Allegory Review: Let's Kidnap the President by Lalit Bhatt

Let's Kidnap The President by Lalit Bhatt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Enjoyable, good story. Needs some polishing, but worth a read...

Let's Kidnap the President is an entertaining read featuring the self-discovery and self-actualization of four monkeys from the jungles of India. Monkeys typically live to meet their basic needs, but these four soon become dissatisfied with their lot, and the Boss has noticed, making things very difficult for them.

They finally decide to leave their group and end up in a village, where they begin to want more for themselves, though initially their goals are limited to returning to their group and overthrowing the Boss. From that point, the story follows them through self-awareness, self-identity and personal growth, and eventually, their desire for riches and renown, which ultimately leads to the quest that names this book.

The growth of the monkeys into individuals is well portrayed and entertaining. Their quest is humorous and yet sprinkled with the psychology and science at the heart of their progression. Maslow's hierarchy is used, as are philosophies from Indian culture. The four make mistakes, learn from them, and discover that they are more and can be more than they'd ever imagined. Occasional shifts to humans trying to figure out these four strange monkeys add to the entertainment value.

Overall, this book is smart, well-thought, and well-researched. However, the language use is rough, and the book needs some serious editing. The good side is that would only be for grammar and usage, not content, plot, etc. Despite the grammar, I enjoyed this story. There are some beautiful passages, often insightful and sometimes even musical. I hope that one day this gem can be polished.

I would recommend this lighthearted, though insightful, story to those who enjoy allegory and humor and who don't mind some rough edges.

I found this story while it was on a free promotion on Amazon, but I can't remember exactly when. This one's been on my kindle for a long time, perhaps a couple of years. Anyway, I'm glad I picked it up.

View all my reviews