When you pick up this book, you’re desperately hoping that it’s not about a heartbroken girl and her spate of bad relationships when she was 16. Thankfully, it’s not! There May Be An Asterisk Involved by Vedashree Khambete is a beautifully written book that covers almost all aspects of advertising in 206 pages! From “About the author” to the last page, this book is a fresh blend of sarcasm, humour and everything in between.
The book starts with Ira, a copywriter from one of the best advertising agencies in the industry — J McCarthy, struggling to take a vacation. With insomnia-inducing deadlines and erratic bosses, advertising is an industry that demands more than just time. Ira and her entourage — Aditi and Sam — together battle the many issues at J McCarthy. The story evolves around three friends, the ad agency and their clients.
Just like us
Fused in between this are a little love (nothing cheesy!), office politics and a whole lot of slapstick humour! Anyone reading this book can relate to the people mentioned, whether that’s the meek intern (we all have been one, and seen one too), the accountant who doesn’t care or a boss who throws things at the drop of a ‘brief’. They’re all in here!
There May Be An Asterisk Involved is a pleasant read with a non-linear flow and helpful insights. What’s awesome about this book is that you don’t need to know much about advertising to read it. Vedashree’s religious footnotes helps you understand every bit of it. Advertising pros on the other hand might be going “Oh yeah! That happens!” halfway through the book. If you’re looking for a lazy Sunday read, this is your best bet!
