Book
Name – Where the River Parts
Name – Where the River Parts
Author – Radhika Swarup
Publisher – Rupa publications
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Review
Two human beings. Two gender. Two families. Two religions. One nation. But after 1947 two of them becomes a part of two nations and two lives. What happens when they meet again decades later!
Where the river parts is the story of the love life of Asha and Firoze. Rather it is Asha’s story of how she fell in love with Firoze and used to keep fast during Ramzan and observe Karwa Chauth for him and how she came back to India and became Om’s wife and how she became a mother and a grandmother.
The book is definable in different dimensions. It is a pointer towards reality during partition. It shows the irony of how the daughter of a Muslim woman denies the permission for marriage of her own daughter just because she loved a Muslim. It touches different level of the societal norms.
If there is a usage called poetic prose, this book qualifies the best for it. The narration is exemplary. The love between Asha and Firoze permeates into the intellect of the reader even without any lovemaking scenes or explicit drama. The relationship between Asha and Om doesn’t get overshadowed by that between Asha and Firoze. Even though for a very short duration in the narration, Om gains a prominent space in the psyche of the readers.
Further when the story develops, the plot seems rushed. The book should have been something like Gone With the Wind in terms of length or a story with a sequel. If so, it would have been helped the readers in connecting between Asha’s next generation.
Verdict
Overall the book is a touching palpable and exemplary piece of art
Scenario: 5/5
Scenario: 5/5
Narration : 5/5
Character : 5/5
Entertainment Quotient: 4.5/5
This review is in return of a free book from the publisher
