BOOK REVIEW :BEYOND THE HORIZON BY SAMRUDHI DASH
Author: Samrudhi Dash
Publisher: Authorspress (2017)
Pages: 132
Publisher: Authorspress (2017)
Pages: 132
Price: 295
Synopsis
Being innocent was her greatest mistake. Will she be able to free herself from the shackles of society and create an identity for herself? Read Nivara's journey of life, from an innocent girl how she survived the suicidal attempt and shaped her own life.
This is a philosophical novel that deals with the actualities of modern society, exposing the hollowness of human relationships, the complexities of life and the trials and turmoil a young Indian girl faces while making a bid at crafting her individuality and taking her own stand contrary to the existing customs that society blindly adheres to. The novel, written in feminist perspective goes on to elaborate her struggles in a world which fails to understand her, the problems she faces, growing up in a typical Indian family and how, as she leaves the cocooned environment of home and ventures to the world outside, she is, at every step shocked at the revelations of inherent human falsities that strike her. Her innocence and gullibility have made her a punching bag of a society, so ruthless in its judgements that, failed by even her best friend and her parents, she decides to commit suicide. But after a miraculous comeback, there's no looking back. Having glimpsed death from such a close perspective, she finally decides to speak up for herself and make her voice heard above the crowd. Now she is no longer that weak, innocent, gullible girl who could be weighed down by the baseless acquisitions of society.
Review
A beautiful story, intricately woven from the little pieces of sheer reality that we fail to recognize in our daily lives.
Feminism had always been mistaken for a stance that provides extra privilege to the women of the society. This notion drove the people to believe that feminism is a hindrance to equality. Thus, miserable constraints had been imposed upon those poor souls (women). The grim reality reflects that women are not given any extra privileges, rather they don't even get the basic rights. Feminism can rather be termed as a revolution whose agenda had been to restore the rights of the women.
This book has been written from a feminist point of view. The story revolves around Nivara Desai, a simple, innocent girl, hailing from Delhi, the city of sin (as described by the author), ensnared by the complexities of life as well as the society around. This story is perhaps the story of every girl who have kept their pains and emotion locked up in the darkest corner of their heart, who have laid a stone over their heart and still managed to keep a forced smile over their lips. It's time to pour your emotions out!
The novel consists of three parts. The first part describes her life at school and college, the fun, the friends.
The second part describes the most crucial and pathetic stage of her life. She had been rejected by Aryan, the love of her life, whom she thought to be her lifelong companion, without any sound reason. The incident exposed the shallowness of human relations. The falsities and flaws of the society lay naked before her. She felt like being drawn into an unending vortex of grief from where no one can come back. In Selma Lagerlof's words, "The whole world is a rattrap" and she found herself caught in the like. The incident left a deep impact on her and she attempted suicide. But destiny had something else in treasure.
The third part describes her miraculous comeback and the zeal to never look back. Having been face to face with death, she realized that killing herself would only mean the end, an end that would not usher any new beginning. Yes she wished to put an end, not to her life, but to the unnecessary trials and tribulations she had been forced to go through, to the pains and sorrows of her life. She decided to come vis-a-vis with life and throw a challenge that she'll prove herself. Her pains were transformed into poetry and found they expression through the many bestselling book Beyond The Horizon. The crestfallen girl reached the acme of her career by her own effort, churning the social stereotypes under her heels. She stood to speak for herself, to fight for herself, her pains found a voice for themselves, a voice strong enough to echo though the world. She's a survivor, who has broken free from the shackles, society tied her with and has dared to spread her wings, those wings that have once been threatened to be cut!
Nivara is a character shaped by circumstances. The different incidents of life turned her to a mature, strong girl from the innocent one. In today's world, where patriarchy challenges feminism at every moment, she has set an example by carving out her own space. The way of her life was beset with thorns, which pricked her and and created almost unmendable wounds. The wounds had once made her wish to die. But at present, only scars are left. These scars have given her courage to clench her fists and fight back.
The second part describes the most crucial and pathetic stage of her life. She had been rejected by Aryan, the love of her life, whom she thought to be her lifelong companion, without any sound reason. The incident exposed the shallowness of human relations. The falsities and flaws of the society lay naked before her. She felt like being drawn into an unending vortex of grief from where no one can come back. In Selma Lagerlof's words, "The whole world is a rattrap" and she found herself caught in the like. The incident left a deep impact on her and she attempted suicide. But destiny had something else in treasure.
The third part describes her miraculous comeback and the zeal to never look back. Having been face to face with death, she realized that killing herself would only mean the end, an end that would not usher any new beginning. Yes she wished to put an end, not to her life, but to the unnecessary trials and tribulations she had been forced to go through, to the pains and sorrows of her life. She decided to come vis-a-vis with life and throw a challenge that she'll prove herself. Her pains were transformed into poetry and found they expression through the many bestselling book Beyond The Horizon. The crestfallen girl reached the acme of her career by her own effort, churning the social stereotypes under her heels. She stood to speak for herself, to fight for herself, her pains found a voice for themselves, a voice strong enough to echo though the world. She's a survivor, who has broken free from the shackles, society tied her with and has dared to spread her wings, those wings that have once been threatened to be cut!
Nivara is a character shaped by circumstances. The different incidents of life turned her to a mature, strong girl from the innocent one. In today's world, where patriarchy challenges feminism at every moment, she has set an example by carving out her own space. The way of her life was beset with thorns, which pricked her and and created almost unmendable wounds. The wounds had once made her wish to die. But at present, only scars are left. These scars have given her courage to clench her fists and fight back.
The abrupt ending of the story with sudden disappearance of Nivara is indeed shocking to the readers. However it leaves the reader contemplating the deeper reason behind it. The author has purposely left loose ends in her story. It's up to the readers to make the two ends meet.
Nivara disappeared when she was at the height of fame. The title Beyond The Horizon is very symbolic. It indicates as if Nivara has conquered this territory and has set out to conquer what lay beyond the horizon, the unknown. It reminds me of Reepicheep setting out for Aslan's Country , beyond the horizon (Chronicles of Narnia).
Nivara is the representative of all those women who have been put down by the society, yet they turned around to fight back! This story reminds me of Adrienne Rich's famous poem, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" where the socially tortured Aunt Jennifer tastes her freedom through her needlework on the tapestry. The tigers she creates, represent the indomitable spirit of the women who would not bow down to the male chauvinistic society. Perhaps Jennifer's identity would only be restricted to 'Aunt' but her tigers would remain prancing around. Nivara's journey has been about creating her own identity, not losing the same.
This book is a wonderful piece of work as a debut of the author. The poetic touch accompanied by the beautiful quotes added an embellishment to the story.
Girl, keep your head up like Nivara and never let your Tiara fall.
A message to the male readers.... Please read this book. It'll unfold before you the pains of a woman which otherwise wouldn't have come to your notice.
The title is catchy, the cover is good, the language is so artistic and fluent, the blurb is interesting. The name of each chapter is crisp and catchy. Overall, it is an amazing book.
A must read for everyone!
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