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Carousel
Carousel is the story of a spoilt boy from an Indian family residing in the UK. Rajesh has had a privileged and pampered life and is resentful of being in his fathers shadow. Desperate to make his mark in the world and by a twist of fate, Rajesh enters the grimy world of Londons organized crime scene and becomes embroiled in a complex Tax fraud called Carousel fraud. Seduced by money, power and a array of flamboyant cars and women, Rajesh is quickly losing control of his company, his marriage and his freedom. Based upon real life characters.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 21, 2013
6 people want to read
About the author
Rajeev Rana
2 books4 followersRaj Rana is the founder of Itihaas, a fine dining Indian cuisine restaurant in Birmingham city centre.
Although he comes from a family of prominent jewellers in Birmingham, he made his fortune through his property empire.
For Raj, Itihaas is a labour of love. The restaurant was created with a lavish spend of 2.5million on its décor. He believes it brings to Birmingham, a tasteful authentic Indian restaurant, which was desperately missed.
He says, “My idea was to offer authentic Indian cuisine with royal service in a traditional yet relaxed atmosphere.” The simplicity of his plan is almost deceiving, but envisaging the ultimate dining experience through the eyes of an Indian diner has definitely placed Raj’s Itihaas at the top of its league.
The evidence of success lies in the fact that Itihaas has won numerous accolades each year for its food, service and décor since it opened its doors to the public in 2005. The most notable being – The 2007/ 2008 Cobra Good Curry Awards for the Best UK Restaurant and Best in the Midlands.
Itihaas was also awarded the Best Newcomer in West Midlands at the British Curry Awards in 2006.
The list goes on, with Itihaas winning Menu Magazine’s “Newcomer of the Year” for ethnic food and drink at The Best in Britain Awards 2005, sponsored by Carlsberg. Itihaas was the only ethnic Midlands restaurant to be included in this category. Peter Grove Editor of Menu Magazine, described Itihaas as restaurant with a wonderful décor, superb service and an exciting menu.
Organic growth for Itihaas meant its expansion into premium wedding services where catering for exquisite food is an integral part.
Personal recognition for Raj came in the form of an invitation by the Queen to a reception at Buckingham Palace on May 06, 2008 to acknowledge his contribution to the UK hospitality industry.
Raj Rana was named one of the 30 brightest young entrepreneurs of 2007 by Growing Business Magazine (whose nominees included the likes of Richard Reed of Innocent drinks).
Most recently, he was the recipient of the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year - 2008’, awarded at the IAB (Institute of Asian Business) Annual Awards in November 2008.
Raj supports a variety of charities; however the most prominent and long standing charity is The Salvation Army, Birmingham. He has supported the Salvation Army by contributing a curry to the homeless every week since 2005.
Although he comes from a family of prominent jewellers in Birmingham, he made his fortune through his property empire.
For Raj, Itihaas is a labour of love. The restaurant was created with a lavish spend of 2.5million on its décor. He believes it brings to Birmingham, a tasteful authentic Indian restaurant, which was desperately missed.
He says, “My idea was to offer authentic Indian cuisine with royal service in a traditional yet relaxed atmosphere.” The simplicity of his plan is almost deceiving, but envisaging the ultimate dining experience through the eyes of an Indian diner has definitely placed Raj’s Itihaas at the top of its league.
The evidence of success lies in the fact that Itihaas has won numerous accolades each year for its food, service and décor since it opened its doors to the public in 2005. The most notable being – The 2007/ 2008 Cobra Good Curry Awards for the Best UK Restaurant and Best in the Midlands.
Itihaas was also awarded the Best Newcomer in West Midlands at the British Curry Awards in 2006.
The list goes on, with Itihaas winning Menu Magazine’s “Newcomer of the Year” for ethnic food and drink at The Best in Britain Awards 2005, sponsored by Carlsberg. Itihaas was the only ethnic Midlands restaurant to be included in this category. Peter Grove Editor of Menu Magazine, described Itihaas as restaurant with a wonderful décor, superb service and an exciting menu.
Organic growth for Itihaas meant its expansion into premium wedding services where catering for exquisite food is an integral part.
Personal recognition for Raj came in the form of an invitation by the Queen to a reception at Buckingham Palace on May 06, 2008 to acknowledge his contribution to the UK hospitality industry.
Raj Rana was named one of the 30 brightest young entrepreneurs of 2007 by Growing Business Magazine (whose nominees included the likes of Richard Reed of Innocent drinks).
Most recently, he was the recipient of the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year - 2008’, awarded at the IAB (Institute of Asian Business) Annual Awards in November 2008.
Raj supports a variety of charities; however the most prominent and long standing charity is The Salvation Army, Birmingham. He has supported the Salvation Army by contributing a curry to the homeless every week since 2005.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2013
Firstly, being able to find a book that represents the modern British Indian community is a rare find! The author did a brilliant job at portraying the characters as you would find them in real life, especially those in the upper-class rich society. This was a very hard read for me, as the cheating theme really hits deep down and sucks me in. I felt the hurt as if I was being cheated on!
I am writing the review a week after having read the book because this really fucked me up emotionally! It had me feeling hurt, angry, subdued and just extremely emotional. I felt like I had been through every event for real. The storyline was very good, it gives an insight into the life of debauchery, which sadly does happen in the real world. Without giving away any spoilers, I have to say that there a lot of life lessons to be learnt from this, a lot of morals and food for thought. I was so glad the ending turned out the way it did, because as Raj got sucked in deeper and deeper, showing no remorse for any of his actions, I really didn't know if I could carry on reading.
The one thing that I wished had been addressed and explored was the affair when it came out! We only see Tanya telling Raj to never mention the other woman's name again. But thats it! Considering the affair played a large part of the story I had hoped that we could see the final confrontation, because I seemed to need the closure more than she did (it seriously got to me)!
One part of the book which had great impact, was on their wedding day when he sent a text to the mistress saying: 'Been made an honest man. Can't wait to be dishonest with you'. Reading that really fucked with my head, I repeat I hate cheating, and it sent me into some sort of borderline depressive state!
Overall it was a brilliant book and I hope to see some more novels from this author - would be amazing to read Tanya's side of the story as she was the one who was put through the wringer in every part of her new life. If you are looking to get sucked into a book which has you in deep thought, even at work, then this is for you!
I am writing the review a week after having read the book because this really fucked me up emotionally! It had me feeling hurt, angry, subdued and just extremely emotional. I felt like I had been through every event for real. The storyline was very good, it gives an insight into the life of debauchery, which sadly does happen in the real world. Without giving away any spoilers, I have to say that there a lot of life lessons to be learnt from this, a lot of morals and food for thought. I was so glad the ending turned out the way it did, because as Raj got sucked in deeper and deeper, showing no remorse for any of his actions, I really didn't know if I could carry on reading.
The one thing that I wished had been addressed and explored was the affair when it came out! We only see Tanya telling Raj to never mention the other woman's name again. But thats it! Considering the affair played a large part of the story I had hoped that we could see the final confrontation, because I seemed to need the closure more than she did (it seriously got to me)!
One part of the book which had great impact, was on their wedding day when he sent a text to the mistress saying: 'Been made an honest man. Can't wait to be dishonest with you'. Reading that really fucked with my head, I repeat I hate cheating, and it sent me into some sort of borderline depressive state!
Overall it was a brilliant book and I hope to see some more novels from this author - would be amazing to read Tanya's side of the story as she was the one who was put through the wringer in every part of her new life. If you are looking to get sucked into a book which has you in deep thought, even at work, then this is for you!
March 24, 2022
Great, fun read.
August 4, 2013
Dear Sandy
many thanks for such an honest and detailed review of Carousel. As my first attempt at a novel, I was a little self conscious about how the story line would be received by the Asian community, taking into consideration the taboo subjects it covers. I am happy to hear that the book incited you but sad to hear that it had a emotional affect on you. You will be happy to learn that Tanya will return in Carousel part 2 which is currently being worked, expect the same level of twist and turns and emotional roller coasters!
many thanks for such an honest and detailed review of Carousel. As my first attempt at a novel, I was a little self conscious about how the story line would be received by the Asian community, taking into consideration the taboo subjects it covers. I am happy to hear that the book incited you but sad to hear that it had a emotional affect on you. You will be happy to learn that Tanya will return in Carousel part 2 which is currently being worked, expect the same level of twist and turns and emotional roller coasters!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews