20

The novel 20 is much like its name. It is minimalist and still hold a profound lot of meaning. The story revolves around a young girl who seems to have it all- friends, fame and money and still she leads a lonely life. The story is comparatively short and written in the form of an omnipresent narrator. The author Vatsal Surti seems to present a new write up form that could only be defined as restrained. It is as if the author and the characters have too much to say and offer but they are restrained to show only their basic emotions. It is as if the glass is filled to the brim and is about to overflow, but still it is held in check and is perfectly balanced. You feel the heaviness of the content, but are not not allowed to soak in its wetness. Similarly, the story has number of emotions- the prominent one of them are love, happiness, sadness, and loneliness. But, these emotions are held in check and the reader could only feel the poignancy of it all. I loved the book both for its writing style and its content and look forward to more of it.

This book captures the feeling of being young so perfectly. The insecurity, the wonder, the intensity of meeting someone who understands you after being alone for a long time. I don't think a summary of the story will tell you anything about it, so I won't try. But it is very thoughtfully crafted. It's a slim book, but I savored every moment of reading it.

20 by Vatsal Surti is a minimalist approach to writing that works well on some levels, and causes some difficulty on others. A young woman comes close to hitting a young man in her car on her way home. From there, a fluid relationship begins to form between the two. This is certainly stark writing, as we never can determine the characters' names, just that they are, and that they relate to each other on some level. While there is some progress to the story, as it is somewhat written in a linear fashion, much of it is loosely arranged, with an overriding sense of deep contemplation on the young woman's part. She is taking everything in, but not letting us into her character too much. Each chapter feels like a little vignette, with a poetic feel giving the book a lyrical quality. An interesting read by a promising young author.

When I saw this on NetGalley (I was given a free copy, but that doesn't affect my review) sometime ago, I was quite taken by the cover, and found the little snippet of a plot tantalizing. I'm actually rather sorry I didn't pick it up sooner.This little novella is odd and lovely. It has a fast pace and relies on vagueness, but I think that suits its intentions better. The author wanted to capture more profound things than a traditional tale of love. It resonated with me because I'm 23 and I've spent my whole life, lonely and wondering about dark, deep, vast things.So in that sense, this novel is a drop pretentious and rings with the same tone a lot of twenty-somethings get when they're lost and longing, but that's kind of important to it having the impact it does. The storytelling style isn't so common. It's part prose, part poetry, part musings, part story. A strange little novella, but I think I am quite fond of it. I'd like to listen to a person Vatsal Surti; I think it'd be nice. A lot of what he wrote here means something to me. Nearly all of it.In that sense, I can say that twenty-somethings who appreciate the act of wondering and who would enjoy a dose of something short and artfully real, this is a nice choice of reading. But I do understand why a lot of people didn't quite like it, or get it. This appeals to a slighter audience, I think, than a lot of other novels would.Still, it hit a chord in me. I find it hard to talk about. I just... feel about it.I think I'll look into the author's other works.

The debut novel 20 from Vatsal Surti was written when the author himself was 20. It's a story of a young model, caught in between dream states and relationships, suicide attempts and a strong love for life. A coming of age, nearing the age of 21, where you are supposed to be an adult, know it all and have found your place in this world.Thousands of dreams, so many people to meet, yet pills, drunk friends, and cautious baby steps in intimacy fill this book. Short sentences to which you may add your own feelings. "She glanced at him once and smiled. There was a strange depth in her skin. It brought on a feeling of vastness, almost like in a dream where you don't have control." Amazing what's left out: details, precise locations, and names, yet the picture of this troubled girl gets clearer and clearer. "If one believes in love, one believes in hope. If one believes in time, one believes in distance. If one believes in height, one believes in depth. If one believes in purity, one believes in sin. The things that exist together, exist together till the end. But within truth neither exists." Will she reach 21 or step out just before?

"20" is a powerful book, it is more poetry than prose. A young woman hits a young man with her car. He is uninjured and, through happenstance, she later meets him and they begin a love affair. Author Vatsal Surti tightly controls what his readers know about this young man and woman. Although we "hear" her thoughts and their dialogue, we are kept at a distance as we float with the nameless protagonist through her life.Through Surti's ethereal, gorgeous writing, it seems as if we are observing more than a love affair; we are hearing a generation fearing the unknown future and asking: Why am I alive, where am I going? Surti's protagonist tells her lover: "We are so young. We are completely immature. It all seems like the beginning and it’s so scary. I used to think ends are scary, beginnings must be beautiful. But it feels so strange to think. We won’t be the same forever.”While reading "20," I heard faint whispers of early Ingmar Bergman films, and the poems of the beat poets. Vatsal Surti is a young author, and while his writing is not perfect, it is amazing and beautiful.(In return for an honest review, I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.)

This book captures the feeling of being young so perfectly. The insecurity, the wonder, the intensity of meeting someone who understands you after being alone for a long time. I don't think a summary of the story will tell you anything about it, so I won't try. But it is very thoughtfully crafted. It's a slim book, but I savored every moment of reading it.