Review: Too Good to Be True by Prajakta Koli
A love letter to love stories, the actor and influencer’s debut novel presents a romance that’s both familiar and relatable
Cosmopolitan Mumbai is the backdrop of actor and content creator Prajakta Koli’s much anticipated debut novel, Too Good to Be True. At the heart of the tale is Avani, a law student working part-time at a bookstore. Romance is almost a religion for her and romance novels are her gospel. Much to her surprise (and not to the reader’s), the embodiment of a perfect man slides out of her books and into her real life. Aman is the titular rich, handsome and mature man whom Avani perceives as too good to be true. Despite her friends’ best efforts, she keeps searching for cracks in his persona. The plot unfolds with Aman’s attempts to woo her even as she is trapped in her indecision. The novels she has read are filled with grand gestures, fateful connections, and perfect endings. Yet, in her own life, love doesn’t unfold quite as effortlessly. Therein lies the tension that propels Koli’s debut.
A love letter to love stories, the novel is deeply aware of the romantic conventions within which it works and presents what happens when life doesn’t quite measure up to the expectations set by fiction. The writing style is conversational and imbued with humour. “[I] shut my eyes in a silent prayer to whoever was listening. Gods, Satan, spirits, energies, Mark Zuckerberg,” Avani says when she finds herself in the middle of a rather awkward moment.
Too Good to be True touches on the theme of mental health expressing how an individual’s conditioning influences their perception of the world. It also explores the universal tendency to avoid confronting one’s own emotions: “Denial is a funny thing. It works like a charm, till it doesn’t...[then] the waves come crashing down on you. You can swim or you can drown.”
Written in the first person, the narration alternates between the voices of Avani and Aman. Readers hear the most intimate thoughts and sentiments of the characters, and learn that their internal frictions are the primary roadblocks to their union.
Interestingly, the voice in Avani’s head, almost a character by itself, appears throughout in italics. “You can’t stop thinking about his eyes?” the voice asks Avani when she first meets Aman but is in denial about falling in love at first sight. “Oh, what do you know? You’re just a stupid voice in my head,” Avani replies. This narrative device, which mostly plays the devil’s advocate, allows readers to comprehend the central character’s conflicts.
Readers familiar with the author’s online persona (she has 8.4 million followers on Instagram alone) will immediately identify the narrative voice with Koli’s own. While this does create a pleasing connection with the author, it is also one of the book’s weak points. At times, Aman’s voice is indistinguishable from Avani’s. This reviewer often had to flip back a few pages to check the chapter title and recollect who the narrator was. This was especially so while reading long passages with no gendered pronouns or markers.
Among the central character’s endearing qualities is her tendency to compare events in her own life with instances from fiction: But it does/doesn’t happen like this in the romance novels I have read. These mentions of romance novels in a romance novel are fun at first but become somewhat irksome when they recur.
Some plot holes have also been copiously discussed by readers: How did a middle-class law student like Avani manage to rent a 1-BHK in South Mumbai while also hiring house help? It’s the sort of point that can be made, perhaps, in a more serious novel but is unfair to project onto one that clearly stands at the cusp of fantasy.
The book doesn’t deflect much from the familiar trajectory of the contemporary romance novel. Clearly, the author is not attempting to invent a new language or trope but is presenting a story that is both familiar and relatable.
Too Good to Be True does not claim to be the layered work of a new Jane Austen. Instead, it takes solace in simplicity and radiates mass appeal. Still, this debut novel definitely piques the reader’s interest leaving them wondering about what the future holds for Prajakta Koli as she juggles her influencer and author hats.
Suvrat Arora is a freelance journalist based in Bengaluru. He writes on books, art, technology and culture.
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