Writing a coming of age book is not a simple task. In fact, it is one of the most difficult tasks in the world, right with writing comedy. And when an up and coming author tries this genre so early in their career, it is time for us to sit up and take notice. Here’s our review of Eighteen: The End of Innocence, written by Sudham.
Eighteen: The End of Innocence is based in the nineties South India, and tells the story of a group of teenage boys and girls whose life is as simple and as complicated as one’s could be in India in the nineties.
So, be ready for lots of lump in the throat moments that are a chunk right out anyone who’s had a typical childhood, adolescence and came of age in the new, shining India that was the period between 1970s and 2000s.
So there’s Holi, there’s crushes, there’s extraordinary experiences with the other gender, people’s initiation into the vices of smoking, drinking and whatnot. And all this immortalises a warm, innocent time that many of us grew up in and few have forgotten.
This is the book the younger generation should read if they are wondering whether the ‘you had a good childhood if you remember these’ memes really do make any sense. Those memes do make sense and yes, the decades between the seventies and the late nineties were that awesome.
While the book covers the mundane and the exciting in all of 200 odd pages, it does a successful job of portraying the life and times of children who were growing up in that era – something that many may not know today.
The characters are quite believable and so are the instances. Teenagers today should definitely read this book to get a taste of what life was for teenagers just a decade ago. After all, wouldn’t it be surprising for them to know that concepts like a ‘blank call’ were the norm of the day back then? in the era of missed calls, Sudham decides to take a harkback towards blank calls.
What draws you to the book are the characters who are quite next door and I am sure many will either connect or recognize such characters from their own mildly interesting past. What keeps you is the paced, colorful writing style that’s deserves a place right up there.
You’ll love this book if you are a retro fan. Trust me on this one.