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Sonia Golani’s My Life, My Rules promises to be an inspiring book; but sadly, it does not keep its word.
Review by Unmana Datta
I trudged through this book so you wouldn’t have to: stories of unconventional careers sound very interesting, but sloppy reporting, writing, and editing make this book nearly unreadable.
Sonia Golani’s My Life, My Rules: Stories Of 18 Unconventional Careers has accounts of 18 contemporary entrepreneurs who, according to the back cover, demonstrate that “switching careers mid-stream is not a bad idea at all.”
Interesting premise, right? Pity the book doesn’t live up to it. Of the 18 entrepreneurs, most of them made their “career switch” while they were still in college. A few did happen on their current careers after working in different fields, like Rashmi Uday Singh, former bureaucrat turned food critic, and Minal Vazirani, business consultant turned art auctioneer. Most, like Nikhil Chinapa and Aditi Govartikar, started the careers they are best known for while in college. So if you are going through a mid-life (or quarter-life) crisis and want to read this book for inspiration – don’t bother.
What really bothered me though was the lazy reporting and inadequate writing. Phrases like “they got married almost more than twenty-five years ago” and “wine people are known to be cool people” made me want to hurl the book across the room (and I think it says much for my dedication that I picked it up and read on after a break of a few short hours).
Each chapter starts out with a third-person point of view but it’s soon apparent that it’s a set of answers by the interviewee with minimum editing, making for difficult reading. After a few pages, the pretence is dropped (only to be picked up again in the next chapter) and the text evolves into actual questions and answers, sometimes with no quotation marks around first person statements. A clear interview question-answer format would actually have been much more readable!
To add to that, the author seems too awe-struck and eager to question these people or ask anything but flattering questions. In the same paragraph, we are told that Harsha Bhogle and his wife have supported their sons in pursuing the careers of their choice – and the sons are, respectively, employed at Tata Motors and studying law! But there is no acknowledgement of the irony of this except for a remark that they might in future pursue “offbeat” careers in marketing or broadcasting!
But this seems too much to expect of the author who asks writer Amish Tripathi about leaving his bank job, whether he feels comfortable about being a “house husband.” I am torn between the inanity of asking this about a successful writer and the misogyny behind that question, which Tripathi gracefully deflects.
Wait, that was the point where I threw the book down. And if you really want to read it after reading this review, maybe I can send you my copy.
Publishers: Westland.
If you’re planning to purchase Sonia Golani’s My Life, My Rules do consider buying it through this Women’s Web affiliate link at Flipkart. We get a small share of the proceeds – every little bit will help us continue bringing you the content you like!
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Unmana is interested in gender, literature and relationships, and writes about everything she's interested in. She lives in, and loves, Bombay. read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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