Vishwas Mudagal is an author and entrepreneur. Losing My Religion is his debut novel. Mudagal was born in Karnataka, India and received a Bachelor of Engineering from RV College of Engineering, Bangalore. Read his interview here.
Vishwas Mudagal’s Losing My Religion can be read and perceived in two ways. One is of course the very obvious story of an entrepreneur dealing with his life at a personal level, his trials and tribulations and his struggle to find a foothold in a ruthless corporate world. At another level, it is also the story of business conquests and how corporate rivalry unfolds in India. The language used is colloquial and the book’s structure is not very strong but it’s still an above average book.
The book opens with introductions and the mandatory sex scene which has become the hallmark of the easy, rapid reads novels in India. But thankfully, the writer overcomes the desire to convert his book into yet another chick lit filled with tasteless sex.
The protagonist, Rishi Rai goes on a self discovery journey after his latest business venture doesn’t turn out the way he would have liked. At a crossroads in his professional career and confused, he decides to travel. He meets with strangers and experiments with weed and alcohol, ultimately discovering his desires and his interests.
There aren’t many books in Indian fiction that have explored the angle of business rivalry and how corporate houses function in India. The book does have numerous incidents such as insights into how the media functions in the country. For example, in a press conference, everything is stage managed and advance questions are passed around to journalists who then ask the same questions and everybody is happy.
This writer has mettle but strangely the book loses its ground and various aspects are not sufficiently explored. The corporate rivalry angle could have been explored in much more detail. But nevertheless, it’s a good debut for Mudagal and hopefully, we’ll get to read more of him in the future.
Go for it if you want to read a book with a fresh plot and fast paced story telling.