Book Review
Sunset by the River by Sameer Saxena
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| Sunset by the River by Sameer Saxena (cover design: @roughworkk) |
My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟ðŸŒ
Hailing from Jhumka city –
Bareilly, Sameer Saxena is currently working as an Assistant Manager in UCO
bank, posted in the hilly area of Uttrakhand. He has completed his graduation
in Mechanical Engineering in 2013 after which he worked as a teaching associate
for two years, before joining the bank.
Sameer wrote short plays for
college cultural fests which were played in various colleges. He was the mentor
of his college club and actively participated in various college activities
like anchoring, paper presentations, and short plays. He was often called by his
faculties to write the speeches for them and from there he has taken a step
further to write his first novel, “Sunset by the River”, five years back.
Sameer is an active social media
enthusiast and writes articles, blogs on a wide range of topics.
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| Sameer Saxena |
Sunset by the River by Sameer
Saxena – a contemporary romantic thriller, can be seen as an eye-opener for the society we currently live in, where people don’t recognize mental health as
essential as physical health, be it for stigma or lack of awareness and
resources; at the same time the book –
with its simple, ordinary yet unique and special characters – is a
paragon of Indian coming of age romance where the author sets out to tackle
some very serious issues such as unethical faith healing, exorcism, challenges
for psychiatry in India and so on; incorporating elements of love, laughter,
agony, friendship, suspense, and contemporary romance, this book will keep you
glued to flipping pages until no page is left unturned as it emanates immense pleasure
and a sense of responsibility towards society.
Sunset by the River is narrated
in third-person POV and for once it shifts to first-person POV when it is
needed. The writing style is simple and consistent throughout the book,
although the tone is exciting at times. The language is again comprehensible
and could be read by anyone including beginners. Additionally, Sameer Saxena
has succeeded in keeping the suspense.
The story is set in Delhi,
Rajasthan and Japan of the years 2018-19. The story starts off in Japan, where
Ayaan, the protagonist is working on his dream project. The story hooks the
reader as soon as it starts when Ayaan receives several calls from India. Ayaan
immediately returns to India and relates the past events of his life to his
friend Hiteish before leaving. And so the story unfolds gradually. Ayaan,
Monisha – Ayaan’s best friend and colleague, and Tripti – Monisha’s friend form
a trio. The location and setting have an implicit effect on the characters,
their behavior and it reflects in their lifestyle. Japan – where this ‘sunset’
from the title belongs to – has got one of the beautiful expositions to its
account. Besides, there is one more place, which is of crucial importance to
the plotline, has been described with extreme care, keeping it as realistic and
neutral as possible, leaving it on readers to form an opinion.
Contemporary or coming of age
romance could be considered as the central theme of this novel. The early
career life and college life are portrayed simply, being careful not to
exaggerate. The relationships between characters seem natural and quite
relatable. Although the author tried not to overplay these ordinary characters
there are instances with the cinematic touch, in a good way. There is another
theme – mental health care in India – that holds great significance in this
novel. It makes you aware of the current condition of psychiatry in India. The
book also confronts exorcism and brings it into question for its ethicality,
which, in some cases of healing practices doesn’t conform to. They are
potentially dangerous and are not in line with ethical principles – autonomy,
beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. Moreover, the theme goes on to convey
a powerful message that is beneficial in all aspects.
The first half of the book
narrates how the trio gets together as close friends, while the second half is
a thriller that conveys the darker truths of society’s wretched perception
towards mental illnesses and our mental healthcare system.
“Not a single person would tell their boss if they were having a panic attack, or they were feeling depressed, or they were experiencing any sort of anxiety. Because in our society, these symptoms are not considered as diseases; rather they are used slangs to bully."
When I started reading this book,
I didn’t expect so many surprises and shocks. It was a pleasure reading the kind
of romance this book captures. The best part about the book is that it’s not at
all what you would assume it to be. It is really nice to see debut novelist
breaking through numerous cliché romance tropes, which many popular Indian authors fail
to do. Also, I commend the choice of subject the author has made to be
addressed.
While the main characters were
well developed, I felt that there could have been extensive roles to be played
by the families involved, particularly Monisha’s character. Again, the length
of the book felt short as I expect to see more of these characters and this
fascinating story.
Happy Reading!
