Set in 1920 India, readers are swept to the majestical
world of Anuradha, a beautiful young girl who leaves her
family to marry Vardhmaan, a doctor. The two begin their
lives together discovering the nuances of love and
negotiating their places in the new family they are
creating. Their new life is not without challenges (a
difficult mother-in-law), but they draw close together in a
passionate relationship.
But their love is tested as their beautiful baby boy
suffers a terrible accident. The mother-in-law becomes more
interfering and Anuradha and Vardhmaan pull away from each
other in their grief.
I usually don't look at other reviews before I write mine,
but I was so moved by this book that I wanted some balance
before I put my opinion down. But the one other review I
read just made me more set in how I feel about this
beautiful book. That reviewer wrote, for instance, that the
plot meandered. And in retrospect, I suppose that it did.
But when I was reading the pages of this debut novel, it
felt less an aimless wandering than the very real
meandering that we all do in our daily lives. I was pulled
into the relationship between Anuradha and Vardhmaan and
didn't surface until I had cried and turned the last pages.
The depths of emotion in this book were amazing and the
beauty of the words painted those emotions into the very
scenery. I have always found that the very best writers
have a certain flow to their work, and I found that so with
Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi.
And yes, several reviews say that the emotions are a trifle
overblown. I can't say that I disagree, but I believed as I
read that such expansiveness was intentional. I highly
recommend this book, although I will caution that I truly
cried, something that I rarely do. It's a beautiful work
and I look forward to future books from this talented new
author.
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