I had been waiting for a sequel to one of my favorite books ‘Those pricey Thakur Girls’ and was very excited about reading ‘The house that BJ built’. And I was not disappointed at all. In fact it surpassed my expectations.
I thought that Anuja Chauhan would tell us the story of Eeshu and Steesh, but the narrative takes a leap forward and the central characters are now Bonu and Samar, the grandchildren of BJ and the niece and nephew of the erstwhile Thakur sisters. Samar is a Bollywood director who makes edgy films and Bonu has a garment business. Bonu seems messed up because of her mother, Binny’s feud with BJ and the other Thakur girls but finally comes to terms with her past and embraces love.
The story The House that BJ Built, takes many twists and turns with the central focus being the dispute over family property and ‘Hissa’.
There is a parallel storyline about Eshwari and Satish (who has become this rich, handsome and bigshot builder)
We reacquaint with many old characters like Anji Di, Dabbu, Dylan, Gulgul, Chachaji and Chachiji. We are also introduced to new ones like Zeeshan Khan, Susan Adam and Cougar Malhotra who are Samar’s friends from Bollywood. We finally meet the elusive sister Chandu who turns out to be weird and mean. We get to know the Trings who are Bonu’s friends and are an integral part of the story.
The fluid language, the use of Hinglish and the witty repartees by the Thakur sisters make it all the more delightful to read. Through it all Bonu and Samar fall in love, Samar makes a movie on the patriarch Pushkar Thakur and his wife, the property dispute gets resolved and everyone is happy.
After finishing the book you have sense of satisfaction that all loose ends are tied up nicely. But wait! Can we have another sequel with Pasta (Dabbu and Dylan’s daughter) as the protagonists? I hope so!
Book: The House that BJ Built
Author: Anuja Chauhan
Publication: Westland
Reviewer: Meenal Upadhyaya
Available at: www.amazon.in, www.goodreads.com
