NewPages Blog :: Book Reviews

Guest Post by Neelima K E.

Jaishree Misra’s Ancient Promises can easily serve as a beginner’s guide to arranged marriages in India. The patrilocal toxicity of Indian domestic framework permeates the novel’s narrative and can be nauseating. Janu, the protagonist is a survivor and in a way the novel is her coming of age story. She makes mistakes, gets out, and finds purpose and will to live again all along the course of the narrative.

The Malayalam phrase ‘manam pole mangalyam’ frames the myth of an ideal marriage where love and affection dance to the tunes of matchmaking aunties and uncles from every nook and corner. The novel attempts to place familial loyalty, affection, and virtue in this mire of duty and stifling morality. Every action has its consequence and Janu learns to fight for her share of happiness in this world of do’s and do not’s.

Within the complicated narrative, the novel conceives a string of unanswered questions. Fate and predestiny elude the protagonist as she struggles to find her place moving against the tide in unforeseen circumstances. Is it wrong to covet pleasure and love outside a frigid marriage? What is it that connects two hitherto strange individuals in a supposedly sacred ritual? The fine lines between love, affection, and commitment makes for an interesting read.

The reader will be moved to tears, choking in helpless agony time and again as the protagonist is loved and betrayed repeatedly. The light at the end of the tunnel couldn’t have come sooner for Janaki and the novel remains a gaping wound for many a day forward, reminding the reader to never give in.

Ancient Promises by Jaishree Misra. Penguin Books, January 2000.

Reviewer bio: I am an Indian girl in love with words. People and life in general fascinate me and I look forward to publishing my books someday.

Guest Post by Harry Okorite Joy.

After reading Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the most endearing became the phrase, “For you, a thousand times over”, first voiced by Hassan, inarguably the most sympathized with character in the novel. The simply titled yet convoluted novel narrates the coming-of-age story of two boys, discusses the state of a nation, celebrates the bond of friendship and, most importantly, the height and depth love could attain.

While at first, you might perceive Hassan as gullible, Amir as being undeserving of the love Hassan bestows on him, Baba being an impartial father, and Ali a loyal to a fault servant; soon you realize Hassan is an embodiment of selfless love Amir realizes all too late, Baba’s fairness is out of familial piety, and Ali’s loyalty is part due to his debt to Baba and a part special bond he feels with Hassan.

The Kite Runner questions reality and the nature of truth. The reality between the two main characters might be cold but it is the fact: one would always be there, the other loves but would never measure up. And at the end of the novel, only guilt allows Amir to return the favor to Hassan’s offspring. In reality, we also see the box of revelations opened at crucial points about characters like Baba. The nature of truth is tricky—some might say relative—but the unwavering answer is you cannot really judge the lies told in this novel as right or wrong.

While this piece has an optimistic ending, Hassan’s turbulent short-lived life could justify it as a tragedy, and just like me, you might begin to wonder if he died directly or indirectly from being there a thousand times over.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead Books, March 2013.

Reviewer’s bio: Harry Okorite Joy is an avid reader, budding writer and fashion enthusiast. She adores owls. Reach her via Instagram @o.k.o.r.i.t.e or Facebook @ Harry Okorite.

Guest Post by Milena Marques-Zachariah.

India is a paradox. To harness the nuances that create its vast and varied canvas and give them life in print can be challenging. But not for a gifted writer like Murzban Shroff, who chose to get embedded in India’s remote villages to unearth India’s heart. It is against this background mostly that his haunting stories play out. Shroff tells his stories with a visceral understanding of human behavior, reeling you in page by page, to mirror the lived realities of people: in villages, in slums, in hill towns, in cities. For further heft, he draws on ancient Indian epics and texts to reveal the spiritual truths of India.

Shroff’s prose is skillfully layered, yielding stories that are gripping and thought-provoking, while exploring issues and social tensions rooted in caste and communal identities. Starting with the first story, the “Kitemaker’s Dilemma” and ending with “An Invisible Truth,” the collection uncoils with an agonizing sense of drama and inevitability. With insights as powerful as Shiva’s third eye, Shroff forages through the attitudes, quirks, and insecurities of his characters to create situations that are uncomfortably real. His women are strong and unafraid, empowered and empowering, as evident in stories like “A Rather Strange Marriage” and “Third Eye Rising.” My personal favorites: “Bhikoo Badshah’s Poison” for its exploration of caste and migrant identities, “Diwali Star” for its family politics, and “A Matter of Misfortune” for its gritty depiction of human greed. By inviting readers into unseen spaces of India, Third Eye Rising makes for a compelling read—from the first story to the last.

Third Eye Rising by Murzban F. Shroff. Spuyten Duyvil, January 2021.

Reviewer bio: Milena Marques-Zachariah is an accomplished advertising writer, columnist, and blogger, whose writings are hugely popular with the South Asian immigrant community in Canada. Her blog ‘Canadian Chronicles’ documents the challenges and successes of immigrants to Canada, while ‘Chasing the Perfect Curry’ is a food adventure blog, where she explores off-the-beaten-path places to enjoy authentic cuisines of the Konkan Coast. She is also the founder of Radio Mango, a Toronto-based broadcast service, and has interviewed eminent authors such as Pico Iyer and Anosh Irani.

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Guest Post by Manasi Patil.

Impending Fate is the third book in the series, Shattered Triangle. This novel is told through the point of view of Giovanni Lozano, and progresses with the plots of the other protagonists of the series: Lt. Tom Moran, Giuseppe Lozano, and Giovanni himself.

Three determined people, one genius murderer, and an ‘impending fate.’ After the identity of the murderer of Giuseppe Lozano’s family is revealed in A Consequential Murder, and the story is followed in Beleaguered Truth, I was beyond obsessed with the Shattered Triangle series. William P. Messenger is my new favorite author, and I’m so glad to have had this opportunity of reading the trilogy.

Giuseppe’s relationship with Jackson progresses and it’s a cruel twist when the former first kills Jackson’s partner in order to be with him, and then kills Jackson himself, when he sees him as a potential threat. Giovanni is ready to break the sacrament in order to save the country and do the right thing. He may get banished from his church for doing so, but after three years, he is prepared for the consequences.

Impending Fate is a riveting combination of religion, politics, and mystery. The story of ‘Shattered Triangle’ progresses further and also ends, unfortunately, in this edition. After reading the series, the question is: will the broken shards of the shattered triangle survive?

Impending Fate by William P. Messenger. Black Rose Writing, December 2017.

Reviewer bio: Manasi Patil is a young author with a passion for writing.

Guest Post by Manasi Patil.

Beleaguered Truth is the second book in the series Shattered Triangle. In this second installment, the identity of the killer is known, and they are present right in the front seat, but there is no way to capture them.

Lt. Tom Moran knows the identity of the murderer of Giuseppe Lozano’s family. But there’s no evidence through which he can prove it. And he’s frustrated. Fr. Giovanni Lozano also shares the fate of Tom when the murderer successfully silences him by confessing his sins in a sacred confession in the church. Giuseppe Lozano, in order to fulfill his ambitions, stops at no extent. For him, everything is expendable. Even his family. And the fact that he orders his family to be killed proves him to be an ambitious, but ruthless and cruel person.

After the identity of the murderer of Giuseppe Lozano’s family is revealed in Shattered Triangle: A Consequential Murder, the story left me speechless. It was so unexpected, and yet seemed so real. Beleaguered Truth adds more to the story with Giuseppe’s point of view and how he feels about the consequences he created. William Messenger has done very well in writing out this book, especially in capturing a new point of view. It certainly makes the story more intriguing, as I felt a need to know how Giuseppe feels after murdering his own wife and three children.

Beleaguered Truth is a great political thriller and very captivating, to say the least. The book deals with the impact of the truth on Tom and Giovanni and delves deep into the story that is Shattered Triangle.

The triangle is being shattered. This book questions: will it be broken into pieces, or is it possible to mend them together and reconstruct the once beautiful triangle?

Beleaguered Truth by William P. Messenger. Black Rose Writing, August 2015.

Reviewer bio: Manasi Patil is a young author with a passion for writing.

Guest Post by Manasi Patil.

A Consequential Murder is the first book in the series, “Shattered Triangle” by William Messenger. This is an uncommon and unique book with complex characters and plots.

The blurb of Shattered Triangle: A Consequential Murder was enough to hook me right in the book. I was certainly expecting a lot from this read, and am glad to say that I had a fulfilling time, and the end left me speechless. It was very unexpected and made me want to read the whole book again just to understand how and why the plot twisted in such a manner. Continue reading “Shattered Triangle Trilogy”

Guest Post by Julia Wilson.

The sense of dread the reader experiences starts with the first sentence of Rumaan Alam’s Leave the World Behind.

“Well, the sun was shining. They felt that boded well . . . ” In fact, it does not.

Alam uses a few methods to keep the reader on edge. He intersperses somewhat alarming but sketchy details haphazardly, and doesn’t always return to explain. For instance, the narrator tells the reader one of the characters always has his epi-pen within reach, then moves on, leaving the reader to wonder: Why is it mentioned? How will it fit into the story? This keeps the reader filled with antsy anticipation.

Then there are the layers of possible menace facing the characters. The first is suspicion based on race. But are there larger threats facing them all as a group? Should they unite and put aside their differences? Alam reveals these details throughout the novel in a slow, tantalizing thread.

And finally, and most impactfully, there is Alam’s use of the omniscient narrator. In this novel, the narrator is used as a technique to impart to the reader information that none of the characters know. For instance, the narrator tells us a tick has burrowed into a boy’s skin, unbeknownst to him or anyone else. Later, when he falls ill, the reader is sure they know what has made the boy sick. But is that really the culprit, or is it something else, with the tick serving as a distraction?

Alam pulls the reader along, dropping asides from the narrator, making it clear that something really big and really bad is going to happen. And the reader watches as the characters try to catch up.

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. HarperCollins Publishers, 2020

Reviewer bio: Julia Wilson is currently pursuing a Masters in Writing at Johns Hopkins University.

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Guest Post by Gabrielle Thurman.

Dog Boy by Eva Hornung is the harrowing tale of a young boy raised by wild dogs. Based on a true story, the novel follows Romochka, a four-year-old boy abandoned by his family, as he attempts to survive the Russian winters in the aftermath of perestroika. At its heart, this book is a story about what it means to be an underdog, both literally and metaphorically.

Every scene in this book had me gritting my teeth. I laughed. I cried. I walked away from it in horror and disgust, only to return to it again and again. It’s one of those books that even after you finish reading it, you still think about it. I can’t look at dogs the same way I used to. Hornung does a fantastic job of examining what it means to be a “person.”

The book isn’t perfect. There are parts where the plot gets a bit fuzzy and convenient. She stretched my suspension of disbelief a tad bit too far in places. Overall, though, this is one of my new favorites, and I’ll definitely be recommending it to others. If you love books about  dogs, survival, Russia, humanity, violence, family, and hope, then this book is for you.

Dog Boy by Eva Hornung. Viking, March 2010.

Reviewer bio: Gabrielle Thurman is a creative writer, professional editor, queer woman, native Arkansan, and aspiring novelist. Her creative nonfiction can be found in The Elephant Ladder and The Vortex Magazine of Literature and Fine Art.