Rohit Gore

In a novel that questions the nature of love, author Rohit Gore transports readers to the modern-day India where our friends and neighbors might have grown up. Rich kid Adi and poor girl Radha meet, and find their lives unexpectedly intertwining around those broken dreams of childhood. But children grow, together and apart, and love is an unintended, unexpected thing in this surprisingly absorbing tale.

The novel is told through Adi’s quietly analytical eyes, with the benefit of Radha’s journal to fill in its heart. The author maintains a clear-cut distance between the reader and the tale, appropriate to characters who don’t know themselves well enough to reveal their souls. Radha and Adi’s journeys through life diverge as soon as school is over, and there’s a “constant sense of urgency” to their relationship, just as there is to the streets of Bombay where they meet. Well-chosen quotes start each section of their lives. Well-drawn locations, from India to Scotland and Wales and beyond, reflect their struggles in wonderful scenery. “Chepstow Castle where J K Rowling spent a large part of her childhood” is a gentle footnote, anchoring lives in the present. And some odd phrases, typos, or strange word choices are easily forgiven as errors in translation perhaps.

Romantic, familial, and mystical love blend together in this tale of guardians and dreams. In between are social activism, politics, power, and hope, all bringing to life both characters and place in a story that will haunt you when the telling’s done.

Disclosure: I was told about this book when it was free and was delighted to get an ecopy for which I offer my honest review.… (mehr)