You Begin Where I End by Sarang Jairaj

Title: You begin where I end
Author- Sarang Jairaj
Publisher: Srishti Publishers

Blurb: Nafisa is dealing with beers, periods, heartbreak, and dating apps, when she meets her new uniquely average boyfriend. But is he the love of her life? Before Nafisa can figure that out, her life is turned upside down. Her mother Tamanna dies in an accident. In trying to come to terms with her loss, she finds solace in the company of a charming painter. Her life takes a retro turn, with diaries, handwritten letters, and music trying to heal her.

Tamanna is busy simply existing and complaining, when a gorgeous poet takes her on a whirlwind philosophical journey, teaching her to appreciate art, nature, human existence, and love. But is he the love of her life? Before Tamanna can figure that out, her marriage is arranged with an extraordinarily ordinary guy. Amidst arranged marriages, honour killings, letters of blood, and melting ice-golas, Tamanna shall discover her brand of love.

You Begin Where I End spins two unconventional love stories, set two decades apart – 1991 and 2015 – trying to find an answer to the eternal dilemma of darlings – What is love?

My Review

“You Begin Where I End” by Sarang Jairaj is a romance fiction with a unique touch of humor. The story is revolving around the two main characters, Nafisa and Tamanna. At the very beginning of the story, Nafisa is portrayed as a care-free girl and who is dealing with a break-up due to her over-weight. Her nature is that she overcomes every life hurdles rather quickly than others. She then starts dating with another broken-heart, Amar, whom she found in a dating app. Their relationship suffers a sudden jerk when she met Kiaan, a painter on Quora and finds more comfortable with him than Amar. But when her mother Tamanna suddenly dies in an accident, she was immersed in a heartbreaking sorrow. The uncertainty of death is well portrayed in these parts. How the death of beloved ones affects us is well narrated at these points. To find solace, she found her mother’s diary and started reading it to overcome the pain. Through Tamanna’s journal entries, another complicated love story unfolds. Tamanna was in love with Jai, a poet but she chose Kailash, Nafisa’s father, over him and married. Why Tamanna chose Kailash over Jai who was her love of life? The confusing and clue-less tale of minds which yearning for love thus begins. When the story unfolds, we can see how Tamanna distinguishes true love and her comfort level and how she teaches her daughter about love and life even after she was gone.
The diary entries by Tamanna dealing art, rebellion, love, honour killings, and marriage is the core of this novel. The author has blended the life of mother Tamanna and daughter Nafisa perfectly to make sense that their lives are not two but one and all the dilemma they are facing are the same.

I found that the character of Tamanna was deeper than her daughter. Because she is patient, mature and cares for the people she loves. Like that, I can say she is quite opposite to the character of her daughter.

This book is perfect for a light read and anyone can read it in just one sitting. Except for some points where emotions prevail over happiness, it is happy to go read. Another thing I loved about this book is, it quotes some thought-provoking lines from famous people.
The irony and sarcasm used throughout the novel are worth noticing. This is the main feature that makes this book interesting.

The title and cover are unique and eye-catching. “You” and ”I” supposedly means daughter and mother respectively and it is a hint to how their lives crossed each other. The cover basically represents the character of Nafisa in a nut-shell. The care-free nature and what are the things she is dealing with. Also, the funny epilogue at the end perfectly winds up this beautiful romance story.

Rating: 3.5/5