Book Review: Crème Brulee by Ramona Sen

'A man who can retain his sense of humour under pressure has nothing to worry about: Thakuma'

Crème Brulee by Ramona Sen (Rupa Publications) is a family drama with a sweet touch of mild love story.

After returning from Oxford, Abir Mookerjee opens a restaurant, Eggs & Bacon.  He feels challenged when The Mad Hatter, another restaurant, opens across the town whose owner is lovely Kimaya Kapoor who excels in making wonderful Crème Brulee that turns out to be a challenge for Eggs & Bacon’s chocolate mousse.

Abir finds his life more challenging as his mother, Debjani Mookerjee, keeps pestering him with so called suitable marriage proposals, and for that she keeps consulting Purohitmoshai, unaware how wicked and greedy he is.

Two close people, Abir’s laconic, expressionless sister and impossible friend Rana Raina, are absolutely no help for him. The only person who brings some solace in his disoriented life is his deceased grandmother, thakuma, who watches him from a coconut tree.

What about Abir’s marriage? How would he manage to tackle challenging Kimaya Kapoor? What about his love life? You will have to read this book to find out these (and many more) answers, and you won’t be disappointed. It’s a fun read.

The book has a very slow opening which I didn’t like, but it picked up the pace and turned out to be an interesting read.

The story of Creme Brulee is simple. What makes this story entertaining is nice characterization. Every character has its own quirk and importance. I particularly liked the character of Thakuma, the deceased grandmother even though it was completely illogical. Purohitmoshai is annoying yet interesting. Rana Raina is one exuberant character!

I liked Kimaya but I wanted to know more about her.  I felt her part has been ignored.

The writing is good. A slight touch of humour makes the flow of the story delightful, but it was a tad disappointing to spot some glaring editing/typesetting errors, especially when the book comes from a big brand like Rupa Publications. The book has been written in multiple points of view, and the author has done it skillfully.

The romance is subtle, and I love the development of slow paced feeling of love. This dangling love triangle made the story somehow unpredictable.

Overall, for me it was a nice entertaining read!

I received an Advance Review Copy from the publisher for an honest review.