21-Day Blogging Marathon | Day 9: Write about your Favorite Book

Earlier this year, I was out on a chilly Saturday afternoon, exploring the streets of my city. I entered Bahrisons Booksellers in Select Citywalk, one of the most popular bookstores in Delhi. I immediately went in, and started browsing through their collection. I had no intentions of buying any books, thanks to my enormous TBR pile.

Then, I came across this book, written by an Indian Author named Rehana Munir. I had never heard of the author before. I picked up the book, and I know we are not supposed to, but I judged it by its cover. The cover had a fancy looking bookshop and a girl in a green kurta, walking towards it. On the porch of the bookshop, was a cat, sleeping peacefully. The book was titled Paper Moon. I turned it around, and read the synopsis. I found it intriguing.

At first, I decided not to buy the book. However, as I was about to leave the bookstore, I went back to aisle where I had found the book, and picked it up. I went to the checkout counter, paid for it and brought it home, without any guilt of adding yet another book to my TBR pile.

In my experience, the best books I’ve read in my life are the ones I stumbled upon by accident, similar to this one.

Paper Moon is the story of a twenty-something girl named Fiza. The story is set in the early 2000s. Fiza is an English Literature student in her final year of college, and lives in Bombay, with her mother, Noor. Noor is a singer by profession, who is mostly a chilled-out mother; however, one can observe that she is encumbered by her own baggage.

Fiza’s life takes an interesting turn when she comes to know that her father, who abandoned her at birth, has left her with a wish, and a small fortune to fulfill that wish. He desired to open a bookstore, but never could in his own life. He has passed on this responsibility to Fiza. Initially hesitant, she takes on this responsibility, owing to her own bibliophilic nature. Thus begins her pleasant journey of opening and running a bookshop, which revolves around friends, family, potential lovers, and of course, books.

Paper Moon was an easy and engrossing read for me. As someone who doesn’t prefer a lot of drama, in my books or otherwise, I enjoyed the story due to its overall light-hearted theme. Fiza is described as a perceptive girl, someone who picks up things very quickly. She is pragmatic when she takes on the challenge of opening a bookstore, and doesn’t hesitate to leverage her friends and family wherever required. Her love for books is evident throughout the story, and she is found making literary references consistently.

I found the book to be quite progressive in it’s writing. While there is romance sprinkled throughout the book, it does not overtake the story line. Fiza is often seen putting herself and her store above her romantic interests. There are many strong-headed women characters in the book, however, I did not find any instances of blatant feminism.

Paper Moon is the author’s only book, and, frankly, if she publishes another one, I’d definitely read it.