FIRST IMPRESSIONS
BY SUCHITRA BEHAL
Butterflies and Barbed Wires; Vanaja Banagiri; Rupa; Rs. 195.
FOR Maya Subramaniam, life was all about school, her disgusting brother and Rahul Dravid. Things that a `normal' would-be teenager would do. But unknown to Maya, her life is about to change and that too through a dream. As she tosses and turns and hopes it was just another `nocturnal' sequence she is rattled into reality when a voice by her side informs her that what she just saw is no dream. A petrified Maya finds herself in the midst of the most bizarre reality where she is quickly transported into an alternate world. A world where there are watchers and those who are `preferred' with Defenders thrown in. Where Time takes on a different hue. Even as she grapples with this sudden new reality, Maya is sucked into a dual existence. An ordinary12-year-old schoolgirl by day and then a "preferred" by night. As Maya stumbles upon an ancient conspiracy, her life isthreatened. While fighting, Maya suddenly realises that she has a lot more inner strength and powers than she thought she did. What finally takes place is an adventure that romps to an incredible finish.
A cross between sci-fi and adventure stories, this is a must read during the long hot summer break.
Ludmila's Broken English; DCB Pierre; Faber and Faber; £6.50.
IF Vernon God Little confounded you, it was easy to presume that you were not abreast of the times. As second-book records go, this one follows the rules. It doesn't match the prizewinner, but then it isn't expected to. Ludmila's Broken English. An evocative title you may say. Meet Ludmila. She's from some godforsaken Eastern country and is a bit of a foul-mouthed lady looking for the usual way out of poverty and grime. Unfortunately the stars don't foretell great tidings specially when her grandfather tries to rape her. Strong Ludmila resists and finally flees the family hovel to run away to the West with her lover. Things take a twist and she lands up on a Russian bride site. There is also a parallel story of two conjoined twins in Britian, now surgically separated and let loose literally "on parole" into the wide, wide world. How they meet up with Ludmila forms the basis of this book. It's bad enough having to plough through a Russian snowstorm in conjunction with greasy bacon strips, some hallucinatory drugs and a set of twins that are out high on it. But to have to read DCB Pierre's take on what might be a long forgotten dialect is a test on the steeliest of resolves. To borrow an evocative line from one of his characters, all I can say is "Hoh to that."
Butterflies and Barbed Wires; Vanaja Banagiri; Rupa; Rs. 195.
FOUR women, each beautiful and strong in their own way, dominate this book. These are fictitious characters but could be anyone anywhere. Maya, unassuming but distraught after her parents' death, goes on to take up a job in the city where she was born. The catch is that she is also looking to discover who her real parents were. Separated as an infant in the riots, she was adopted and considers her misfortune double. Shehzaddi is elegant and everything that a man could wish for. Still there is a lurking sadness in her eyes, which finally turns to drink for solace. Varsha, Maya's friend, discovers her marriage is a sham and decides to take life in both hands and live if only to find her true self. Amita, successful, business-savvy and yet empty. Between these players are the ghosts of ruined marriages, lost children, lost ambitions and at times a sense of total despair. How they move to counter their fears and overcome their prejudices forms the story of this interesting first time effort. That it doesn't end with the usual clichés is a refreshing change.
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