Monday, August 20, 2012

INCOGNITO: A book review


Picture from google.


Book: INCOGNITO
Author: Lata Gwalani
Published in 2012 by Frog books (An imprint of Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd).
Book Editor: Oswald Pereira
Design Editor: Mishta Roy
Price in India: 195/- 

“If Rome was foreplay, Venice was consummation”.

This is one of many lines that struck me as brilliant from the book. There are many such under toned gems scattered around for the reader to pick. Say like,

“I slowly picked up my thoughts, and carefully strung them into a series of actions that I would take”.
Or
"We walked on, he calmly, I cautiously".

While reading, I found the language engaging. To the point, where I wanted to finish the book at one go. It easily pulled me into the world of high romance and low self esteem, of jealousy and murder, of perfect men and unconvinced partners.

I could not help but notice the author’s skill as a narrator or as a story teller. Nowhere does she slips to capture her reader’s attention. One just glides along the story, cruising exotic locales like Rome, Venice, Cochin, Mussoorie and Raichak (Kolkata).

This is a story about four people, no make that five people. All four of them have had trouble falling in love. When they do, they ultimately grow insecure in their respective relationships and plan a murder. Each character is from a different background and their reasons to kill are assorted. What binds them together is their love for their subject of desire/hate. Their need to end it all is abrupt and all encompassing. The author leaves you longing for more. And that is a rare feet, to say the least.

The author has taken pains to sketch each personality with a lot of insight and research. The last character, the most mysterious one is a close witness to all four murders. How and why is the question, that comes out only at the end. To say more on the plot would be unfair.   This is a book that has all the masala for a pot boiler. I would not be surprised, if one gets to see a Bollywood movie made out of this, sometime soon.

If I have to pick a negative attribute for this book, it would be that I would have preferred a different ending. A more disturbing one. Somewhere, as a writer, I began to expect this ending. However, it would be refreshing for a regular reader.   

In conclusion, I recommend this book to those readers, who like me, are exploring new Indian authors for varied genres. This is not your ordinary boy meets girl story. It is a psychological thriller. Yes, a murder mystery with a romantic angle attached.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

Anjali let a few moments pass as she gathered herself.

“I have a confession to make”, she said haltingly.
He smiled and nodded encouragingly.
Her tongue froze, stuck to the roof of her mouth. She opened her mouth a couple of times, but no sound emerged.
He pushed a glass of water towards her.
“Thank you,” she muttered and sipped the water watching him over the rim of the glass.
He sat patiently, watching and smiling.
“Murder,” she whispered.
His face was calm. His nod prodded her on.
“Four of them,” she continued to whisper.
“Would you like to me about them?” he asked.
“I want to tell you everything,” she said looking into his eyes.
“Well Anjali, where would you like to start?” he asked returning her steady gaze.
“Shall I tell you the way they told me?” she asked
About Lata Gwalani from other source: “As a behavioral trainer, Lata conducts workshops on Emotional Intelligence, and during these workshops, she met many people experiencing emotional turbulence. Somewhere along this journey, Lata realized that many people go through life with a baggage of unfulfilled aspirations. She also recognized the fact that there is a huge gap between our real selves and our ideal selves. This was the seed on which Lata grew the plot for the book,Incognito”.
Thank you~

37 comments:

  1. I think I want to read this. It sounds different from the recent genre of books. Also, I like your review. Neat! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Confused soul,


      Thank you for your first comment..!
      An auspicious start for me. Please take care~

      Delete
  2. Yayyyy :) Finally, I read ur review. Good work Ghazala :) I hope you enjoyed reading the book. Will keep u posted abt more opportunities. Best part about ur review is - its crisp and to the point

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Haricharan,

      This post is all because of you. Though, I have attended
      a workshop on how to review, I have never done this before.
      This is a first for me and hopefully will do some more. Thanks pal..!
      Getting a pat from you is so very motivating, especially when I know
      how good a reviewer of movies you are :))

      Delete
  3. Hmmm...soon would be reading this...Would have been great if you would have provided ISBN Code or a flipkart/amazon link...u know how lazy we guys are :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Punit,

      LOL, so lazy you are..! I better talk to your Mom about you.
      Drink Bournvita please...! *giggle*

      Here is the link:
      http://www.flipkart.com/incognito-9381576694/p/itmd4vde6mqyyxzv
      Thanks for reading this :)

      Delete
  4. Murder mystery! Wow, sounds quite interesting! I think I would like to read this one. Wonderful review, Ghazala :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Arti,

      This murder mystery is minus any blood and gore.
      It is more style and sensibility. Thanks :)

      Delete
  5. The excerpts you have mentioned are really intriguing. I think I need to pick up this book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Goingbeyond,

      This is a nice book for an afternoon read, when
      you want to relax :)
      Thanks~

      Delete
  6. ...your review makes the book look interesting...will try to grab a copy soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AmitA,

      It is such a boost to see you here.
      There is a lot of positivity you bring about.
      Thanks :)

      Delete
  7. Ah, thanks for the wonderful review...sounds interesting!! Pass on the book to me when we meet next time!:))
    Thanks, gha..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Panchalidi,

      You need to buy the book, hee hee. But for
      you I am ready to bend the rule. Thank you
      so much :)

      ps: When are we meeting? I have something else I need to give you :))

      Delete
  8. sounds interesting , four murders hmmm and who told her :) intriguing


    Bikram's

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bikramjit,

      I recently joined Blogadda. Hope to see more of you, here:)
      Thanks, that is the crux of the plot~

      Delete
  9. You have a niche to make a review in an interesting way.
    Reading this makes me want to read the book too...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Medha,

      Thank you, you have no idea how much i treasure
      your feedback. It gives me the necessary confidence
      required to review more books :)

      Delete
  10. Replies
    1. Hello Major,

      Good to have you here.
      Thanks and my pleasure :)

      Delete
  11. Excellent review, Ghazala! Makes me want to lay my hands on it.

    Very well penned...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Vishal,

      Well, well, happy to see my fave captain here :))
      Thanks, and thanks for everything ~

      Delete
  12. Interesting review of the book.
    That line “If Rome was foreplay, Venice was consummation” is really catchy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good morning Rajesh,

      Thanks, yes that line is really catchy and
      stays on mind for long :)

      Delete
  13. I like that her language is very simple.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shovoc,

      The language is simple and endearing :)
      Thanks~

      Delete
  14. Hmm... sounds interesting and powerful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Anupama,


      The book is interestingly different.
      Thanks for reading my review :)

      Delete
  15. Your review has made me curious and eager to set my hands on "incognito". Thank you Ghazala ji.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello maksood,

      So nice to see you here. Thanks for your kind words :)

      Delete
  16. Ghazala, reading for the first time a short and provocative review..sounds interesting..:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear ranita,

      Glad you found my review interesting. Thanks woman :)

      Delete
  17. Nice review Ghazala! Your review makes me yearn to read this one:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rahul Bhatia. Glad you liked my review :)

      Delete
  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete