My Allahabad Story by Himendra Nath Varma (Book Review)

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  • Genre: Autobiography/Memoir
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury India
  • Pages: 232
  • Format: Paperback
  • Source: Review Copy
  • My Rating: 3.5 stars

My Allahabad Story is a memoir of the author as he recounts his journey and his relationship with the city of Allahabad starting from 1946.

I love the process of penning down your thoughts and memories. I also agree with the author as he mentions in the introduction that memories can be powerful, precious possessions and should be preserved for posterity. I was extremely excited about reading about the author and his family in Allahabad and their customs and traditions from the 1940’s

The author’s writing was really fluent. One thing I learned from this book was how to write the smallest details from your memory and how to write them just how you picture them in your mind.

The author writes about his childhood in a privileged household. He tells us about his family and education. I felt that there was too much information right in the first few pages which didn’t establish a flow to the book. He tells us about the many interesting people whom he got to know in his life. He very fondly recalls the household workers and their daily habits. I especially loved the chapter on the pets the author had while growing up. Towards the end, he talks about his feelings on the changing Allahabad over the years

The only problem with this book is that there are too many details which make the book tiresome to read at times.

It was clear from the authors writing that the book had been written with great affection and love. This was a very different read for me and I enjoyed the experience that it brought. I think the book would appeal more to people from Allahabad or those who grew up in those years as the author.

 

Thanks to Bloomsbury India for a review copy of this book. All opinions are honest and unbiased.

 

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