Name: My Last Love Story
ISBN: 9781525811395

Falguni Kothari

"Simi Desai is thirty years old and her husband is dying of cancer. He has two last wishes in his final months. First, that she'll have his baby so that a piece of him lives on, and second, that she'll reconcile with her old flame, who just happens to be their mutual best friend. So over the course of their last summer together, Simi's husband plans a series of big and small adventures for this unlikely trio, designed to help them say goodbye to each other and prove to Simi that it's okay to move on without him, and even find love again."--Front flap.

My Last Love Story

Kritika Narula

It is not often that you come across a book whose plot gyrates to touch every human foible possible. This is a story of three people from India, while the setting is abroad. Initially, as you delve into the book, it might seem just another story about Indian immigrants abroad and their struggles of fitting in, while battling conflicts with their culture. This book has so many levels, you could be on the last page and still be peeling through more dimensions added to the plot. This, is partly why the end is what it is, although I do yearn for a little more solidity in the conclusions. Yet, it was in measured exactness real and raw: no cliche, no fantastical unblemished happily-ever-after.



My Last Love Story delivers what it promises: an exploration of the protagonist's love story, as seen from her own eyes, and to contemplate and decide whether it'd be the last. There's so much about this story that is unconventional, that sets it apart, a review wouldn't suffice to enlist it all. The friendship and the trials and tribulations that accompany the friendship of our main characters is so unusual, its conception is a brilliant work of the author's mind. 

Above everything, the story is also a narrative of the difficult decisions one is forced to make in life. There is a tragedy, and then there's you dealing with the tragedy. There's a problem, and then it's your call on how you'll deal with it. To mess it up a notch, add love to the equation. 
The characters face some real tragedies. And the expression has been so real and raw, you almost relate to it. At one point, it is, "I wished that my anxiety could be stripped off as easily as the raincoat." At another, it is "In my mind, I perpetuated the fantasy we’d once imagined for us because to think about the truth of our situation, about the inoperable metastatic tumor inside my husband’s brain, was anathema to me."

The reading experience has been enriching and productive too, with a rich and steady stream of vocabulary and rich phrases and witticisms. 

No mention could probably end without that inevitable, inexplicable comparison to JoJo Moyes' Me Before You. Here's my verdict: the richness of content in this story, due to its Indian roots far surpasses that of MBY, while I'd yearn for an ending like the one Moyes gave, with a conclusion to the character portrayed ill.

Sahi K

I went in expecting a sort of love triangle but I was definitely surprised. This book reflects on so much more than you thought. The friendship and love that the Awesome Threesome Nirvaan, Simeen and Zayaan share is very unconventional and not something you commonly read. But it was very beatifully written and I couldn't believe that despite all their feelings for each other, they still kept such secrets from which ate away at them from the inside. The book is also about dealing with trauma, loss, grief, death, faith and getting through them with the help of your family and friends. But ultimately, the there is only ONE question that you are left with at the end - Is it possible to love two people at the same time and is it really wrong if you do?      PS - The only reason for my 4 stars is that the ending felt a little rushed and I would have liked to know more about their life a few years later. Also, Nirvaan's fate at the end didn't sit well with me because it's not what he wanted.