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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Haveli by Zeenat Mahal : A Review



BOOK TITLE: Haveli
ISBN: 9781927826027
AUTHOR: Zeenat Mahal
GENRE: Fiction / Romance
NUMBER OF PAGES: 93
FORMAT: Digital
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK:
          I thank team Indireads for this review copy.
SUMMARY:
          It’s the 1970′s in Jalalabad, an erstwhile princely state in Pakistan. Chandni is a self-proclaimed cynic and prefers to be called C. An orphan brought up by her domineering grandmother, a.k.a. The Broad, C is rebellious, quick-witted and stunningly beautiful.
          When Taimur, a.k.a. Alpha Male, enters the closed universe of the haveli, he is smitten, but he’ll never admit it.
          The stakes get higher when the father, who had so cruelly abandoned her at birth, returns and C’s dream of reuniting with him becomes a reality. But now she has to choose between her father and his hand-picked groom on the one side, and Alpha Male and The Broad on the other
.
REVIEW:
          Haveli is a first person narrative of Chandni, a sarcastic and witty girl. Set in a rich palatial household, the story is about Chandni as she traverses through her adolescent crush, betrayal, treachery and longing for love from anyone close to her. Brought up by her strict grandmother, who she refers to as ‘The Broad’ Chandni is home schooled and reads a lot of English classics. This is evident in the numerous literary references she scatters throughout the story, even during the most stressful terms. (Or maybe it is the author Zeenat’s MPhil in English Literature that shows through!)
          Chandni and her mother are abandoned by their father when she was very young and left at her grandmother’s doorstep. Her mother dies soon after and Chandni grows up in the strict environment. She longs for love as her grandmother’s strict ways, though not necessarily devoid of love, does not believe in actually expressing the sentiments. Thoroughly blinded, she ‘falls in love’ with a much older man who is a family friend. The older man, on the other hand, treats her like a child. Desperate to win his attention, she is confused when Taimur enters her life. Taimur is the son of the only man who has shown her fatherly affection, the person she refers to as Baba.
          On principle, Chandni wants to hate Taimur, but it is quite obvious to the readers that she is slowly falling for him. Taimur comes across as a cocky arrogant person but is shown (though rarely) as a caring man. He constantly teases Chandni and with his brutal truths delivered in a condescending manner, upsetting her more than she would agree. Very soon, Chandni gets a double blow. The man she has a crush on is engaged (publicly, by her grandmother’s insistence) to another woman and her grandmother forces Taimur on her. Having hated him on principle and feeling like a commodity, Chandni throws her engagement ring back at the man and refuses to be engaged.
          Her estranged father comes back into her life confusing her already turbulent emotions. He showers love and affection over her and despite the opposition of her family and close friends, Chandni falls for the charm. But his return means only trouble for her. What happens next in her life and how she faces the same forms the rest of the story.
          The language is good, with words of nativity making an occasional appearance and the author has managed to even use examples and idioms fitting to the time and location of the story. The pace is fast enough and the reader is constantly between feeling frustrated and sympathetic towards Chandni. The story is short and sweet for a novella. It is a really enjoyable read with a nice plotline. The characters are crisp and developed but the story is predictable. Zeenat once again manages to write an endearing and memorable tale of love and a strong female character albeit in a much different setting.
WHAT I LIKED:
          The characterisation of Chandni, Taimur and the grandmother.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
          The story has too many literary references, and for the reader who isn’t familiar with classics, this would sound a little Greek.
VERDICT:
          Go for this one! You would love the ending. The last few pages of the book are its best.
RATING: 4/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
          Zeenat Mahal (@zeenat4indireads) is an avid reader and has been writing for as long as she can remember. She has an MPhil in English literature from Government College Lahore and is currently doing an MFA in creative writing from Kingston University, London. She won a BBC short story competition in 2001 and has been a regular contributor to newspapers.
          Zeenat has eclectic tastes and an insatiable desire to learn. Her romances are a heady mix of the traditional and the contemporary, old world values face the challenges of a shrinking globe that impinge upon and help shape South Asian sensibilities.
          ‘Haveli’ is Zeenat’s first of two published novellas. Currently she is working on a literary novel with elements of magical realism, while continuing to write romances. She can be contacted on her FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zeenat-Mahal.
          Zeenat currently lives in Kingston Upon Thames with her fabulous sons.
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Digital
PRICE: $2.35 for Kindle


1 comment:

Not a SPAM comment! :)