Author Navreen Sran’s debut venture starts as a story of a daughter crushing under the weight of her father’s expectations. Meera is raised by a mother to be as meek as her, never to envy her brother’s pursuits, to always smother any stray thoughts of independence and rebellion before they could inconvenience the family.
But luck has in store for her a fate far more sinister than a stale, soul sucking job.
When Meera gets kidnapped, she must hold on to her life and her self with all the strength she has. Her captors are no mere brigands but AK 47 wielding men with a dangerous purpose.
Her family, unable to do anything to bring their daughter home, grasping on the straws of police investigation and finding someone to blame, eventually have no option left but to accept the worst possibility.
Meera, on the other hand, finds herself getting farther and farther away from her old life figuratively as well as literally.
The ordeal should have left her damaged, broken, more dead than alive, if not for her saviour. Love often springs, like a patch or grass in a crack of the pavement, at the most unlikely of places.
The author has used a lot of restraint in writing this novel, touching on soul shattering events such as rape in a subdued fashion. I felt this aspect made the book a lighter read than what the gravity of the subject matter would suggest.
In the second half of the book the reader will find themselves in a completely different world than where the story started. This speaks to the well-crafted tonal shift of the story and also leaves a few unresolved threads. The Bollywood type family dynamic and few overtly predictable turn of events are the main reason why the book didn’t stand out more prominently.
I also found a few words which were overused or just didn’t feel right in the context. But, thankfully, no typos.
Overall the book was a nice and light read.
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/4bA3kKj
Comments