A Window to Her Dreams (A book review)

Author- Harshali Singh

Publishers- Readomania; First edition (1 November 2016)

Language: English

Pages- 320 pages 

Blurb- Are two good people with good intentions enough to make a good marriage? 

Aruna, a young divorcee, marries Bhuvan, an averagely successful young man. Both make promises of ever after with preconceived expectations—hers, freedom from a judgmental society and validation of herself and his, unconditional love and partnership.

Despite their best intentions, life plays rogue.

On the one hand, Aruna’s learned conditioning, developed as a result of her past, keeps coming in the way of their married normalcy and on the other, Bhuvan cannot fathom the signs of her distress. Their good intentions are tried at every step until the day when Aruna’s past revisits her. Bhuvan’s silences, Aruna’s distrust and the resurrection of her troublesome past lead to a downward spiral in their life that shakes Aruna to the core. As she stands on the precipice of a second failed marriage, Aruna tries one last time to take control of her life, something she had willingly surrendered last time. Does she succeed in saving her marriage? Or is she held back by her own apprehensions, choosing to stay victim?

Book Review- “A Window to Her Dreams” is a simple story told in a refreshing manner by the author. As is evident from the blurb, it is a story of Aruna and Bhuvan and their tempestuous relationship. The protagonists are simple souls, striving for love but bogged down by their respective ‘extra baggage’

The flow of the story, though languid at times, is lucid. The characters are etched with great precision. The grammatical errors are few and far between, not hampering the narrative at any point.

The author provides an insight into the mind of Aruna- a woman on the verge of a second failed marriage with not much to hang on to. Your heart goes out to her as she goes about trying to keep her world from disintegrating. Bhuvan is another character that one can easily relate with.

One of my favourite quotes from this book is-“However close and joyous the families might be, where there is a shift in relationships, anxiousness can creep in silently, making even the strongest feel vulnerable”.

On the downside, the story could have been edited into a crisp avatar. The drama is missing in many pages and the wait for the reader seems endless at times. Another jarring factor is the ambiguous beginning of many chapters. It takes a while for the reader to realize as to which character is being referred to.

Overall, this is a fine attempt by the author who seems to have an intricate knowledge of complex human relationships and the thin threads binding or in some cases, strangulating them.
Kudos to the author for delving in a genre which has been done to death since times immemorial and yet managing to infuse in the tale a freshness which forces the reader to turn over the pages till one reaches the end of the plot. The climax may polarise the readers but it worked for me; well almost.

Verdict- Not your average ‘Love story’.

About the Author- Harshali Singh is a New Delhi based Judge at the Consumer Forum, an avid reader and a passionate Painter. An academician with a decade of experience of working with preprimary age group in different capacities ranging from Operations Head to the Curriculum and academic head. She, as a teacher trainer conducts workshops to enhance proficiency in advanced teaching methodologies.

She is a trained Occupational Therapist from the Institute of The Physically Handicapped and also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education while currently pursuing her L.L.B degree. While handling these demanding jobs she managed to take out time for her passion- oil painting and has also held an exhibition of her exclusive, vibrant paintings at the India Habitat Centre in 2014. When not busy with the various roles she portrays she is usually found with her books and her family, which include two teenage children and a very patient Other Half, relaxing.