Review | Novel: The Tough Gets Going

Review | Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee

The Tough Gets Going (Novel)

Authors: Simanta and Susanta

Publisher: Blue Rose

The Tough Gets Going weaves two genres into a single narrative, the genres being thriller and romance.  The kernel of the plot of the novel lies in a secret which I am not going to reveal to you. I do not want to deny the readers the pleasure of discovering that.

The plot of the novel involves two generations. Among the lead characters are the dotting father and obeying son, two young ladies and assortment of other characters. Interestingly there is no ‘villain’ in the story. Circumstances, happenings that alter the course of one’s life very often play that role.

The narrative moves in a jig jag way jumping from one time frame to the other. This kind of narrative often becomes difficult for the readers to keep track of the story line. However, it is to the credit of the authors that they keep the readers glued. The racy prose does half the work; the lingering secret does the rest.

The Tough Gets Going is the story of Dr. Roshan and his father Sekhar Dev. Roshan idolizes his father Sekhar to the extent that he is ready to sacrifice his budding love for a promise that his father has made. The character of Sekhar is interesting. Passionate about life, Sekhar is an indulging husband and father. However, one momentary lapse pushes him towards tragedy.

The first part of the novel portrays the budding love between Dr. Roshan and Mehak in the unlikeliest of the places: hospital. Mehak is the daughter of a wealthy Muslim businessman  Mr. Khan and his Hindu wife. The opening chapter of the novel narrates a car accident which grieviously injures Mr. Khan and brings him to the hospital. He is treated by Dr. Roshan and there he meets Mehak and falls in love with her. This part has been handled with care and sensitivity, without a trace of wild passion. Roshan is torn between his love for Mehak and his duty to marry Varsha, daughter of his father’s friend and his childhood buddy. It seems the character of Roshan’s friend Dr. Anubhav has been created to etch out the nuances of Roshan's character.

The story moves languidly till Roshan reaches home after completion of his medical education to join a hospital and to marry Varsha. Roshan is in love with Mehak but cannot defy the wishes of his family to marry Varsha. He is almost resigned to his fate.

From here the narrative catches pace, accelerates and moves in break neck speed till the climax. There is a completely unexpected twist in the tale, which makes the novel interesting.

 I enjoyed reading the novel.

I have just two reservations. One – It could have been an excellent short story instead of a 174 pages novel. Novel warrants expanse, which again needs something happening, something meaty. That was lacking in the novel. The canvas is too small. The second reservation is about the interjection of comments and observations in between the narrative which somehow impacted the pace of the novel.

Over all the Tough Gets Going may not be a great literature but it definitely is a good read. 

***

4.11.2017