the second time in this review, and carry on with other aspects.
Actually I liked the back cover of the book, more than everything - even the story. here is a snapshot of it.
I loved the author's pic and her bio-data is printed on the back-cover. Off the records, I can't restrain myself from stating that the author looks simply fabulous in the pic.
I immensely thank the author for the signed copy of her book and also for the personalized message.
The very best aspect of the book is its thin anatomy. There are no more than 140 - 138, to be precise - pages in the book, which make it a easy-breezy read. Well, it took me a day to read it, but for an average reader with a good-pace would complete it in an hour and a half at max.
I actually thought the story is about a news reporter, not journalist. You know, the word 'newsroom' is mostly used to refer electronic media.
About the story, I have nothing much to say. From the very first line the reader is made aware that the narrator is a very chirpy and bubbly girl. It justifies the RJ part of the author. It was fun knowing a story from a female's point of view. You know, great authors and poet have portrayed such a hard-shell demeanor for a woman that it is as if a very hard jigsaw puzzle to understand them. I always read books authored by woman for that reason; so that I could understand them better, so that it could help me woo them! But this book had helped very little. It portrayed the protagonist as a very easy catch. I seldom come across girls like that. Girls who have a sudden urge of kissing a guy hard; girls who sleep around for their career benefit; girls who moan when their boss kisses them even when they have a damn repulsive feeling. I just hope that this protagonist, and the like girls, don't exist in reality. At least not in India. I think very high of Indian girls, even now.
So basically, though the narration was interesting and good, though the story was fluent and somewhat, new, I didn't like the story. Especially because of the protagonist's character. Well, I have no right. The character of the protagonist is the author's own will and wish. But personally, I hate the protagonist to the core, who fantasizes sleeping with someone even when deeply in love with a guy, who lives in some other town.
Final verdict:
I didn't like the story. Maybe people with cosmopolitan life will enjoy it better. And also, people with journalist background will like it. But, I think, more than guys girls will enjoy it more. So I finally decide to call this book a 'chic-lit' and end the review. Confusion solved. Finally.
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Title: Stilettos in the Newsroom
Author: Rashmi Kumar
Tagline: N/A
ISBN (edition I've read): 9788129116048
Rating: 
Read between: 21-10-2013 (one day)
Publishers: Rupa Publishers
Reviewed for: Subho (Subhasis Das)
Pages: 138
MRP: ₹95
The best deal of this book can be found here: 
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