What is it
about a mother that manages to move us everytime? Swati Kumari’s debut novel
“Without A Goodbye” answers this question convincingly.
When I read
the title of the novel, I assumed it would be yet another love story. But I was
thankfully proven wrong when I read the synopsis.
PLOT
The story
describes the poignant tale of Danica and her mother Aarti, depicting both
their lives in detail. Danica is all set to appear for her competitive exams in
Patna. She has a talk with her mother before going inside the exam hall.
However after she comes out, she is unable to contact her mother.
The entire
family searches for her, but she just seems to have vanished. What happened to
her? Where did she go? Is she alive or not? These questions trouble everyone, before
finally the truth is revealed. What was the truth and what circumstances led to
it forms the crux of the story.
WRITING
Well, the
author keeps the language pretty simple. Infact at times the language is so
simple that it could have been a bit more on the higher side. Swati maintains a
first person record throughout the book – first as herself, later describing
Danica’s account and inbetween her mother’s story. This idea of narrating
everyone’s story in her own point of view is very well done.
POSITIVES
I liked the
basic plot of the story. Unlike all the novels these days who, taking a cue
from Chetan Bhagat, are writing shitty love stories, this novel is a welcome
change. It is a love story, but between a mother and a daughter.
One more
thing I liked is the detailing. The bond between Danica and her mother is not
the routine mother – daughter bond. It is a much more intimate bond, the
intimacy escalated due to a failed marriage. When the man of the house is the
bad guy, the woman automatically tends to get more close to her children – it is
human tendency. And that is depicted pretty well by Swati.
Swati also
displays emotions well. There is never an overdose of anything – be it joy or
sorrow. She shows how people react under normal circumstances, sans any
exaggeration. There are times when something terrible happens to you, but you
are so dazed that you don’t understand whether to cry or shout. Swati depicts
such situations in the book very deftly.
The ending
is one more thing I loved. Although filmy, it provides the needed boost towards
the end. It reaffirms our faith in goodness.
NEGATIVES
As I mentioned,
the language is pretty simple. But at times, it is very amateurish. There are
even grammatical errors. They are minor ones but need correction.
Also, Swati
depicts this whole joint family in too detail. For those who are used to it,
this is not a problem, but for many, it might get confusing. At times, I found
it difficult to catch up with all the characters. There are too many
mama-mamis, masa-masis, etc.
OVERALL
Overall, “Without
a goodbye” is definitely a book worth reading. It is a light read and describes
the mother – daughter bond beautifully. I definitely felt proud of my parents
while reading this book.
Also, this is a book with which many moms and many
daughters will be able to relate.
It is a
story which only a woman could have penned. Good job Swati Kumari.
you write for you is good but, it better for context us..the human..todays writes only give their option like politician,only her /his problem is big some time every one have different problem which create new story.. every story is not
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