End of story? I Arjun Shekhar.

• Book: End of Story?
• Author: Arjun Shekhar.
• Publication House: Hachette India
• Category: Fiction.
• Rating: 4.5/5

Story-in-Short: 

Shukrat Ali, a news anchor at Khulasa, the ‘tabloid’ current affiars channel, is out of a job. 

TV channels across the country have closed down as a consequence of a Supreme Court ban on electronic advertising. An inquiry is on regarding the emergence of a sinister new form of ad’s the media has dubbed ‘propogandads’, which uses compelling subliminal messages to subtly rewire people’s minds and influence their actions. 

Even as Shukrat grappels with the question: ‘How does an achor move on?’ he is summoned to testify in the trial concerning the killing os his ex-boss, Satya Saachi Sengupta, the mysterious and towering igure in his life, whose connections with this insidious mind manipulation scheme can no longer be denied.

Being a key witness present at the scene of the crime, Shukrat must prepare to bare all before the court and treat carefully lest his testimony boomerangs on him. 

Gripping and darkly humorous, End of Story? Is an intriguing and intelligent thriller about the dystopian possibilities of everyday advertising. 

In My View: 

The story is about Shukrat Ali who is the witness of his ex-boss Satya Saachi Sengupta’s murder. Shukrat is summoned by the court and he prepares himself to address in the court. This endorsement of Shukrat Ali forms this whole interesting story. 

It begins with Shukrat Ali’s daughter Quyamat who suddenly goes missing from her school. Shukrat Ali and his wife Siyahi go to her school where they run helter-skelter to find her class 5^th B. But the class is nowhere to be found. Amidst the search, she is found out to be in one of the school rooms and this comes out to be her surprise for her parents. 

Both Shukrat and Siyahi have an argument, the previous night, while deciding the exact place for Quyamat’s birthday celebration and so she decided of calling them to school in this manner. 

While going through this plot, the most interesting things were those drawings that she had scanned and attached in her PowerPoint presentation along with the three questions. This plot is already written in an interesting manner and on top of it these drawings add-up to its beauty. 

Shukrat, then gets to know that thing which both, his wife and boss hide from him. This leads to Siyahi leaving Shukrat’s house and Shukrat trying his heart on his boss’ sister Pixie.

Further in the story, Shukrat Ali is sent to Vidarbha in Maharashtra to cover an exclusive story about which the local media too, is unaware. It is about a farmer who commits suicide and his ghost that roams in the field. When Shukrat goes there, he explores something really shocking and decides to expose it out. The major and crucial part of the story unfolds here. 

Finally, the revelations put forth by Shukrat, about Satya Sachi Sengupta’s murder will surely leave readers stunned and aghast. After completing the novel, the first word that came to my mouth was ‘Wow!’

Over-all: This book is a fabulous one with a brilliant story. The cover of the book is simple yet sweet. The title is perfect. The story begins and ends very smoothly without colliding or falling loose anywhere. The language used in the book too is excellent. 

Speaking about the drawbacks - the title of the second chapter could have been a bit more interesting. The titles of other chapters are good enough to attract a reader’s attention. Also, some chapters in the book are slightly long which tend to drag a reader’s attention away for a while. Otherwise the novel rocks!  

I really loved the concept and narration of the story equally. I dearly feel that every individual must purchase this novel and take pleasures of reading Mr. Arjun Shekhar’s work! I would like to rate it with 4.5/5. Brilliant work Arjun sir! :) 

NOTE: A review copy of the book was sent by the author himself. I am extremely thankful to the author the copy. 

• The book is available at all the book stores. 

• You can also get the book online: Flipkart, Infibeam, Uread, Amazon, Rediff books.