A Good Girl is a Great Read!

Hello everybody- readers, writers, et al. I just finished reading Chandana Roy’s debut novel, A Good Girl. It’s a wonderful story that many of us can identify with. First things first: let me give you the gist of the story (no spoilers here) so you get an idea of what it’s about.

The novel opens with the protagonist, Ellora Chatterjee, 33, attending a boring party at her sister’s friend’s house in Virginia. She feels lonely and out of place, and wonders whether the others know of her scandalous past. Aparna, her elder sister, is bent on finding her a match, a good Bengali boy. The story deftly moves from past to present, where we learn of the one incident that changed Ellora’s life, and the consequences of that scandal which always seem to follow her. But things are different in Virginia, She finally is able to leave the past behind. Should she follow her head or her heart in choosing her future mate, especially as she has been hurt so badly in the past when she followed her heart? 

This was a book I just couldn't put down until I had come to the very last page. Chandana is a born storyteller, and there is not a single moment of boredom in this novel. Right from the opening scene with its light social comedy until the exciting end, we are drawn into the action and into the character. And it is indeed Ellora Chatterjee’s character that is so human, so likeable. She’s both like the girl-next-door, yet has her own strong personality, which makes her a unique individual. And I'm sure many of us can identify with her, especially if you're from the East (as opposed to the more permissive West) in always getting unsolicited advice about how to run one’s life.

But this is no wishy-washy sentimental read. The book has many humorous moments. I had a good chuckle over the funny scenes and funnier people. People like Aparna with her mixed idioms, Vicky Bhalla and his rustic pronunciation and Leela Banerjee and her coterie of mems, and their ridiculous adherence to English mores and customs, All these characters and their antics put a smile on your face, despite the very serious theme of the book.

And it is indeed this quality that makes this book eminently readable. The author’s touch is light, but the message of the book is a thought-provoking one. What should one do in matters of the heart- follow the “nuggets of wisdom” dished out by well-meaning friends and relatives, or do what your own heart dictates?

One last word… The book makes many references to nature, and to the botanical or zoological names of birds, flowers and insects (we can see that the author here is a Zoology major) but they are so cleverly woven into the narrative that they never detract from the story, and in fact enhance our knowledge. I didn't know, for example, that Cardinals wear bright red cassocks and that’s why the brightly coloured cardinal birds are named after them!

Chandana- please don't make this your one-book wonder! I'd love to read another novel penned by you.

Chandana Roy with her debut novel. A Good Girl

Bye for now, everybody, and have a great summer! And watch out for more literary stuff on this blog! 

I-Padmini

Chandana’s book is available in all major bookstores in India and it can also be ordered online at the following links:

  Flipkart link: http://www.flipkart.com/good-girl-english/p/itme7r4zzxaw5dvm?pid=9788192982205

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.in/Good-Girl-Chandana-Roy/dp/8192982203/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=14301569

Dubai readers, no worries! This book will shortly be available here too! Watch out for more details.

Book Review: Anne O'Connell's Deep Deceit

Hello everybody! It’s been a rather slow week after the frenetic excitement of the Dubai Lit Fest. But it was a week of reading and relaxation, what with all the books I picked up during the festival! My bookshelf is once again lined up with almost ten books, enough to keep me out of trouble for quite a while.

Well, in any case, let me present my first book review for The Written Chakra, a novel by Anne Louise O’Connell titled Deep Deceit.

Let me start at the very beginning- the cover. It shows a woman in an abaya, her face and head almost totally covered up, except for her eyes, which look down fearfully. But hold it! Those eyes are blue, not brown! And the cover is an indicator of the tale within. It is the story of a mother’s worst nightmare coming true, when her beautiful 18-year old daughter disappears. And her husband of 19 years, whom she has never really got on with, starts behaving erratically. Into this mix, throw in an unfamiliar landscape and culture, in this case the emirate of Dubai and the kingdom of Saudi, and you have all the ingredients of a thriller or a who-done-it.

The mother in this story is Celeste, whose daughter, Tamara, mysteriously disappears. The boorish husband, Ryan, pooh-poohs his wife’s fears, saying it was her overbearing protectiveness from which the daughter was fleeing. The cracks, which were already present in the marriage, widen after this event. Tamara is not Ryan’s real daughter, but his best friend and business partner, Donald’s. After Donald’s mysterious death nineteen years ago, Ryan had married his pregnant widow, Celeste.

The story unravels with remarkable skill, as one layer after another is peeled off like the skin of an onion, only to reveal an unpalatable truth. Celeste sets out to find her daughter, aided by the irrepressible Susan Morris, a former psychiatric nurse who befriends Celeste and accompanies her everywhere in her quest for her daughter.

The author, Anne O’Connell, deftly weaves the plot with mystery and suspense so that we want to keep turning the pages. And although the cities of Dubai and Riyadh have the outward visage of modernity, old ideas of justice and revenge prevail. I finished this book in two sittings, reading far into the night, so engrossed had I become in the story.

I highly recommend it to all lovers of thrillers as well as those who love women’s fiction for it is also the story of a woman’s journey from helplessness and victimhood to freedom and decisiveness.

Deep Deceit is Anne O’Connell’s second novel. Her earlier novel, Mental Pause, won a bronze medal in the 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards. This book (in my opinion) is even better than the earlier one.

And watch out for more reviews and tips (and maybe just plain rantings) in my next blog. Until then, adios.

Deep Deceit is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback. Amazon.com link - http://amzn.to/1zZrxEUand the Amazon.co.uk link - http://amzn.to/1BXWpXB

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