A book that made till morning !

I am talking about a book; my very best friend gave me as a good bye gift, when we visited India this year.

(How things changes... I used to call it a home and now I refer it as “we visited”, and what we used to call “visit” now we call “home”, yeaah life! )

“Can You Keep a Secret?” By Sophie Kinsella

I didn't get much time to start with this book and so it was lying on the shelf for more than 2 months. I finally picked that up to read in flight when I went to Paris last week.

This is the first book of Sophie Kinsella's that I have read and so I had no pre-notions to compare it with some of her earlier work.

To be honest when I started with it, I found the book okay in my first half an hour reading, didn't know that time it will make me change my opinion afterwards !

(Normally it takes hack out of me to change my opinion based on first impression, they don't say it without a reason that first impression is the last impression ! )

The story is narrated by and from the view point of main female character Emma Corrigan, after a run-of-the-mill business presentation, on which she was depending and dreaming to ask for a promotion as a Marketing Executive, runs amok, Emma finds herself on an unusually turbulent plane ride next to a handsome aloof stranger.

As she contemplates the business meeting having few vodka drinks at air-port she fears will end her career and the plane ride she fears will end her life, she aimlessly blutters her deepest secrets to the man by her side. Within a matter of minutes she divulges everything about herself, she hasn’t shared with anyone, not even with her conscious self.

Is this possible in real life? Why not if you are afraid to ride in a plane, if you like to be on ground and not in the sky and if you had a really bad day, and you are going through depressing feeling that nothing is going right in your life, and you have messed up badly ! Anything is possible, isn’t it?

Then I got busy and during my return flight I picked up that book again thinking it is not possible that my friend would give me a book with recommendation if that is not interesting, and also I have to find out who is that guy to whom Emma spills all the beans.

More I read more I liked the character of Jack Harper, a stranger turning to not so stranger as the story developed. I would not go on writing about what happens next and who he was as for that one needs to read real book! Hehe (No, I am not getting paid for marketing the book!! Ohh Gosh I wish they would be!! )

Then I was home. It was Friday night and so not having to go to office next morning I decided to read for a while, and I kept on reading. The plot is a bit predictable but still I didn't feel bored. It is not one of the most romantic books, and it is not even romantic novel, but still what I loved in the book was "romance”!

One could really relate to the main character Emma at one or other point and pretty much all the situations on the book looks realistic making you feel this can happen, you never know!

And then I realized it was 7.00 am, it was already morning! Yes I didn’t even realize that I read whole night and I didn’t even feel tired reading, even with the fact I was tired due to travelling! I don’t remember when was the last I did the same, may be back in university days! (Of course never for studies)

Thanks Dhara, for the wonderful gift, I thoroughly enjoyed it. (And by the way Belated Happy Birthday to you Dhara ! J )

One thing for sure is, after reading CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? You will filter while talking to your seatmate on airplanes, trains or other mass transit!

I actually quite tried to imagine who the person sitting next to me might be !

Good thing, I was so busy figuring it out, I didn’t try to talk; good for me to avoid Emma situation in real and other thing until now I haven’t seen him around making me realizing a Stanger not so stranger!