Despite Stolen Dreams by Anita Krishan (Book Review- 4.5*/5) !!!

I am just done reading 48^th book of this year and what an incredible stuff this book is- “Despite Stolen Dreams”. The book is written by Anita Krishan and published by Fingerprint! publication. While reading the bio of the authoress, I got to know that she has already published two novels. After reading this one, I am sure to pick them very soon though I don’t believe that she can ever match the magic she has woven in the book. Whenever any story is based upon Kashmir or India-Pakistan border or terrorism, it gets boring after a while because of the depressive state of characters that is spoken right from the first page to the last. Even the climax is always sad and predictable which makes almost all the books based on this topic sound like one.

I had the same expectation from this book too after reading the synopsis but that’s what made me excited about the book when I completed the first 30% of it. The book talks less about the depressive stories of the characters who have been victim of brutality but talks more about how they have forgotten about the tragic circumstances of their life and moved on. The book tries to spread positivity and the author’s efforts are clearly visible in these sections. The initial pages of the book makes you chill reading about how a family is been held captive just because the team of terrorist want the daughter of the house to marry one of their members. The author’s hold on the language and narrative can be easily judged from these initial pages itself.

Later on, the chemistry between Wali and Kashmira Singh is the USP of this book for which I shall always remember it even after suffering memory loss. That’s the impact the conversation between these two characters do to you. Also the other characters discussed in their colony and how they help them speaks a lot about the author’s motive behind writing this novel. The social issues described through the stories of different characters are very nicely handled without being too preachy or cliché. The anti-climax of the book is another great part of the book where Shakeel’s story is narrated separately. It brings the much needed change in the plot of the story. Talking about the climax, I liked how with all the tense moments etc. the book ends on a happy note. Overall, this is a book that you will always want to keep in your shelf. I give the book 4.5 star out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!