Marry me, Stranger by Novoneel Chakraborty: a review

What happens when you get hold of a Novoneel Chakraborty novel and knowing the fact that it is a trilogy start reading it? Yes, you guessed it right! All you can do is fall in love with the book. Marry me, Stranger. Book 1 of ‘the stranger trilogy’! In a blue majority colored background, the cover surely is something that can grab the eyes of the passerby’s.  And when you have the book in your hand, I am sure the first thing that will cross your mind will be finishing the book just then. Trust me, I did just that.

The blurb says- HE HAS NO VOICE, NO FACE, NO NAME, NO IDENTITY. BUT HE HAS AN INTENTION. I’m Rivanah Bannerjee, a young and independent girl living alone in Mumbai. My parents love me, my boyfriend adores me, and I have a great job. But here’s the thing: my life is in danger. Someone’s been following me around, watching my every move, trying to get control over my life. At first I thought it was a silly prank to gain my attention. My roomie suggested he must be a secret admirer. Is he? What he doesn’t know is the police have set a trap to nab him. Soon I’ll know if it’s simply a lover’s obsession or there is more to it. BTW, I call him Stranger.

After reading the blurb, I expected this to be a normal novel of a stalker. But knowing that the author always has something more to say with his writings, I decided on keeping my mind blank before starting the book. And truth be told, when I started the book; my mind went blank ‘literally’ and no word escaped my mouth for a few moments. As I turned the pages, the rush in my veins was actually taking over the better part of me. The feeling of ‘what happens next?’ took me over.

The flawless narrating style of the author left no stones unturned while describing every scene in the book. And the best part? One could very well relate the story to their lives. The book has a feeling ‘gift-wrapped’ with it which can give any reader the thrill of being looked at by the stranger. Quoting from the book- “You don’t know me. You can only fall in love with the illusion of me. And illusions are fragile. Illusions are breakable. Illusions are dangerous”

The characters of the book have been very well attended to. I say attended to, because every character gets the limelight they deserve. Similar to all his books, this book also has a very strong female protagonist and applause again for the wonderful names the author has chosen for every character. The best part about the book I felt was that whatever character the author has drawn from the book and whatever doubt any reader might have with those characters gets answered before Book 1 ends. Talking about the end, the end will leave every reader with a heavy heart wanting to read more.

The book, I shall put it as an unputdownable one because it grips you from the first page till the last. The words, the feelings, the characters, everything was etched in a wonderful way that surely can make anyone fall weak in their knees for the characters. Coming to the hitches, I felt there were one-two printing errors in the book. Apart from which, I felt that the author could’ve used more suspense in the book (well, that’s maybe my fault! Coming from the author, everyone is sure to want more) Keeping all these things in mind and desperately waiting for the two other books to come, I would like to rate the book 4.5 out of 5.

My feelings would sound incomplete if I don’t include one line in this- “Marry me, Stranger!”