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Review - Undertow by Jahnavi Barua


Some books make you feel so many emotions in a short period of time. They are like those friends who you always admire despite their shortcomings, who you love unconditionally. There is nothing wrong with them, and even if there is, you would easily forgive them because they are the epitome of happiness for you. Though this book talks about pain and suffering, even that feels like a melody to my ears. I witness so many beautiful moments in between where I see how we humans crave for few bondings.

When a daughter leaves a house, she takes along so many memories with her of the house and the family. To separate herself from that part of life is the toughest part, and on top of it, if your family refuses to accept your new relationship, she is heartbroken. It happened with Rukmini. Her family has cast her out. Here, you will get to see the bond of a girl with each family member; be it her father, mother, brother or uncle. Each bond is precious in its own way, and any issue with any of them affects the person deeply.

The beauty of the book is, along with the relation of a girl with her family, it gives other relationships equal importance from husband and wife to granddaughter and grandfather; everyone has been given proper space and time. I loved Torun's, Rukmini's father, equation with his wife and his daughter. He was always at the edge. There were moments when I found it hard to digest the few facts and always wondered about how we have to weigh one relationship more than the other to maintain a balance, how love makes us do unthinkable things! Nobody is right and nobody is wrong either, yet you tend to choose sides. If we are put into that situation, we know whose side we are going to take. It is not easy, but we know it inside. To save one, you have to let go of the other.

Loya, Rukmini's daughter, comes to Assam in her quest to find answers about her past and to come to terms with her present. As the story is based in Assam, you will get to know more information about the history of Assam and its terrain. There is one scene where the author describes the river. It is so serene that despite never living near a water body, I could feel its presence. This book is close to my heart because I love reading about relationships. After all, they are the trickiest. They always fall into the grey zone, where nothing is plain black or white. I first read her book Rebirth and to this day, could not stop thinking about it. I guess it is going to be the same for Undertow as well. When you read a wonderful book, it fills your heart with joy despite being tragic because you have read something so beautiful that you could relate to every emotion with equal zest.

I highly recommend this one, and undoubtedly it is one of my favourite books I have read this year.

Rating - 5/5
Genre - Contemporary, Indian Fiction
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