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4 out of 4 stars
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It all started when he was eighteen years old in high school. His best friend, Varun, was dating her best friend. They were the third wheels whenever their best friends were on a date. One day, he found himself running after her at the airport when he realized she was leaving for good. That was the beginning of their happy-sad story, which has now faded into memories. After twenty years of friendship and two years of marriage, every brick laid in the relationship has now sunk to the foundation. This is where the "King of Hearts" loses his queen. Now he's just the "King of Spades" left to find a new queen or get his queen back.
Mr. King of Spades by Dixy Gandhi is a well-written novel on pre-marriage, marriage, and post-marital life. The approach was from the present to the past, then back to the present, just like a backward tale. I can relate the whole book to creating a neat stack in a card game. This was very well mentioned in the book. The writer, in many instances, would refer to the Solitaire card game, and this was, to me, a balanced way of telling this story.
The concept of maturity in breakup was well defined. The story was written from his point of view, and he wrote it in a total display of maturity, even though I'm sure the character didn't know this about himself. It was stated in the book that “this story, however, is not an explanation of how things went wrong between us. I am sure if she wrote it, it would be a different story." This story is not a platform for appropriating blame on anyone. It's just two people trying to help each other find themselves after a failed marriage. From this, I learned that not every relationship should be considered worth a marriage commitment. I admire this positivity in the book.
A closure is a term everyone seeks to find expression in their lives after every difficult process. Like Palash and Meera, closure only begins with the realization of oneself. This was the best part of the book for me. I was trepidatious while reading the stories of their lives, and the introduction of closure in the book brought the relief I so much desired. Generally, I loved this book.
So, I rate Mr. King of Spades 4 out of 4 stars. I credit the author for his brilliance in writing such a heartwarming story, even though it was “without sudden plot twists, no drama and no surprises." It was a simple yet heartfelt story. I have no negative aspects to point out in the book. The book was professionally edited, as I didn't find numerous errors. I recommend this book to couples, both married and single. It covers a significant aspect of relationships, including friendship.
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Mr.King of Spades
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