Horseshoe Garage by Hitesha: Book review

I finished reading this book recently- Horseshoe Garage by Hitesha and this post is a quick review.

Horseshoe Garage is a book about racing. If you are a racing enthusiast then this book is for you. 

While you only see racing in action on a track or on TV screen, a lot goes behind the scene. Aspiring racing drivers undergo lots of stress before they can qualify to participate in a big stage. Getting right support teams, good sponsors are always a challenge. Spectators only see cars competing at breakneck speeds but do not realize the effort that goes for months or years before the race begins.

Horseshoe Garage is a perfect book for race lovers. Focused around a fictitious “Neo Racing” and written in first person, Horseshoe Garage takes us through author’s life and times as an aspirational racer. Besides hard core racing preparation and negotiations, there’s a bit of “I won’t take order from a woman” melodrama. There is backstabbing, love and other elements to keep the plot engaging.

Key details:

• Genre: Fiction
• Author: Hitesha
• Title: Horseshoe Garage
• MRP: INR 245/USD 10
• Publisher: Jufic Books, Mumbai
• Pages: 389
• eNidhi India rating: 4.5/5

My personal thoughts:

Not using Author’s second name was strange. I can’t recognize this author on Linkedin or anywhere else as I don’t know full name and don’t have a way of knowing if any Hitesha I come across is the author of ths book.

At 400 pages the book is bit too long as a fiction. Hardcore racing enthusiasts will probably like it but those pressed for time or regular readers will probably like it a 100 page shorter. Just my thought.

A parallel plot/second narrative or a different perspective would have been more interesting-but these are usually difficult in first person narration.

Technical details were a bit less than what I expected- like how they prepared the car- the chapter had more conversations, less technical aspects (there is some, but I expected a bit more, just my personal preference, not author’s fault)

Overall a good book for racing fans and enthusiasts.