Official Review: The Last Bloom by Miss Poulomi Sengupta

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va2016
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Official Review: The Last Bloom by Miss Poulomi Sengupta

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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Last Bloom" by Miss Poulomi Sengupta.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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This is a review of the book The Last Bloom by Poulomi Sengupta which is available in Amazon under the 'Young Adult' category.

Priya, the protagonist of the story, is a well-bred English-medium educated girl from India’s Bengal state. She decides to excel in her college studies and becomes determined not to be deviated from her goal by things like having a boyfriend or spending time in activities that are not related to her studies. Unfortunately, she lands up in a college that is deeply polarized by political affiliations. There is also widespread resistance towards college functioning, studying, getting good grades and even speaking English. The reader is motivated to find out what Priya does under these circumstances.

The story setting is in the Bengal state of India and thus comes with its cultural and regional nuances. There are several narrations about the region’s history, culture, leaders, the Naxalite movement, the political unions, the suburban and the slum areas of the Kolkata city, and Bengal’s legacy. Priya summarizes Bengal as thus: “We have a great legacy but no future.”

The book discusses at length the college politics, its effect on students and their studies. The political squabbles between the parties, the 'ragging' process that the first year students undergo, student leaders giving sensational but dumb speeches about petty issues and issuing veiled threats to the students to join their political party, are all narrated well. There are also events in the story that describe the hatred among the students towards using the English language, how the students are attention-seeking for immediate popularity rather than working towards their long-term goals, how the professors don’t teach the classes, and how the frequent protests affect the classes and exams.

The importance of learning, conversing and using English has been highlighted well through the Priya character. The guidance about how to learn a language and the role of English and Hindi in India's development are beautifully narrated. The author stresses her point by saying "Language is the greatest catalyst in building human relationships."

There are several good figures of speech. This reviewer liked especially this simile: ‘a middle-aged woman thatched herself, almost like indolent hay stacked upon bullock carts.’ The dreams scenes in which Priya talks to a voice are nice. The character analysis of Priya's classmate Gautam by her another classmate Renela has been done in a very elaborate fashion. Some diagrams and graphs are interspersed in the story to illustrate author’s viewpoints.

There are detailed narrations on the current state of the education system in India and its challenges, how to bring about the necessary changes towards the development to India, and about personal values and building one’s character. There are extensive narrations on Jabalpur, Chandipur, and Siwaliks regions motivating the reader to visit those places. The glossary of terms is helpful for those who are unfamiliar with the Indian culture. The references at the end are helpful to the reader to further explore the topics that are written about in the book.

The story moves at a moderate pace although in one chapter there's an exhaustive discussion among Priya's friends about classes being boycotted. The author has good command over English. The first few chapters are full of rich and tough vocabulary which would make a reader with an average vocabulary uncomfortable. The formatting looks fine overall. The proofreading has not been done well. There are grammar errors like missing articles, spelling mistakes, duplicate words, usage of scientific terms like ‘pseudo-mirror’ in wrong contexts, and wrong word usages. There are several punctuation errors like missing space between words, missing commas, missing hyphenations, missing period marks, wrong punctuations, etc.

Overall, this reviewer finds this book a great read for all audiences, especially Indian. This book has 394 pages and can be read in a week’s time at a leisurely pace to soak in all the contents. The book has several great points like how to improve the study and employment situation in Bengal and in India, how to develop one’s character and personality, how to appreciate one’s local culture while broadening one’s horizons by learning additional languages, etc. The book will resonate well with the geology enthusiasts because of the many references to the related terms. This reviewer would have rated this book a 4 out of 4 stars. But because of the bad proofreading and the tough vocabulary which might make an average reader uneasy, this reviewer rates this book a 3 out of 4 stars.

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Chrys Brobbey
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Post by Chrys Brobbey »

This a thorough review, and offers insight into Indian culture. I think I will broaden my horizons by reading it.
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Post by va2016 »

Chrys Brobbey wrote:This a thorough review, and offers insight into Indian culture. I think I will broaden my horizons by reading it.
Thank you so much for your feedback! Yes, I would encourage you to read this book. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have on Indian culture.

Also, pleease take a look at my other reviews!

Thank you!
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Post by Sarda Mohan »

A brilliant review..and a detailed one too.
Initially I wondered if it was proceeding to reveal the entire story but realised that the reviewer has beautifully done it to bring on an eagerness to read the book. The review is convincing enough.
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Post by kandscreeley »

This sounds like a great book for certain readers. I don't think I would enjoy it, but I do appreciate the review. Thanks.
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Post by va2016 »

Sarda Mohan wrote:A brilliant review..and a detailed one too.
Initially I wondered if it was proceeding to reveal the entire story but realised that the reviewer has beautifully done it to bring on an eagerness to read the book. The review is convincing enough.
Thank you! I figured that I would leave it to the readers to find out what's happening in the story :).
But if you do have some questions about the various aspects of the review which I can comment
on without being a spoiler, I would be glad to answer your questions!

-- 09 Apr 2017, 16:39 --
kandscreeley wrote:This sounds like a great book for certain readers. I don't think I would enjoy it, but I do appreciate the review. Thanks.
Thank you for your feedback! I agree with you that not every book is for everyone. Having said that,
I appreciate the fact that you enjoyed the review. I will try my best to produce great reviews on
books from various genres and cultures in the future.

In the meantime, please do take a look at my other reviews here, which includes many fictions
including two fantasy fictions, and a couple of non-fictions:

http://www.onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-va2016.html

Thank you!
:tiphat:
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Post by Amagine »

It seems like an interesting book. It also seem like it's an educational read as well because it discusses India's school system. I also like the idea of a book that addresses college politics.

Great review! :handgestures-thumbupright:
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Post by Kitkat3 »

Wow, sounds like a really interesting book. It would also be a challenging read for me, because I don't know that much about Indian culture and schools and because of the difficult vocabulary that you mentioned. I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for the review!
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Post by Donnavila Marie01 »

This story is interesting. It speaks of politics.I am a fan of political fiction as well as historicsl fiction story. Priya's exposure to the world of politics is worth the read. This is indeed a good read.
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Post by Pilar Guerrero »

Thank you very much for this extensive review.
I agree with you , when places are well described, the reader wants to travel there. I find India a fascinating sub-continent, I would love to read this book and at some point in my life go there.
I really like the idea of a female protagonist fighting for her education, I think that must be something in a country like India.
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Post by va2016 »

Pilar Guerrero wrote:Thank you very much for this extensive review.
I agree with you , when places are well described, the reader wants to travel there. I find India a fascinating sub-continent, I would love to read this book and at some point in my life go there.
I really like the idea of a female protagonist fighting for her education, I think that must be something in a country like India.
Thank you for your comments! In India, education system is still evolving - the current system
affecting not only females but also males, but I agree that it's especially difficult for females.
There's lot of cultural taboo about females taking up studies and getting a job and making their
own living. The society is changing, but it's slow.

-- 09 Apr 2017, 22:57 --
Pilar Guerrero wrote:Thank you very much for this extensive review.
I agree with you , when places are well described, the reader wants to travel there. I find India a fascinating sub-continent, I would love to read this book and at some point in my life go there.
I really like the idea of a female protagonist fighting for her education, I think that must be something in a country like India.
Thank you for your comments! In India, education system is still evolving - the current system
affecting not only females but also males, but I agree that it's especially difficult for females.
There's lot of cultural taboo about females taking up studies and getting a job and making their
own living. The society is changing, but it's slow.

-- 09 Apr 2017, 22:59 --
Donnavila Marie01 wrote:This story is interesting. It speaks of politics.I am a fan of political fiction as well as historicsl fiction story. Priya's exposure to the world of politics is worth the read. This is indeed a good read.
Thank you for your comments. The story is not about healthy politics, but how politics in the college
is affecting the studies of the students. So, this story may not be your choice for political fiction.
Nevertheless, it's an interesting read.

-- 09 Apr 2017, 23:01 --
Kitkat3 wrote:Wow, sounds like a really interesting book. It would also be a challenging read for me, because I don't know that much about Indian culture and schools and because of the difficult vocabulary that you mentioned. I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for the review!
Thank you for your valuable comments! Yes, you should check this book out! And, the dictionary
will help about the tough vocabulary! :lol: Please give it a try!

-- 09 Apr 2017, 23:02 --
Amagine wrote:It seems like an interesting book. It also seem like it's an educational read as well because it discusses India's school system. I also like the idea of a book that addresses college politics.

Great review! :handgestures-thumbupright:
Thank you so much for your feedback! Yes, it's an educational read
as it deals with geology, personal development and how to build a
nation.
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It seems like this book reveals various aspects of Indian society. Your thorough review has given a good idea of the book.
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Aimy wrote:It seems like this book reveals various aspects of Indian society. Your thorough review has given a good idea of the book.
Thank you so much for your feedback!
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Post by Rebecca Henderson »

I really like the cover of this book! I think that the contrast of the red and yellow flower and the dark grays of the background really make the artwork pop.

It is interesting to read about Priya’s journey as you describe that she wants to focus her time on studying and achieving her goal, but yet she ends up in a school that values none of those things. I think that makes for an interesting plot for sure, but I am curious as to what circumstances led to her ending up in such an environment.

The legacy and history of an area is always fascinating to me, but I’m not sure that I would want it to be so interwoven into a story if that is not necessarily the main focus. It sounds as if nationality and heritage might play into the plot of this book since you describe Priya as being “well-bred” but from India. My own tastes for books don’t necessarily journey too far into the historical genre, and where many references might add color for some readers, generally I just feel lost in those circumstances, as if I’ve missed the punchline of a joke.

From your review it sounds like much of the story is a vehicle for political thought and discussion. While I applaud the causes of such books, I hardly find them exciting or enjoyable for reading. In many cases, the author should just have written an essay describing their view points, or done a better job of covering the political activism with a more believable and inspiring plot line. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but you do have to do it well to achieve great results!
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Post by va2016 »

Rebecca Henderson wrote:I really like the cover of this book! I think that the contrast of the red and yellow flower and the dark grays of the background really make the artwork pop.

It is interesting to read about Priya’s journey as you describe that she wants to focus her time on studying and achieving her goal, but yet she ends up in a school that values none of those things. I think that makes for an interesting plot for sure, but I am curious as to what circumstances led to her ending up in such an environment.

The legacy and history of an area is always fascinating to me, but I’m not sure that I would want it to be so interwoven into a story if that is not necessarily the main focus. It sounds as if nationality and heritage might play into the plot of this book since you describe Priya as being “well-bred” but from India. My own tastes for books don’t necessarily journey too far into the historical genre, and where many references might add color for some readers, generally I just feel lost in those circumstances, as if I’ve missed the punchline of a joke.

From your review it sounds like much of the story is a vehicle for political thought and discussion. While I applaud the causes of such books, I hardly find them exciting or enjoyable for reading. In many cases, the author should just have written an essay describing their view points, or done a better job of covering the political activism with a more believable and inspiring plot line. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but you do have to do it well to achieve great results!
Hmmm... :lol: An interesting perspective. I would say that the heritage in this case is what
makes the story an interesting one 8) . It's not a historical fiction per se. Give it a try
if you could. I'm sure you will like it. The storyline is beautifully interwoven with the
advocacy. Thanks so much for the detailed comment!
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