Book Review : The Fragile Thread Of Hope by Pankaj Giri

The Fragile Thread of Hope by Pankaj Giri is a very dark novel, a series of tragedies. In fact, it is a series of unrelenting tragedies on the main protagonists, right from the word go – and how they manage to hang on through it all, through thick and thin, frequently on their own. It is a story of grit, courage, determination, near-impossible odds, fighting the impossible as life hits them with one turn after another, with one tragedy after another. It is the story of two people whose lives slowly intertwine and what they go through as their troubles just keep on coming till the final solutions manifests. That, in a nutshell, is the simplified story of the book under review.

I can state the characters; but I wont; I don’t want to digress from my main objective in writing this book. This was not an easy book to review at all; it is one of the hardest I have reviewed till date. A deep, dark and turbid tale is not my choice, neither is it my liking, nor is it my genre. That is why I found it exceptionally hard to rate this book; let alone review it. It  has been over a week since I read it; but am penning a review only now. Even now, this will be one of my shortest reviews of a book till date. Not that I didn’t like it; I find it hard to explain my feelings on this book, truth be told.

And yet, I realize that the characters the author has penned have stayed with me; today, even a week after I have finished the book. I still recall the characters; and this is despite the bare, skinny and minimal characterization that has been done. Despite the minimal details of various attributes, the characters form such a strong impression in your mind, that you are drawn to them like a magnet, even after you complete the book and move on. This is clearly a victory for the author’s skills. Kudos!

Given the overall grim and melancholy nature of the book in the first half, and some of the second half as well – this is a tremendous achievement by any yardstick. The story is, not to put too fine a point to it, a deeply dark tale – a story of tragedy, of misfortune, of unforeseen events that shatter life. But, at the same level, it is also the story of imperfection, of mistakes, of ghosts, of being haunted by your own deeds, of also being tricked, of being ditched, and of suffering – either from nature, or from your own mistakes, or from fate.

The language is simple, and easy to comprehend. The story is also quite a fast read, and progresses smoothly, though the constant going back and forth in time had me confused initially. This cost the rating on star, with another star docked for the dark nature of the story. But, once you get used to the tale, and the flow of the story, it begins to connect with you, make a deep impression, albeit very slowly and very delicately – as the characters form a deep impact on your deepest emotions. This is a story of struggle, of hope, and of survival; by the approach of the end, it puts you in hope, and gives you a lesson – that never to ever give up, never never ever give up! Do read to know more!