Book Review - A Hundred Little Flames by Preeti Shenoy

A Hundred Little Flames by Preeti Shenoy is not one of the usual genres for me; I hardly ever read such stories. Now that statement above is the best reason for being open to new ideas and experimentation. Had I continued to be adamant, and ignored this – I would have missed one of the finer books to reach my mind; a sublime soft love story, a heart-warming family drama, and a suspense thriller all rolled into one at the same time in the same book! Well done, Mrs Shenoy – 5 star rating for the book!

THE CHARACTERS

Gopal Shankar – Grandfather, and then some. Senile, or not? Dreaming, or fact? This is his story…

Ayan – Young man, Grandson, Genuine person, caught in a maelstrom he didn’t want; but one he handled with aplomb!

Jairaj – Father and Son to be above two. Everything a father and son shouldn’t be.

Shaila – The daughter. Why, why, why? Why did her father dislike her so?  

Velu – Who says families are the most loyal? Hardly ever, it would seem

Rohini – Mystery woman, fictional as per 3 and 4; real as per 1

There are other characters – Shyamala, Shivani, Padmaja and others – who play vital roles; but the above 5 are the principal characters around whom this tale has been woven

THE BOOK

The book is about two people. Two real people, anyway. Gopal, and Ayan. Gopal – lonely, alone in a far-off village while the kids go away to set up their own family. And then there is Ayan – who loses his job, inadvertently caught up in corporate cross-fire. Result is his big-shot Dad packs him off to Gopal, the Grandfather. Wonder why he does that – why the sudden love, you would think? At the village house Ayan finds he likes it, and his Grandfather… and they get talking. Now this is a turn of events Jairaj certainly doesn’t want, for reasons that will be revealed later.

Jairaj insists his father has issues, is forgetful, imagines things and people – denying that Rohini, who crops up in conversations of Gopal with Ayan,  ever existed. Shaila isn’t on speaking terms with her father – and supports Jairaj. In the midst of this, a minor storm happens, when Jairaj comes home to the village, and packs off his father to the mental asylum, stating senility and such like. Ayan, of course, has no idea. Why does Jairaj do that? Why is Shaila not on speaking terms with her father? Why do the two deny about Rohini, and why does Gopal insist she is real? Why does no one else in the village mention her – even Velu? What is the mystery? Read the book to find out!

THE ANALYSIS

First off – Characterisation. After a long time, I felt the need to list the main characters; after a long time, I felt a deep connect with each character. That is one tremendous achievement by the author – kudos. I must doff my hat; the way each character has been built into a solid real person, with real shades deserves a standing ovation. In fact, in at least two cases, you get a deep connect without the character featuring at all in the entire book in direct roles! Now that is a fantastic achievement! The people seem real, have realistic shades to them, well etched and strong.

Next, the pace – hard to classify; the pace meanders at times, without losing interest, while being rapid at times, depending on the plot requirement. Now this style is hard to achieve, and can actually spoil the book is mishandled. It has not happened here – the pace variations have been adroitly handled, with the faster paced sections gelling well with the meandering build-up, building expectation. This gives the space to build strong characters that leave an impression on you, seem real and stay with you after you have kept down the book. This isn’t needles praise – I read the book yesterday, and am reviewing today – but the characters are still etched deeply & clearly on my mind.

Third, the language – easy, simple and flowing. There isn’t a sentence wrong or out of place here; even the more delicate scenes have been very deftly handled. Regular readers of my reviews will be aware of my intense dislike for “personal” scenes, bad words etc. Well, this is one book which I can truthfully recommend to my friends and family, with confidence that it is well written even in this aspect. In this modern world where the bad word & vulgarity is the rule rather than the exception, it is nice to read a good book relatively free of these

Fourth, the attention holding capacity – this is a very involved, intricate human interest story. The build-up is slow, delicate, and deliberate. Thus, attracting and holding readers interest can be challenging; this has been adroitly handled, with aplomb. Your attention is captured right from the start; more to the point, it has been held throughout the entire book till the last page through some deft storytelling. A very good and enriching read indeed – this is one author whose books deserve a read, all of them!