[ book tip by Revathi Siva Kumar ] Master of Life Skills by Vijay Nair is a searingly brilliant book. From start to finish, it engages the reader in a journey of startling self-discoveries. The story revolves around Vipul, professor in a management school in Ahmedabad, India. He runs a bizarre personal growth programme. Each student comes with his or her emotional and actual baggage of hopes, fears, flaws and strengths. Vipul’s classes are, however, not so many lessons in improvement, as they are studies in emotional manipulation and deceit. At every turn, the underlying human strain of malevolence is revealed. Some of the students are broken beyond redemption by the revelations, while others do get healed incidentally, and in spite of the program. In the end, Vipul, the Master, dies, defeated by his own lifetime’s achievement. The program breaks up, and the people scatter away.  

What grips the reader is the story of each character, which is etched with uncompromising accuracy, and close attention to detail. They are most believable, and drawn from life, yet their tales intersect, clash and diverge with a precision that speaks of a master craftsman's manipulation. The book is a series of observations, dialogues and internal revelations. There are few descriptions. The book engages the mind, rather than the senses, and the reader feels a keen sense of having been part of a number of encounters with people, rather than visits to places. To organize such complex lives and their interactions, it is obvious that the author needs to maintain an excruciating level of control. However, his intervention is not obvious as the tale unfolds. The reader is sucked into the development of the story, sometimes stormy, sometimes gentle, but always with a feeling of being part of natural changes in life's journey. On the whole, the book is an engaging must-read.       

[ Favourite quote ] 'She was not going to economize with her life anymore.'

[ book info ] Nair, Vijay: Master of Life Skills. (Book language: English) Harper Collins, India,