Mis(s) Adventures of a Salesgirl by Aashisha Chakraborty
Reviewed by
Dr. Sapna Dogra
Assistant Professor
Department of
English
Government College Baroh
Himachal
Pradesh, India
Mis(s) Adventures of a
Salesgirl |Novel | Aashisha Chakraborty
Rupa Publication, 2022, pp. 242, INR 295
ISBN:
978-93-5520-548-3
Mis(s) Adventures Of A
Salesgirl by
Aashisha Chakraborty is a fun and interesting story of an ordinary girl who
goes out in the world learning to adapt and adjust. It’s a motivating narrative
of a girl’s survival in a male-dominated world albeit with a twist and without
drama and pathos.
In the prologue the readers
are introduced to three of Ena’s traits: first, her impatience, as “she was
born a month earlier than the due date”; second, her unconventionality, as she
did not pick up anything from the tray during her anna Prasanna ceremony;
third, her being a reader, as she began “fiddling” with books at an early age.
What follows is the justification for these three traits.
When the novel opens, we meet Enakshi, a twenty-five-year-old
Bengali girl who is about to enter the ‘deviously manipulative’ (5) world of
salesmanship. She is pursuing her
MBA at one of the prestigious business schools and begins working in a Telecom
company. She is sent on a sales assignment to the scorching Chennai for a
two-month internship. Most of her batchmates have been placed around Delhi and
the distant Chennai is daunting to her family. Despite objections from her
parents, she displays grit and determination. What follows is her trials and
tribulations in a predominantly male-dominated sales world of sexism.
WhatsApp made her weep these days. People around
her were either getting married, travelling to exotic places, winning expensive
gadgets or enjoying unimaginable luxury. Whereas she was roaming the polluted,
clogged, traffic-infested streets of Chennai, selling SIM cards. (44)
With a secret she must
unravel, the novel also has a dose of suspense that makes the readers turn the
pages. The novel is a complete entertainer with emotions and interesting turns
and events.
The story was a bit
predictable and incredible but overall, it was a fun read that I enjoyed. Ena
is such a relatable character and I’m sure readers will be able to relate to
her as well. The narrative is replete with subtle humour that is enough to keep
the readers going. The secret that Ena pursues was predictable and not novel.
In that way, the plot falls short of imagination. Anybody could figure out the
secret that Ena pursues from chapter 1.
Written in lucid
language, the story is gripping and interesting. The best part of the book is
its humour.
But the thing that really got them curious was that
a young girl was actually a sales officer. With her too-young-to-be-probing
look, they would stare at her and ask uncomfortable questions, making her wish
she was a little taller. (40)
Ena is a typical
Bengali girl Reading a sequel to the book would add to the fun. One wishes to
unravel what the future has in store for Enakshi.
Time, like light, decides the way it moves around
people. Sometimes, it moves in a straight line. And at times, it bends around
certain obstacles to reach where it wants to reach. (18)
The description of
the plot's characters and situations was delightful. The flavour, colour,
aroma, and fragrance of the things described are all easily recognisable.
All the characters in the novel like Pavan, Ram, etc., are
well-developed. With lucid prose and a credible
plot, the book is well brought out with a nice cover and an apt title. All in
all, Mis(s) Adventures Of A Salesgirl is a pleasant read.
I wish
Aashisha Chakraborty all the very best for her future projects.