VOICES OF THE SILENT CREEK

TITLE: Voices of the Silent Creek
AUTHOR: Vikkas Arun Pareek
PUBLISHER: Nivasini Publishers
GENRE: Fiction

THE BOOK

COVER DESIGN

 

The sketch of a lonely village lass lost in thought, by the side of a creek is beautiful, eye-catching and apt. It makes one want to pick up the book and explore the pages within the cover.

BLURB

Shanti is married in a prominent family but her life will never be the same for a life thrusted on her for honour of the family. She accepts her life but will she let the same fate unfold for her younger sister?Bhano discovers the horrors of her sister’s life. Will she be able bring justice to her sister’s life and her sacrifices?

Arti finds herself strangled with choices. Will she risk her life and her family’s life to help Bhano get justice or leave her helpless?

The story of set in rural India takes us through unimaginable yet common atrocities which a woman faces in today’s society. Will they fail to survive? Will they emerge stronger battling the troubles?

Q: DID THE BOOK WORK FOR ME?

A: To know read what I’ve got to say.

WOWS!!

Story-line: Set in rural Rajasthan, the book brings to light the atrocities perpetrated on the women-folk by a male-dominated society. Here a woman is considered as nothing but a ‘machine’ meant to satisfy a man’s hunger and bear his heirs. She has no voice, no emotions and no mind of her own. She is just a puppet in the hands of the men at home. Here Shanti, Mano and Bhano represent the true face of women in many villages in India especially the North, where muscle-power rules the roost, the rich and influential perpetrate atrocities on the poor and hapless folk and where illiteracy is rampant.

The author has woven a strong plot with finesse. He has delved deep into the psyche of the oppressed female and has put across her revulsion, her resistance and finally her state of numbness beautifully. One can actually visualize her plight. Then there is the male-species who are spineless. They don’t have the guts to stand-up for their women-folk and instead force them to concede to the unjust demands of the tall and mighty. They finally try to find solace in the bottle. This lot too is captured well in the book.

In short, the story-line is interesting and relatable. In fact the author has put across some raw facts which are sure to revolt the sensitive. There are some twists and turns that are in sync with the plot. There is also a minor plot of an urban couple that is integrated into the major plot towards the second half. This plot brings to light the sharp contrast between the urban and rural India portrayed in the book. Here I say ‘portrayed’ else it will be misguiding readers especially those from other parts of the world. The situation in all parts of India is not the same. The lot of rural women in my part of India is at par with that of women in urban areas.

Characterization: The characters of Shanti, Mano, Bhano and Bhim Singh are well developed with all their strengths and weaknesses. The depth of emotions they invoke is worth mentioning. It’s easy for the reader to delve into their mind and understand their actions and reactions. This makes it also easy to empathize with them and their sorrows.

Language: Simple and easy to understand very much like the ordinary village folk who take forth the story.

OOPS!!

Story-line: The opening chapter seemed a bit clumsy and confusing. It needs to be re-worked on.

Editing: There are a few typos and grammatical errors here and there.

THE VERDICT

A simple and easy read, one capable of bringing a frown to your brow and tears to your eyes. Go for it if you’d like to find out how lucky you are or how helpless the ordinary illiterate village folk especially the women-folk, are. The book will give you an insight into their trials and tribulations and leave you shaken.

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BUYING LINKS

amazon  

 

THE CREATIVE MIND THAT PENNED THE BOOK

Vikkas Arun Pareek the brain that churned out ‘Voices of the Silent Creek’ is currently working for an IT giant and is based in London. Writing comes to him naturally and he loves putting across his thoughts via his writings. ‘Voices of the Silent Creek’ is his debut novel.

Want to reach out to him? Then here you go:Email: vapbooksfeedback@gmail.com
Twitter: @vapmail16
Website: VAP-Short Stories

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Disclaimer
This is not a paid review. I was provided a copy of the book by
the Author in exchange for an honest review.

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