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The Book of Shadows
Bitiya is a young university lecturer in Delhi whose external beauty has been destroyed in an acid attack. Unable to bear the pain of her scars or the pity of others, she leaves for the hills of the Himalayas and becomes transfixed by the voices that sing from the foundations of her new home.
- GenresFiction
217 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 1, 2020
The book starts with a seismic bang, but then meanders along in a maudlin fashion before exploding in a series of volcanic eruptions. These eruptions are the result of the actions of individuals damaged physically, mentally, and spiritually who come to inhabit the house central to the story. They are a bunch of eccentric, cruel, perverted, lecherous and sadistic persons over succeeding generations.
I picked up this mystical and literary book both for the nostalgia for my childhood spent in Nainital and Ranikhet, as well as for my partial Kumaoni ancestry. The author’s style of writing is very evocative – I could hear the cacophony of cicadas, smell the chir and deodar trees, taste the tart wild strawberries, tangy kaphal and syrupy pulpy hisaaloo and visualize the sylvan slopes. I could even hear the distant flute amidst the clanging cow-bells:
I picked up this mystical and literary book both for the nostalgia for my childhood spent in Nainital and Ranikhet, as well as for my partial Kumaoni ancestry. The author’s style of writing is very evocative – I could hear the cacophony of cicadas, smell the chir and deodar trees, taste the tart wild strawberries, tangy kaphal and syrupy pulpy hisaaloo and visualize the sylvan slopes. I could even hear the distant flute amidst the clanging cow-bells:
It’s cloying, it’s creepy, it’s crawly, it’s crepuscular.The end is rather abrupt and unsatisfying, hence the three stars.
May 1, 2020
Overall : 3/5
Feeling : One Time Read
Recommend : No One
Seeing the title of the book " The Book of Shadows " and an Indian writer Namitha Gokhale i decided to read this book. I found this book on one of the shelves of my college (IIIT-Bangalore) Infosys library.
The book has been written highlighting acid attacks on women and life of the victims after .
An excerpt :
“This house belongs to me, as I belong to this house. I live here alone in the hills, watching the day turn to dusk, awaiting the dawn. This house, which knew me as a child, has taken me in again. We have closed ranks together, me and the house. We have become as one spirit; it is us against the world. All day I sit and stare at the blinding shadows of the snows. I sit here by the window and shelter in the certainty of these presences, so different from the bewildering world below. I belong to this house, as this house belongs to me.”
The story is about a girl who was once attacked by her finance sister with a beaker full of acid and to that after getting some treatment heads to an isolated house in Himalayan hills and where the real stories starts unfolding . The book narrated the stories of different owners/occupant of the house in due course including the author.
The author is extremely good with English and also her reader's. However the book is full of extra description of the things around and one can easily miss the interest to continue. For me it took almost 2 days to complete but after half of the book i was just reading it to complete it.
Unrelated stories, over descriptive paragraphs, eroticism , death with brutality, Confusing characters, invective words etc are the words to summaries.
I have given 3 rating just because of the language and words else for a book as a whole its 2/5.
--cheers
.- Happy Reading -.
Feeling : One Time Read
Recommend : No One
Seeing the title of the book " The Book of Shadows " and an Indian writer Namitha Gokhale i decided to read this book. I found this book on one of the shelves of my college (IIIT-Bangalore) Infosys library.
The book has been written highlighting acid attacks on women and life of the victims after .
An excerpt :
“This house belongs to me, as I belong to this house. I live here alone in the hills, watching the day turn to dusk, awaiting the dawn. This house, which knew me as a child, has taken me in again. We have closed ranks together, me and the house. We have become as one spirit; it is us against the world. All day I sit and stare at the blinding shadows of the snows. I sit here by the window and shelter in the certainty of these presences, so different from the bewildering world below. I belong to this house, as this house belongs to me.”
The story is about a girl who was once attacked by her finance sister with a beaker full of acid and to that after getting some treatment heads to an isolated house in Himalayan hills and where the real stories starts unfolding . The book narrated the stories of different owners/occupant of the house in due course including the author.
The author is extremely good with English and also her reader's. However the book is full of extra description of the things around and one can easily miss the interest to continue. For me it took almost 2 days to complete but after half of the book i was just reading it to complete it.
Unrelated stories, over descriptive paragraphs, eroticism , death with brutality, Confusing characters, invective words etc are the words to summaries.
I have given 3 rating just because of the language and words else for a book as a whole its 2/5.
--cheers
.- Happy Reading -.
Read
May 2, 2009couldn't even make it to the halfway point
June 29, 2010
What a weird, fractured, disconnected story!
February 24, 2024
I would very much not recommend this to everyone out there, not because this book lacks something, but more so the other way round, as in the people, we as audience lack something to not understand this book, so yes this book is not for everyone to indulge in.
This book is a narration of tale of a young english literature teacher at Delhi University, who was attacked, and made victim of acid attack by a close one itself, the sister of her dead fiance.
The Book starts with a tragedy where the protagonist's, Rachita's fiance', the impulsive Anand, as so the author calls him, hangs himself and dies blaming Rachita , which in turn provokes his sister, who happens to be teaching in Delhi University as well, but Chemistry, and who throws concentrated HCl on Rachita.
From here, till the end of the novel, is Rachita's journey of prevailing, persisting and being, becoming. Her journey to completely detaching from self to regaining and achieving it back, re claiming it in full vigour is shown.
Her journey from hiding her face from even herself, to accepting it with utmost grace and unnerving courage, this seemingly tranquil journey, but a riveting and roaring inside, is inspiring and adequately depicted.
SOME STAND OUTS
1. The shift of point of view from one person to other to even ghosts, was admirable. This is probably the first and last book I read where I got to know a story from ghoul perspective, from the lens of a spirit.
2. The sheer honesty with which this novel is written, where not only others, but Rachita's faults were taken into account as well. As in the instance when Rachita's infidelity towards Anand is revealed and not hided to prevent her image from tarnishing
3.The usage of vocabulary in this novel has to be an honourable mention. From a modern perspective, the words used here, I found a bit distant from our regular usage, and ended up learning phrases or two while reading it
4. The times and selection of poems to include in the novel is exemplary
SOME SET BACKS
1. The connection with past, present and what is happening can be easily misinterpreted. At the same time, the author is taking us into two, at times more than 2 dimensions without a prior warning. The present is discussed just like the past is being discussed, and ancient times are discussed within these time frames only.
2. The pace of the book is not constant, There was an initial blast, perfect start, then a very slow middle part and I felt the ending was hurried in ways more than one.
With this , I would overall rate this novel a 4, it was a good attempt at horror, an honest one, tells us a lot about Hillside people and their culture with vegetation knowledge!
This book is a narration of tale of a young english literature teacher at Delhi University, who was attacked, and made victim of acid attack by a close one itself, the sister of her dead fiance.
The Book starts with a tragedy where the protagonist's, Rachita's fiance', the impulsive Anand, as so the author calls him, hangs himself and dies blaming Rachita , which in turn provokes his sister, who happens to be teaching in Delhi University as well, but Chemistry, and who throws concentrated HCl on Rachita.
From here, till the end of the novel, is Rachita's journey of prevailing, persisting and being, becoming. Her journey to completely detaching from self to regaining and achieving it back, re claiming it in full vigour is shown.
Her journey from hiding her face from even herself, to accepting it with utmost grace and unnerving courage, this seemingly tranquil journey, but a riveting and roaring inside, is inspiring and adequately depicted.
SOME STAND OUTS
1. The shift of point of view from one person to other to even ghosts, was admirable. This is probably the first and last book I read where I got to know a story from ghoul perspective, from the lens of a spirit.
2. The sheer honesty with which this novel is written, where not only others, but Rachita's faults were taken into account as well. As in the instance when Rachita's infidelity towards Anand is revealed and not hided to prevent her image from tarnishing
3.The usage of vocabulary in this novel has to be an honourable mention. From a modern perspective, the words used here, I found a bit distant from our regular usage, and ended up learning phrases or two while reading it
4. The times and selection of poems to include in the novel is exemplary
SOME SET BACKS
1. The connection with past, present and what is happening can be easily misinterpreted. At the same time, the author is taking us into two, at times more than 2 dimensions without a prior warning. The present is discussed just like the past is being discussed, and ancient times are discussed within these time frames only.
2. The pace of the book is not constant, There was an initial blast, perfect start, then a very slow middle part and I felt the ending was hurried in ways more than one.
With this , I would overall rate this novel a 4, it was a good attempt at horror, an honest one, tells us a lot about Hillside people and their culture with vegetation knowledge!
July 4, 2025
I would say 3 and a half
Mostly read for the setting, some wonderful descriptive paragraphs, a bit fractured but sort of surrealist I guess, a bit hard to get through, but happy I did.
Mostly read for the setting, some wonderful descriptive paragraphs, a bit fractured but sort of surrealist I guess, a bit hard to get through, but happy I did.
July 13, 2020
I really loved this, this book has a charisma that I was smitten by it however, This is not a book for everyone.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews