Book Review- Death In Every Stride

                      

                       Death In Every Stride- Megha Agarwal

             Being a part of the reviewing team for Tales Pensieve, when I saw this book on their Reviewers list I called for a copy immediately. No, I am not a sadist and I do not enjoy reading about people who are in immense pain (this book is about domestic violence, assault, rape) but sometimes knowing about people who suffer such a great deal, helps you realise that we nitpick over such trivial matters in our life.

              This book is an Epistolary (novel written in the form of diary entries, letters). It is the story of Krisanne, who like many other Indian girls gets tied down with a groom of her parent’s choice. With dreams in her eyes about her new life, she embarks on this, so-called, "blissful" journey called Marriage. How her dreams get shattered by a "monster" (her husband - Paul) and his atrocious and merciless behaviour is the story of Death in Every Stride.

              I had developed a penchant for reading this style, after reading so many of Princess Diaries. Though, I never thought that I will end up reading, such a genre, in this style. Krisanne's diary depicts the brutal and pitiless behaviour she tolerated in the name of marriage. The story spans over 20 years. The character of Paul has been drafted well. The author has hit the bulls-eye in penning Paul like the perfect villain. It comes across very evidently. Two or Three incidents of his behaviour have been written by the author so well that your heart almost cringes for Krisanne. You just want to pull her out and comfort her. You can hear the silent screams and tears and that is a victory for such a young author. Out of their two kids, the character of Aarav remains questionable. His behaviour, his softness for his ruthless father, is very difficult to fathom. Emily,their daughter, becomes the most favoured character. Her fearless streak just wins your heart and reading about her is the only time the reader smiles in the entire novel.

               There were a few questions unanswered here. Inspite of having such a huge family and loving siblings why didn’t Krisanne ever confide in them? Why didn’t her family regularly check on their beloved daughter? Why did she not raise her voice when her kids were going through the same ordeal? A mother ceases to think as a wife or a daughter if a single tear also drops from her child’s eye.Then why didn’t Krisanne oppose what her children were facing?  Also I felt some places the authenticity of Krisanne’s feelings were camouflaged by the unnecessary usage of heavy and difficult words, thus losing the plot those times.

                  Other than these minor hiccups, Death In Every Stride is a hard-hitting read and leaves you with a very emotional and a melancholy feeling. A feeling which will definitely stay with you for long.

Stars-3.5/5

Book Review- Brutal

BRUTAL - UDAY SATPATHY

            A few months back, Rashmi Bansal came up with an innovative idea to discover and publish new writing talents - www.bloodygoodbook.com. First time authors get this opportunity to upload three chapters of their new book. Based on the reviews a decision is taken to publish the book on the website. Being one of the readers, I was eagerly looking forward for the book to be printed, as the three chapters were nothing less than amazing. As soon as I received a message that the e-book is available, I couldn’t stop myself from purchasing it through Amazon.

            This book starts with Nitin Tomar, a friendly teacher, massacring children in his own school. He is shot dead when he is taken for the trial. Finding some suspicion, in an otherwise open and shut case, are two reporters- Seema and Prakash. Both of them are working for rival channels but are very good friends. They start digging into the mystery of this case. Gradually each and every witness is found dead before they reach them. Inspite of the personal mishaps that both of them are facing, they get into the crux of the case and whether they emerge as winners is the story of Brutal.

            The author has written this book like a three book series (all in one). The entire book has been written with the intention of keeping you at the edge of your seat always. It is racy. Most of the times you are reading through hastily to know what is going to happen next. The reason why Brutal is an interesting read is the characters. All the characters are real and have an important role to play in the flow of the storyline. The characters of Seema and Prakash have been drafted immaculately. The way they begin the investigation at different points and how they meet midway and unravel the truth is the USP of this book. This has been drafted to perfection and leaves you stunned. But I have fallen in love with the boisterous nature of Mrinal. He keeps you entertained always.

            There are only a couple of hiccups that took me away from this nail biting narrative. The story on Khushwahas. I think that could have been edited a little. Too much family history was avoidable. Also, the part on Israel and Iran could have been written more interestingly. Those chapters were wearisome to read.

            Other than this, Brutal has been an exemplary experience. Uday, indeed, has done a commendable job. It does not feel as this book has been written by a first time author and that's a victory in itself for him.

            The book is available in the e-book form on Amazon, Google Playbooks and www.bloodygoodbook.com. The paperback is going to be out on 11^th September 2015. So do pick this book if you love this genre, Uday does not disappoint one bit.

STARS-4.5/5

                

Book Review- Twenties Girl

TWENTIES GIRL - SOPHIE KINSELLA

            Twenties girl was on my "To be Read" list ever since I had read "Confessions of a Shopaholic" by the same author. So this time when I went strolling in my library and caught a glimpse of this book on the desk, I picked it up immediately.

            Twenties girl is about Lara Lington and her great Aunt Sadie's ghost, who can converse only with Lara and is not visible to any human around. Lara is dealing with her own dilemmas when Sadie entrusts the responsibility of finding her treasured Dragonfly Necklace on her. Soon they start working together, sometimes agreeing to each other and other times working forcibly eventually helping each other in their messy situations. Initially wary of the other, gradually builds into an envious camaraderie. The search of the Dragon fly necklace takes Lara into deep family history and the manner in which the suspense unfolds before she finds it, is the story of Twenties Girl.

            The book starts of extremely slow and makes it a tedious read. But I would urge the readers to hang on and continue reading, as the book sequentially picks up. The character of Lara is quite predictable. A girl having a plethora of problems who eventually solves them all and emerges a winner (I secretly wish life was that easy). She has been penned well, but does not stay with you after you have finished reading. The character that imprints in your heart is Sadie. She has been drafted impeccably. She is fearless. She is full of life. She is everything any 23 year old would dream of being. The companionship of Sadie and Lara that augments over time is what makes this book an enchanting read. The manner in which Sadie rules Josh (Lara's ex boyfriend) is humorous. The character of Ed has also been drafted superbly and his equation with both Lara and Sadie is noteworthy. It flows immaculately with the storyline inspite of that primarily being about finding the dragonfly necklace.  All the characters have been composed well and are extremely pertinent to the narrative. But the creme de la creme is the suspense which is exhilarating to read and was completely unforeseen. The finale chapters are written to perfection and keep you at the edge of the seat always. One would instantly want to read the next section to know more.

            What I devour of Sophie Kinsella's writing is the effortless flow of words in enfolding the story. And I think this is the reason of her being so successful and numero uno in this genre.

            Do pick this book if you have the patience to survive the banal commencing chapters because it is then a friendship worth reading of.

STARS-3.5/5