A review of Seeing the Girl by Anuradha Vijayakrishnan
Book Name
: Seeing the
Girl
Author
: Anuradha Vijayakrishnan
Publisher
:
Lifi Publications
Genre : Fiction
Number of Pages : 290
Publishing Date
: 20th Feb 2014
Binding
: Paperback
ISBN
: 9789382536185
Rating : 4.0
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.
Janaki narrates the dark and intricate story of her family, pausing to let Amma and Leela too interweave their versions of the truth.
Seeing the girl was long listed for the 2007 Man Asian Literary prize, while it was a manuscript.
Janaki narrates the dark and intricate story of her family, pausing to let Amma and Leela too interweave their versions of the truth.
Seeing the girl was long listed for the 2007 Man Asian Literary prize, while it was a manuscript.
Plot
Seeing the Girl is a
contemporary women’s fiction revolving around lives of Janaki. An
unconventional girl, with weird and self-possessed feelings towards her family
and herself. Janaki’s begin to change when Rohit comes to meet her as an
arrangement from her parents. Janaki, who is unprepared for a wedding asks
Rohit to marry her sister Leela, as an attempt to ward off the new alliance.
After the seeing fiasco, Janaki is on exile to her aunt’s home, where she
learns a new fact about her father’s past. While she tries to slowly get
accustomed to the life there, the news of Leela’s wedding with Rohith shakes
her calm abode. No lives are the same since then. It is then that an unexpected
death upturns everyone’s lives, which was already in a swaying boat.
Characters
Janaki- Protagonist
Leela- Janaki’s Sister
Janaki’s Parents
Chithra – Janaki’s Aunt
Ammini- Chitra’s Maid
Rohit- Leela’s husband
My Review
Authoress has tried to introduce a different
writing style. It is a first person narration of Janaki. The feelings of love,
rejection, hatred, dejection, jealousy and much more are portrayed with finesse.
A few chapters see the first person narration of Janaki’s mother and her sister
Leela. Author fiercely criticizes folly of fixing up the lives of two people
around a cup of tea and eatables. Putting the lives of two people at the mercy
of luck or fate sounds funny but it is a painful reality, which persists even
now. I appreciate the authoress in bringing forth his grave issue, which might
not be of much importance in the eyes of many. More importance is given to the
little embellishments of words, than the story-line but authoress made sure, the
curiosity is maintained. Authoress’s love for poetry is clearly visible in the
book. Every nuances of emotional waves are explained as if she is writing a
poem. At some points, I felt a resemblance to Arundhati Roy’s writing style. Rather than a contemporary story, the book gives a vintage feeling. A negative,
which I felt, is that I an attempt to adapt to the fresh style of writing,
authoress overdid it at some points, which made me search for the dialogue
quotes. Notwithstanding this, the book is an interesting read for people with
an appetite for real play with words.
One Liner
A
fierce battle against the arranged disaster, narrated with a sober background
story.
|
Avail the book from Amazon
About the Author
Anuradha Vijayakrishnan was born in Cochin,
India. A trained singer, she followed up a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering
from Calicut University with postgraduate studies in Management from XLRI,
Jamshedpur. She lives with her husband and two young children in Dubai and
attempts to balance a corporate career with her diverse interests.
Her poetry first appeared in print under the editorship of Ms. Kamala Das. Granta and British Council first published her fiction in the select New Writing anthology series. Her work has appeared in Magma, Orbis, Stony Thursday Book, The Pedestal Magazine, Soundings, Aesthetica, Asian Cha, Eclectica, Asia Literary Review, Mascara, Indian Literature and Nth Position among others. Her poetry and prose have won prizes at various literary competitions. Seeing the Girl, her debut novel, was long listed in 2007 while it was still a manuscript for the Man Asian Literary Prize. In 2010 her poetry was nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes. She is a 2010 alumna of Western Michigan University’s Prague Summer Program.
Seeing the Girl, was published in Feb 2014 by LiFi Publications, India.
Her poetry first appeared in print under the editorship of Ms. Kamala Das. Granta and British Council first published her fiction in the select New Writing anthology series. Her work has appeared in Magma, Orbis, Stony Thursday Book, The Pedestal Magazine, Soundings, Aesthetica, Asian Cha, Eclectica, Asia Literary Review, Mascara, Indian Literature and Nth Position among others. Her poetry and prose have won prizes at various literary competitions. Seeing the Girl, her debut novel, was long listed in 2007 while it was still a manuscript for the Man Asian Literary Prize. In 2010 her poetry was nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes. She is a 2010 alumna of Western Michigan University’s Prague Summer Program.
Seeing the Girl, was published in Feb 2014 by LiFi Publications, India.
Reviewed for the publisher(Lifi Publications)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy from the Author in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Comments
Post a Comment
Share your queries and feedback. We will revert within 7 days.
If you are an author, mention your book name, publisher name, no. of pages, genre, and amazon link to the book.