If you think you have a funny bone in your body, read Mrs Funnybones and you are sure to be tickled out of your bones. Now, whether that is a good thing or bad it is up to you. Nevertheless, one thing is certain; a few laughs never hurt anybody.
The book is written by film actor Twinkle Khanna, and is published by Penguin India. It has sold over one hundred thousand copies. That made her the highest selling female writer of 2015. Her columns regularly feature in the Times of India and DNA.
Twinkle Khanna, while dwelling on the book, says her main characters are "a few facts, a little fiction, a few decaying brain cells, and a couple of old bones into my brewing cauldron of words”.
The book does not have a plot or a storyline, simply because it is not a novel with story and action, for you to straightaway jump into the thick of things. None of the “… Come Watson, come! The game is afoot…” suspense and mystery. There is no larger than life hero busy saving the world from likely human extinction. The book might, however, save you from ennui.
It is simply a collection of memorable and not so memorable experiences and funny anecdotes about her family, and the things that impact her and her family most. The book is, also, about how she responds or reacts to them in her own funny way.
“Many wise words are spoken in jest, and many more foolish ones are spoken in earnest.” Twinkle Khanna brings out the essence of the above quote through her funny ramblings. We all are familiar with the saying, “zor ka jhatka dheere se lage…” Twinkle justifies through her one-liners that the reverse is also true, “dheere ka jhatka zor se lage…”
She makes you laugh and then, some more until the reality of what she says punches you with the same vigour. The book is all about Twinkle Khanna’s uncommon outlook towards life that makes her so different and funny. The one-liners, tag lines, and puns are subtle and grow on you like good wine.
Life is all about making ordinary moments extraordinary, and Twinkle excels in not only enjoying those moments but also bringing them to us with the same pristine flavour.
One glitch, if I may add, is that some of her work that appeared in her TOI columns was, also, incorporated in this book. So, if you are a regular reader of TOI, then you might find some sections repetitive giving you a sense of dé jà vu.
I could have produced some of her ‘embellishments’ from the book in this review but decided against it as jokes and humour once repeated lose their effectiveness and are prone to get stale. Therefore, cutting short all such temptations has made me a lot more stressed. However, I am happy that I am doing my little bit to make your COVIDful evenings a lot more pleasant by suggesting books worth reading to drive out the corona virus blues.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and Twinkle Khanna’s sense of humour, and I believe you will too. If you do have a funny bone in your body, treat this as an invitation.
mbfarookh©