Book Review - False Ceilings

Author – Amit Sharma

Publisher – Lifi

Genre – Fiction

Pages – 256

Price - Rs. 295

First Impressions

An old Almirah sits in a room, as if holding some secret. Its lone companion is a classic radio, who perhaps knows the secret but is forbidden to reveal it. Since I knew the story was based in Dalhousie, the hills on the cover were no surprise. The cover gave me an impression of something very mysterious inside, which I could only discover by reading ahead.

My View 

False Ceilings is not just a story, it is a saga of a curse passed from generation to generation. The story begins with an eccentric Aaryan pondering over the If-Else statement and drawing parallels with life. Thereafter, we set on a roller coaster ride with each chapter introducing a new character and its miseries. From the 1920's the story suddenly changes gears and brings us to the 2060's. But we are so lost keeping up with the overload of new characters that the shift between centuries is the last thing bothering us.

Most of the story revolves around Shakuntala, with whom the mystery begins its torturous game. Of all the characters in the book, Shakuntala has had the most eventful life, that shows her the best and worst of everything and gives a message that nothing is permanent - be it affluence or misery. Born to wealthy parents in Dalhousie, Shakuntala has everything but love. Her grandmother dreams of a male grandchild and her mother burdened by the pressure of producing a male child, always sees Shakuntala as a source of her misery. The only solace in Shakuntala's life is her father's unbounded love, which too is short-lived as the curse engulfs him. Trying to gather her life and move on, Shakuntala discovers true love in Manohar (Manu). Dressed as a bride, as she is about to begin her new journey, the curse presents itself to her, wrapped in a yellow cloth. While she decides to leave the past behind her, she is oblivious to the fact that she has already packed the curse with her, which is going to travel with her all through her life and even affect her descendants. Ironically, Shakuntala ends up becoming like her grandmother who was the main culprit behind her family's doom. 

The curse, which could have been a cure to the miseries of many characters passes many hands. Its power is such that no character is able to survive the revelation, leaving the readers guessing about the mystery wrapped in the yellow cloth. 

Aaryan is most disturbed character, next to Shakuntala. A childhood painted by unpleasant memories of 1984 riots and constant tension between his parents and grandparents transforms him into an unsocial and a workaholic person, as if trying to burn away his life. His unusual end therefore, does not come as a surprise.

There is a strange similarity in the lives of the couples. What seems like the ideal relationship initially gets corroded over a period of time. Generation after generation, we see the same story repeating itself. All that remains after a life and relationship wasted is an Almirah and the secret in its false ceiling, waiting to be passed on. 

The story is like a Jigsaw puzzle, presenting the readers with the various pieces and towards the end, making it all clear. Does the secret finally cease to haunt the family? Does someone break the spell? Grab the book and find the answers.

What I loved 

• The unique narrative, which is uncommon for a debut. The author effortlessly oscillates the story between past and future without losing the grip on the story. Some readers may find the story confusing in the beginning, for the first few chapters introduce characters without  explaining the relationships between them. It is only towards the end that the jigsaw is solved and the readers take a sigh of relief. 

• Despite being a debut, the characters are well shaped up and manage to strike a chord with the readers.

• The book boasts of some amazing descriptions - be it the picturesque Dalhousie or the mad rush of Delhi. While the story takes us through generations, many important historic events too are retold, like the 1984 riots and the 1947 partition.  The author's impression of life in 2060's with its well imagined technology is impressive. The narration is so realistic that when the book is over, one feels having traveled through time.

What could have been better

• While the story is gripping, the overdose of characters in the first few chapters may make many readers lose interest. In order to keep track of the story I kept on drawing a sort of family tree on the last page, which helped me relate the characters. The puzzle is solved only for patient readers in the last few chapters when the relationships between various characters are revealed.

• Few typos could have been best avoided.

My Rating 
3/5

This review is for Writersmelon

Book review – Raakshas – India’s No.1 Serial Killer

Author – Piyush Jha

Publisher – Westland

Genre – Fiction

Pages – 391

Price – Rs. 295

Sneak from the cover

This thrilling narrative of a serial killer’s life and the unusual and challenging investigation to catch him, uncovers a chilling trail of unspeakable torment and cruelty – the tale of Raakshas.

The Cover

Raakshas himself welcomes readers with his bloodshot eyes and his weapon of destruction. Look into his eyes and you will definitely think twice about reading the book, especially if you are beginning to read at night!

My View

Raakshas is a touching story of an innocent boy who is forced by circumstances to become a psychopath killer. One doesn’t get to know his real name, so I will call him R. Labelled a killer at birth and blamed for his mother’s death merely marked the beginning of his life’s atrocities. There was still a lot more to come. A harrowing time with his father followed next. Brahmanand, who saw his son as a mere distraction to his ongoing research, was the major culprit in spoiling his son’s life. After all, it is the parents’ responsibility to provide an environment conducive to the child’s holistic development. The first few pages brought tears into my eyes. “How can a father be so cruel to his own son?” I kept wondering. But then, haven’t we heard stories of scientists who lost it in pursuit of their impossible inventions? The little boy’s perseverance however, impresses us throughout. Gifted with an amazingly sharp brain, the boy had it all in him to become a genius.

But, destiny had different plan for him. After months of inhuman treatment by his father, destiny gave R a chance to escape his father’s den and be united with the only mother figure to him in the big, bad world – his maternal aunt Latika. Little did he realise that the journey to his aunt’s place would instead take him to the path of being a serial killer.

On his way to his aunt’s place, little R got kidnapped by a baba, a serial killer himself. It was the years of captivity, being baba’s assistant in his heinous crimes that transformed the boy into a serial killer. Throughout the years of captivity, R just dreamt of escaping Baba’s clutches and being reunited with his aunt. Sadly, by the time this happened, his soul had already become a personification of evil.

What followed next was a story that could shake the reader to the core. One after another, the tales of his heinous crimes gave me goose bumps.

The story has a very strong message - A serial killer is not born but is made.

Almost parallel runs the story of a girl, as intelligent as R but much favored by her destiny. An event in her adolescence which could have spoiled her life forever instead became her biggest strength. The girl went on to become a super cop, which brings us our second message – We are what we choose to become, not what circumstances want us to be.

The book also highlights the side effects of a practice rampant these days – of media highlighting and exaggerating every little piece of information. Had the media not come up with a silly idea of “ranking of serial killers”, many lives could have been saved.

Grab the book, for Raakshas isn’t a book about nabbing yet another serial killer on a killing spree. It goes a step beyond and portrays all that goes around in the minds of serial killers, their fears, triggers, emotions and motivations – the face of devil inside. The parallel tracks of the lady cop and R give the story an interesting “Yin and Yang” touch.

What I loved about the book

Everything, for the story has the power to leave an impact on its readers. Being my first crime thriller I was quite hesitant but the book kept my hooked on until I didn’t finish the last page. As I was glued to the book, the courier boy and a plumber who visited my house were welcomed with my suspicious eyes. Need I say more?

What could have been better?

Many aspects of the lady cop seemed too good to be true and exaggerated to give her a heroic stature.

My rating

4/5

About the Author

Piyush Jha is an acclaimed film director, ad filmmaker and author of bestselling crime fiction novels. His films Chalo America, King Of Bollywood and Sikandar are noted for their unconventional subject matter. Currently working on a crime based TV show, Piyush’s earlier novels are Mumbaistan, Compass Box Killer and Anti Social Network.

This review is for Writers Melon