You Only Live Once | Stuti Changle| Book Review
In the book, ‘You only live once’ we come across three people who have the same destination. All three of them are searching for a famous singer named Elisha who went missing twenty years ago. No one knows what happened to her.
These three people are searching for her, for different reasons. Alara is a broken but rising youtube star. Aarav, a hopeful stand-up comedian who is also doing an IT internship in Pune and Ricky, a shack owner on the shore of a Goan beach.
The storyline
Alara was very young when her father moved to Czech with her. At that time her mother, Elisha, had gone missing. He married another woman later on and time went by. Alara liked her stepmother but deep down she wished she could meet Elisha. The mystery behind her disappearance was something that took her back to India where she hoped that Elisha was alive and that she would find her. Blessed with her mother’s gift of music, she performed at Ricky’s shack and hoped to find out about Elisha in the same land that she went missing from.
Ricky had spent most of his life in the memory of Elisha. He had dearly loved her. If only he had more time, if only the past could be changed. All he wished was to meet her again and yet he resented her. He blamed her for making him so miserable and for staying in his heart for all these years. He told himself that he never wanted to see her again.
Then there was Aarav. He was a budding standup comedian who also had an IT internship. His wish is to see Elisha to behold a great star who had the courage to follow her heart. He was confused about whether or not to follow his. Ricky motivated him and he often performed at his shack.
When Aarav met Alara, he couldn’t take his eyes off her and as time passed, they fell in love. Aarav was there for Alara through all the ups and downs of her life. He helped her search for her mother.
In this pursuit of Elisha, did Alara succeed? Did she find Elisha or did she find herself? If you read ‘You only live once’, you will know.
‘You’re always being yourself. I would say it again, even if you are doing what others want you to do, you’re taking the final call.’
My Thoughts on You only live once
This a story that is a very unique idea. It explores an area that we rarely get to read about. Grief, longing, moving on and reminiscing packed in one story. I however feel that I would like it better if it was a longer story, getting into more details.
I wish we knew more about the characters. Especially Ricky and his young adult days. How he was, before he became the strange shack owner who says weird things and the depth of whose emotions no one can understand. I wish we knew more about Alara’s dad and his side of the story.
Some things were left unsaid and undone and I wish we could complete those events but maybe that is truly the beauty of it. How some things remained incomplete.
The other thing that I truly liked about the book was how they portrayed Goa. Being from Goa myself, I am usually very bothered about the image that people tend to paint about Goans. The only thing that others register are parties and drinking and ‘fun’. Stuti changle showed us a different version of Goa. The one with serene beaches and beautiful islands. A place where people enjoy music and a slow-paced, laid-back life. Where art is appreciated and people are helped. This story showed us the Goa that I have always known.
Good and Bad analysis
It was a lovely story, quite unique to be honest. However, I thought it was pretty rushed. The author tried to fit in too many things in a few pages. It would honestly be better if it were to be longer.
There is excellent advice and very inspiring quotes. The characters go through so much soul-searching. They learn to face their vulnerabilities head-on. ‘You only live once’ is an inspiration that I will never forget.
Author: Stuti changle
Genre: Fiction/Romance
Plot: 4.5/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
‘It is in the moments when we lose ourselves, our sanity, that we actually feel alive.’
