BOOK TITLE: The
Dowry Bride
ISBN: 978-0758220318
AUTHOR: Shobhan
Bantwal
GENRE: Fiction
NUMBER OF PAGES: 320
FORMAT: Paperback
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya
Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I
thank Fingerprint! Publishers for this review copy.
SUMMARY:
One sultry night,
a young bride overhears an extraordinary conversation. The voices speak of a
plot to murder a wife who has failed to produce a child and whose family has
failed to produce the promised dowry...
Megha is sick
with horror when she realizes she is the intended victim. Her husband -- the
very man who tied the sacred necklace of marriage around her neck -- and his
mother are plotting to kill her! In the moment of panic, she runs for her life.
Frantically racing through Palgaum's deserted streets, her way lit only by the
lights strung up for the Diwali festival, her single goal is to escape death by
fire. But fleeing from her would-be-killers seems impossible -- unless she can
find someone to help her...
To approach her
best friend would bring scandal to an innocent woman's doorstep, and turning to
her own strict, conservative family is out of the question. Instead, with
nothing but the sari she wears and a memory of kindness, Megha finds her way to
Kiran, the one man who has shown her friendship and respect. Hiding her in his
apartment, Kiran becomes her protector. But the forbidden attraction that grows
between them can only bring more danger...
Caught between
tradition and the truths buried in her heart, a dowry bride will discover the
real cost of the only things worth having in life...
REVIEW:
The Dowry Bride – it is a book I had
wanted to read for some time now, being impressed with the title and the issue
it represented. But the book didn’t quite reach up to what I expected from it.
Here is my full review.
First Impression:
Very impressive front cover and book
blurb. The whole theme of a woman’s leg with Mehendi and fire was an immediate
attraction. It gives the reader a very eager idea of what the book is going to
be about. And the title is also an amazing reader magnet. The blurb was interesting
enough with a hint of horror and cold blooded but commonplace crime that is
plaguing the Indian society.
The story:
The story is as expected from the
blurb. Megha Ramnath, all of 21 years, one day hears her mother in law plotting
to murder her with her own husband. Immediately feelings of fear, helplessness
and complete and utter desperation plague her mind. Megha decides to flee and
frantically thinks for a place of Sanctuary. But nothing comes to her mind.
Going back to her parents would mean being sent to her in laws immediately.
Going to her best friend would mean landing the friend in trouble. In short,
she realises that anyone who accepts her and gives her sanctuary will
immediately be ostracised from the society.
Suddenly, the image of her husband’s
cousin Kiran comes to her mind. His gentleness and his availability as her only
option after being chased by a hooligan makes Megha reach out to him. The first
half of the book is thrilling enough and details the trials Megha faces and
also brings out the many issues plaguing the society in India. This part of
descriptions and the author’s knowledge about the culture are a pleasant read.
Megha, for someone so educated, seems so naïve. But it is the sad truth in some
(very few, but still existent) places in India that even though brides are well
educated, beautiful and have other impressive qualities, they are still married
off to lesser qualified men.
From then on, Megha’s life becomes a
hellish one of jumping in fear as she hides for dear life in Kiran’s apartment.
Cooking and caring for him slowly makes her realise that inadvertently she is
falling for his gentle charm. Megha’s dilemma is written nicely. But once she
realises that she has to completely give a closure to her past if she wanted to
live peacefully, her mind starts working towards it. With the help of Kiran,
Megha tackles the beasts. The ending is a mellowed down version of what I
expected from such a promising book.
As to the pluses, the language is
fluent, and the descriptions are unique. Kudos to the author for writing on
such a sensitive subject. The part where Megha hides from Kiran’s mother and
her Father in Law’s letter are parts that made an impression on my mind. The
story also highlights the journey of Megha as a very timid character (whose
initial decisions land her in one trouble after another) to a strong willed
woman who carves out a path for herself.
The minuses – for such a promising
premise, my personal opinion is that the story has faltered midway. Yes, the
forbidden attraction is racy, yes the feeling of love is not a mistake but I
feel that midway, the book turned into more detailed description of why exactly
Megha was attracted to her saviour and the romantic moments take away the
horror of the issue that is bride burning. The focus on the main issue is
relaxed a bit as the reader begins to wonder if Megha will marry Kiran instead
of having to wonder if Megha will emerge unscathed from one of society’s most
horrific awful evils.
Also, the characters are one dimensional.
Everyone knows that a typical MIL needs no particular strong reason to hate her
son’s wife – there have been numerous jokes about this over the years and
across cultures. But little more grey areas in the characters could have given
them more credibility. Chandramma’s past is not justification enough. While I
wouldn’t go so far to call this as prejudiced, I find it unsettling that all
good characters are innocent, good at heart and summarily heroes while all
villains are evil, and black – both at heart and outside.
A little more depth and a stronger reason
would have made the impact this book has much stronger among the audience. An
ulterior reason doesn’t exist in reality when such bride burning cases are
concerned – usually the only reasons are failure to give a dowry, or bear a
child, and sometimes even begetting a female child – but as a piece of fiction
this could have added more dimensions to the characters to at least make them
stand out instead of being stereotypical. Overall, the story had good
potential, but the ending was too sweet and way out of the sad reality, taking
the focus away from the issue and veering towards being a bestseller novel.
VERDICT: Good
writing, but for a novel with such potential, it veers away from the main
element of focus.
RATING: 3.5/5 (Points
taken for veering away from focussed subject and given for fluent writing)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback,
Digital
PRICE: Rs. 198 for paperback
BOOK LINKS: http://www.amazon.in/Dowry-Bride-Shobhan-Bantwal/dp/8175992972/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
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