book review: 'the princess of a whorehouse'.

'The Princess of a Whorehouse'. One look at the title, and I knew I HAD to read the book. There are not very many books that deal with a sensitive topic like this; and for a debut writer to chose a topic like this as his launch-pad is commendable in itself. I congratulate Mayank Sharma, for having made the brave decision.
However, a topic like this warrants a lot of patience and sensitivity, failing which, the whole thing is susceptible to fall flat. Unfortunately, that is exactly what seems to have happened with 'TPOAW'.
I wish: the writer had been more patient with the book and not rushed it; the writer had gone for experienced beta readers, before handing his baby over to the publishers; the publisher had the wisdom or brains to run it through editors and proofreaders; the publisher had not only thought about minting money, but also giving its worth somehow, to the writer!
The entire narrative seems to be abrupt and full of potholes. The characters needed far better development. While the characters have not been adequately developed; the locales have mostly been overtly described. I don't want to know about all the places in the entire route from Laxmi Nagar to the South-west of Delhi, or that India gate is a war memorial for soldiers who lost their lives in WW1 between 1914-21. My history teacher had already taught me all that. The dialogues could have been crisper and more real. For example, how do you expect an illiterate lady coming from a village in Jharkhand, to use words like, '...victim of the repercussions of a repressed society'? These are the words of the writer; while, as a reader, I want to hear what that lady would say.
More than the writer, I blame the publishers, Notion Press, for doing a shoddy work...once again. A debut writer needs hand-holding, s/he needs to be shown the difference between an OK and a good write; and that is the job of the publisher. Be honest to your profession and refuse to take the book  you don't like, up for publishing. But, once you do take it up, give it your best; spend time and effort on it and make sure that what comes out is the best possible version. Sadly, they have not done any of that; and the writer has lost what could have been a great launch pad, while the readers have lost the opportunity to read a good book on such a brilliant topic.
Mostly for the courage of the writer, I give 'TPOAW', a 3 out of 5 stars.