Title: The Waiting Lounge
Author: Chet Kamal Parkash
Publisher: One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd
Genre: Contemporary Romance
First Publication: 2022
Language: English
Book Summary: The Waiting Lounge by Chet Kamal Parkash
The Waiting Lounge is the story of a young boy, Akash, who starts his journey from a place where in the winters, mountains clad with snow and pristine lakes freeze, while the River Tawi that flows through the foothills of The Himalayas warms up with the shine of the sun. Being a small-town boy, he has big dreams about his life at an early age. He has a vision of himself prospering, fulfilling all his dreams & aspirations, and paving the way for others to follow in his footsteps. He crosses over to different landscapes and moves from one city to another, doing well in his life. But destiny has written something else in his fate.
While achieving great heights, a tragedy befalls him; his fiancée-to-be dies an untimely death, which leaves a void in him that may last forever. Seeing him struggling with the ups and downs, Dharti, a colleague, enters his life. She stands with him every step of the way, while he tries to understand the meaning and purpose of his life.
In this unusual love story, circumstances bond two people together. Is this an inseparable bond of love, and if so, how far can it take them?
Book Review: The Waiting Lounge by Chet Kamal Parkash
Some stories don’t have happy endings, and some do. But, The Waiting Lounge tells the story of a man’s journey through grief, and anyone who has been through the loss of a loved one knows that the pain never ends. Chet Kamal Parkash did a wonderful job of reminding us of that. This isn’t just a love story where someone dies, someone else comes along, and they live happily ever after. Instead, it spoke clearly of the struggle and inner turmoil of a man wanting to get on with his life but never really being able to let go. He had the flashbacks and constant memories that we all have when going through grief. This is a story about a love that is lost and a love that is found. This aspect of the book was excellent and could not be faulted.
The Waiting Lounge has all of the ingredients for a fantastic read. It has a certain intensity of emotions, beautiful prose, in-depth character development, and a plot line that leaves you desperate to unravel it. The story is about a small-town guy, Akash, with big dreams. Despite the fact that he comes from a small village, he has had high aspirations for his future from an early age. He had started his journey from the very bottom and had found success at a very young age. With his vision, he sees himself succeeding, achieving all of his goals. He travels through varied landscapes and from one place to another, achieving success in his career and personal life.
But, while achieving success, he had lost the most important person in his life, his fiancee-to-be and was now left with a hole that may remain for the rest of his life. As he attempts to comprehend the meaning and purpose of his existence, Dharti, a colleague, is by his side at every step of the journey. When Dharti enters into his life, he starts to think he could find love again. However, not everything is easy for Akash, which could somehow put a strain on his new and developing relationship with Dharti. The emotional bonding between the lead characters during their different times was narrated so touchingly!
The Waiting Lounge is most certainly a romance, but it’s also so much more. It’s a story of survival, courage, unexpected chances, fate, sacrifice, love, and healing. It’s deeply emotional and very fast-paced. I flew through the pages and was unable to put it down. The characters are relatable and tangible. It really makes you wonder how you yourself would react if you were in a similar situation as Akash. This book was more about Akash’s own journey and his self-discovery of the person he wanted to be, more than just a simple romance book.
Chet Kamal Parkash has done a great job of weaving human emotions into his story to make it truly remarkable. His writing style grabbed me from the beginning, and I was left eagerly turning pages. The ease with which he creates a mental picture of the story settings is remarkable and awe inspiring. A very important element for me was how mundane and realistic the situations were; Akash’s background was full of happenings and events that changed him so much, but in the end made him stronger and got him where he is; and the way Dharti enters into his life.
The Waiting Lounge is truly a beautiful romance novel with a lesson: no matter how awful a situation might seem, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. The only thing is that the tunnel might be long and hard to navigate through, but with hope and determination, light will be reached. I would recommend this book to any reader that likes reading about positive things that come out of tragic pasts, or any reader that is in need of a happy ending with a tinge of romance.
