I opted to receive ‘I made a Booboo’ by Shivangi Sharma as a review copy from Rupa Publications, in exchange for an honest review. And below is the review of this hilarious book.
A Journal of Déjà vu moments
The title and the book cover, both are humorous and apt to the content of the book. The blurb gives a glimpse into ‘what to expect’ of the book, in good humour !
“Once upon a time there was a woman who used to sleep eight hours a day and wake up late on the weekends. Her clothes were mostly free of gross body fluids and her bag rarely had biscuit crumbs. Then she decided to have a baby.
With books and the Internet for friends- and a husband who responded commonsensically- she thought she had it all sorted. But then her baby arrived, and everything turned upside down.
The baby made it its mission to present a new surprise every day. Mommy, after fighting hours of helplessness, came to know that parenting was a lost battle. There was only one way to survive- keep calm, laugh on and write on as the bay dozes. The result: I Made a Booboo, a rollicking account of the trials and tribulations of a first-time mom.
P.S. Everyone did live happily ever after (albeit so when the baby willed so)”
One read of the blurb and I knew that I had to read the book, as it closely relates with the happenings of my life to the tee! The book in itself is a hilarious journal of the writer’s encounters as a mom that can be divided into accounts of pre-pregnancy,pregnancy and post pregnancy days.
A reader is bound to relate with this book in more than one way or the other. I for one, behaved and thought like Shivangi not only when I was pregnant but also during the initial days of handling the new born. Added to this, I even vented my anger on my husband pretty much like in the book! Ofcourse, my son’s reasons for having been awake during nights when he was a toddler was a medical one unlike the lil one of the book,still I cracked up while reading the writer’s experiences.
The book is no ‘Pregnancy Bible’ which is a big relief! I hate the self help books on ‘Handling Pregnancy woes and newborns’ as I firmly believe that our grand moms know better than modern day doctors when it comes to handling babies and one cannot use a manual for raising the lil ones! Every working woman is bound to go through guilt pangs with a baby at home, which has been well described in the book. The writer’s lines in the book “Motherhood almost turned me from a job-hopping and working-for-bonus capitalist into a let’s-exchange-our-babies’-pictures and let’s-go-home-early-to-be-with-family socialist” more or less summarises the 360 degrees turn that takes place in a working lady’s life post a baby!
I wish the writer had restricted the total pages to around 150-160. Just after reaching the 144th page,I sort of lost interest as the feeling of déjà vu was overwhelming and the humour around the ‘moments’ became predictable. But I compliment the writer for rekindling my interest with her letter ‘An Apologia to my Son’. Do not miss ‘The New Mommy Alphabet’ either!
Numerous anecdotes,suggestions and the writer’s take on the topic of ‘pregnancy and making a booboo’ makes this book a wonderful and a breezy read! With so much of stress and negativity surrounding every woman’s pregnancy phase-thanks to the information overload on the Internet,this book comes as a freshly baked cookie,that can be savoured by expectant mothers, new mothers and of course ‘fathers’ aswell. Savour it with a hot cup of coffee,lest you spill it while ROFL (blame it on this humourous book)!
I give this book a rating of 4 / 5 !
Title of the book – I made a Booboo
Author – Shivangi Sharma
Genre – Non-fiction/Parenting/ Humour
Publisher – Rupa Publications
Number of Pages – 196
Year of Publication – 2016
Reviewed Edition – Paperback