The Last Wish by Abhishek Kumar.

• Book: The Last Wish.
• Author: Abhishek Kumar.
• Publication House: Author's Ink India.
• Category: Fiction.
• Rating: 2.25/5.

Story-in-Short:

Tommy (Tom), an Indian breed dog, was adopted by Amit who lived in Delhi in a rented house. Tommy was deeply connected with his master and the people in the colonyhe lived. Amit once left the home and Tommy was left alone in the colony. Tommy was not used to live like usual street dogs. He waited for his master for days and months but he didn't return back. Slowly he started getting involved with the other street dogs in the colony and discovered his parents living there. He also realized that he had a special talent of reading which he probably learnt by chewing the newspaper rolls daily. He got enough of love and care from his parents but his love for his master was never replaced. One day he saw a letter from his master which he wrote to the landlord. Tommy read the address and decided to go to his master's place - Gujarat. Although, he didn't had an idea about the distance, he left his parents to meet his master. Here's where Tommy's journey begins. He crosses the colony of a notorious dog named sultan and loses his parents during the course. He then gets picked up by a municipality bus and gets dropped in an unknown market. He meets a dog named Julie and falls in love with her. He discusses his desire to meet his master and learns that the place his master lives is very far away from there.

In my view:

A dog is considered as a faithful pet. For a moment, its master can turn fickle but a dog won’t ever. Many of us love to have pets; dogs in particular. I have come across many individuals with a special affection towards dogs. There are quite a lot bright things said about dogs and hence people love to have them as pets. The story that I finished reading is about a dog and his affectionate master. The Last Wish is a distinctive tale based on a fresh concept.

It is about a dog Tommy and his master Amit. Tommy, who is clueless about his origin, considers Amit as his world. Likewise, Amit too, has a special bonding with Tommy. He builds a small house for Tommy and looks after him carefully. There are many funny as well as cute incidents that happen between the two. Tommy, as a pet, has great respect for his master whose feelings begin to change soon. After having shared a wonderful time together, there comes bitterness in their bonding, with Tommy always remaining tensed about whether Amit is in plans of abandoning it. 

And then, one fine day, his worst thoughts turn out to be true. He tries his best to remind himself that his master loves him. But assumptions don’t change reality. Amit doesn’t return back home for quite a long time and Tommy finds his way out. But what is ahead for Tommy? Where exactly has Amit disappeared? And which is the last wish that the author talks? No more revelations as you’ll yourself get answers in the course of reading the book. 

The cover page of the book is attractive, showing a man and a dog which, according to me are, Amit and Tommy. I am assuming the city of Gujrat to be in the backdrop as the plot of the story is based there. The concept is unique but narration could seriously could have been better. I found the first chapter quite fragile and the author could have begun the story on a tangible note. The narration of the story is casual and it failed to hold my attention. My interest in the story fell bit-by-bit before diminishing completely. A story should be able to connect readers to it, and this one fails to establish that crucial connection. For most of the time, the dog Tommy is the main speaker, and then out of nowhere a second person begins narrating the story for a little while. 

The dialogues too, are dull and disinteresting whereas they should have been lively. A few sentences repeat causing irritation. Then grammatical errors add up to the list of flaws. Proper editing and proof reading of the story could have avoided it. 

The concept is unique and the story is able to give out its message properly. But errors are unavoidable, and they leave me to wonder how so many flaws were not treated before sending the book for printing.

Nevertheless, this is Abhishek Kumar’s debut novel and I am sure that my suggestions will be contemplated during his future projects.

Considering everything, I would rate the book with 2.25/5. Congratulating the author for his debut novel, I would like to see a flawless edition of the book. 

NOTE: A review copy of the book was provided by the author. 

• The book can be purchased online via: Flipkart, Amazon.