A wonderful art work by K Madhusudhan, Seeing the girl by
Anuradha Vijayakrishnan truly deserves to be long listed for the 2007 Man Asian
Literary Prize. The colors of orange and black portrays the book to be a very
bold attempt by the writer, increasing the urge to read the book.
On the back cover- Seeing
the girl is the story of three women who live inside one another’s lives-
dangerously. Janaki is poised to enter into a conventional ‘arranged marriage’
when unanticipated events break out. A marriage takes place; a daughter is
exiled from the sanctuary of her home while the other struggles to build a
life. Then someone dies, caught in the vindictive shadow play of life and
secrets that must stay buried. Janaki narrates this dark and intricate story,
pausing to let Amma and Leela too interweave their versions of the truth. Yet
the story never ends; the survivors are merely tired victims who must outlive
every fatal tragedy.
After reading the blurb, I didn't quite know what to expect
from the book, but once I started to read the book, I can proudly say that I
was so engrossed in Janaki’s world that I completely lost track of the world
around me.
The lives of Janaki, Leela, Amma all woven into each other’s
so wonderfully that it’s hard to move into any other or even think about
anything other than their lives. The sides of the same truth from all their
point of views is engaging to read.
While the book grabs speed, you feel strangely connected
with the characters. Written in a very lucid language all throughout, the
narrating style surely grabs the readers’ attention from Page 1 to the end!
The book makes you cry, laugh, indifferent all at the same
time! The book grabs any reader so much that even after finishing the whole
book you feel incomplete! For this superb book of interwoven lives, I give it 5
on 5!
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