BOOK REVIEW - Anything to Look Hot

Anything to Look Hot

Author: Jas Kohli

Srishti Publishers and Distributors

Total No. of pages 196

The author in his debut venture has produced a captivating storyline of which he, being a qualified and accomplished Plastic Surgeon, is himself the protagonist, wittingly or unwittingly! He relives his memory of training in Plastic Surgery in a large multi-specialty hospital in Delhi and consequently comes up with a plot which many doctors will find not only familiar but very interesting. To the general public this book is a window into the life of struggle, sacrifice and dedication of a highly qualified professional and could not have been more timely considering the plight of doctors in the society today.

The protagonist is a first generation doctor in his well planned middle class family of four – father, mother a married sister, staying in Chicago and the way he has most lucidly narrated his experiences with his parents, relatives, friends, seniors, teachers and patients, it so seems that I, the reader, has been in this journey with him most of the way……and this I believe is the hallmark of excellence of any author! When the reader starts resonating with the author and his creation and is easily transported to the author’s world as his obvious protagonist, then you can be rest assured that the book will be a hit!

Every medico will identify with the joy of being selected for a super-specialty training programme, the trials and tribulations of residency days, the tireless and treacherous duty hours, the thankful and the thankless patients and their relatives and once in a lucky while eye candy interns! Every medical specialist worth his salt will remember the final examination viva-voce and the examiners, who on that day appeared like devil’s incarnation. The campus stories, the juicy rumors, the flirtations and the failed affairs on one hand and the innumerable skipped meals and the absolutely revolting dressing duties in the Burn ward on the other, all form a part of the thick plot, woven exquisitely by the author. Even the newly blossomed romance with his lady love being brutally interrupted by her selection for post-graduation in a medical institution 2000 Km away is also so very familiar. The sub-conscious comparison with school pals, who have by now settled in cushy jobs or doing business and earning humongous amounts, is also a feeling which no honest health professional can deny.

Leaving the safe harbor of home and sailing out to the uncertainty of a big city is again a fact in the life of every ambitious professional. So when the protagonist chooses to move to Mumbai to start his Cosmetic Surgery practice one is bound to feel the old butterflies in his/her own stomach! The contradictions of establishing a practice – to advertise or not to advertise, to remain only in one’s yet to be productive unit or to spend time in some other hospital additionally to make both ends meet are all so very familiar and difficult choices which many of us had to make once. To be helped unconditionally by a senior and to be duped and conned by smart Gen Y junior are also experiences which many professionals have faced themselves.

The spice of Bollywood that has been added to the plot has also allowed the author to introduce virtually all the cosmetic surgery procedures that is being offered today to not only the upwardly mobile but also the middle class ladies, and hence the title ‘Anything to look hot!’So whether it is the whims of the ambitious film starlet or the insecurity of an established star, the tantrums of a one film wonder  or the desire of a superstar of yesteryear to look like a modern day Diva all find an answer in cosmetic surgery. So whether it is rhinoplasty or face lift or lip augmentation or liposuction or abdominoplasty or hair transplant, lasers, botox, fillers or thread lift the protagonist very judiciously offers them to his patients from the film world and very intelligently tells the readers the scope of each procedure.

The infatuation with a patient, which could almost ruin his happy marriage and the firm and swift admonition by the wife, is beautifully portrayed. The manner in which every step up the ladder of success eats into his precious family time is all too real and is experienced almost every day by all professionals.

All in all this book is a wonderful work of fiction though certain places and characters can be easily identified around us and this again is a unique quality of the author. The author shows how dominance and submission shape every relationship—friendship, romance, even parenthood. This is an impressive debut novel, easily read in a few sittings. The showcase narrative is sensitive, meaty, and varied, and the author  has not only invested in laying out multiple intriguing plots but has also tried to tie all the loose ends together and you are not left with questions like ‘what happened to that character?’ The writing is exquisite and in my opinion and the story line kept me glued to its pages till the very end.

The 196 page book is a paperback, single volume and has been published by Srishti Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi. Waseem Halal has created an eye catching cover in glossy colours. This is a stunning book and I enthusiastically recommend it and I will most surely look forward to his next book.