Book Review: Life Had Other Plans by Munish Dhawan

Title and Author: Life Had Other Plans by Munish Dhawan
No. of Pages: 361
Publication Date: December 22nd 2014 by Leadstart Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Fiction, Indian Writing
Language: English


Book Review:
Life Had Other Plans by Munish Dhawan takes us into the Indian advertising world through three protagonists as they stumble, bumble and love their way through life.


When Munish contacted me about the book, I was hooked regarding the concept. Not having read any books that had advertising industry as background, I was intrigued. The cover is interesting and eye catchy with the title further adding to the allure. The blurb is a bit long and I think can be made more concise and intriguing.


The story of the book is more like memories and experiences of the protagonists and sometimes even seems like a serial with each chapter acting as a fresh episode. The author as admirably brought his story idea to life and I enjoyed navigating through life along with the characters.


Munish’s writing style is fluid, simple and engaging. He was able to engross me in the happenings of the book with the very realistic settings, emotions and experiences. Some events and actions came as a surprise to me, maybe because I could not connect my own self there but still nowhere did I feel like it was all make believe.


The pace of the book is a bit erratic. It goes slow then picks up pace and then again slows down. So this could have been made better. Another thing that had me feeling a bit dissatisfied was the usage of Hinglish which I personally think should not be used because many words lose their essence when non-Hinglish knowing readers read the book.


The characters are expertly developed and they remained with me long after the end of the story. They are a strange lot and taught me so much through their ups and down in the book.


There are some lovely twists and surprises thrown in the book which will have you admiring the author.


All in all, Life Had Other Plans is a book that had me entertained but is one book that is difficult to judge because it has its own highs and lows. I had to read it twice to make up my mind which I think is still struggling to do it justice! 4 out of 5 to it and recommended to everyone. Go read it and share your own thoughts with me!

I look forward to reading more from Munish in the future and wish him the very best.


I received the book from the author and I am very thankful to him. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.