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A review by harini
So Now You Know: A Memoir of Growing Up Gay in India by Vivek Tejuja
4.0
Vivek Tejuja is a very well-known book blogger and reviewer in the book community. He is an avid reader with a passion for written word and his book recommendations are gold. So, when I found out that he would be penning a memoir tracing his journey as a gay man living and growing up in a traditional joint-family in the Bombay in the 90s, I was very excited. And I glad to say that this book didn’t disappoint me.
So Now You Know: A Memoir of Growing Up Gay in India is a brave, raw and an honest book. Through this memoir, Vivek takes you on a journey down his memory lane. From his first crush on a boy at an age of 8 to his confusion regarding his sexuality to his various crushes and relationships with men to coming out to his Sindhi joint-family to his quest to find love, Vivek bares it all. With utmost honesty but never coming across as a martyr, Vivek talks about being bullied and ragged for who is he, isolation he felt when his friends and family distanced themselves from him when he told them his truth and many times he got his heart broken. He shows us that at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you are straight, gay, lesbian, bi or trans, we all want the same thing – love and acceptance of who we are.
Along the way, Vivek asks some strong questions about of the society. Are we truly liberal if we can’t accept a person for who they are, especially when it comes to family and friends? Since when is a person’s entire existence and personality defined by their sexual preference? Such questions and many more make us question our own actions.
So Now You Know is a simple and a quick read. Vivek’s writing is very conversational and chatty. The entire book reads like a conversation you would have with a friend over a cup of coffee. This is both the book’s strength and also its weakness. While this tone of the book keeps it light and breezy, it also leaves you wanting more. You put the book down wishing that Vivek had delved deeper into his life. May he will do that in his next book?
All in all, So Now You Know is an important read that I would highly recommend to one and all.
So Now You Know: A Memoir of Growing Up Gay in India is a brave, raw and an honest book. Through this memoir, Vivek takes you on a journey down his memory lane. From his first crush on a boy at an age of 8 to his confusion regarding his sexuality to his various crushes and relationships with men to coming out to his Sindhi joint-family to his quest to find love, Vivek bares it all. With utmost honesty but never coming across as a martyr, Vivek talks about being bullied and ragged for who is he, isolation he felt when his friends and family distanced themselves from him when he told them his truth and many times he got his heart broken. He shows us that at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you are straight, gay, lesbian, bi or trans, we all want the same thing – love and acceptance of who we are.
Along the way, Vivek asks some strong questions about of the society. Are we truly liberal if we can’t accept a person for who they are, especially when it comes to family and friends? Since when is a person’s entire existence and personality defined by their sexual preference? Such questions and many more make us question our own actions.
So Now You Know is a simple and a quick read. Vivek’s writing is very conversational and chatty. The entire book reads like a conversation you would have with a friend over a cup of coffee. This is both the book’s strength and also its weakness. While this tone of the book keeps it light and breezy, it also leaves you wanting more. You put the book down wishing that Vivek had delved deeper into his life. May he will do that in his next book?
All in all, So Now You Know is an important read that I would highly recommend to one and all.