As Reviewed on Musings of an Unknown Indian.
Do acquaint
yourself with the young mint fresh author: Abiral.
I was curious
about the unusual sounding name and was told that it meant
"continuous" - as in "aviral dhara". And that it should
have been A"v"iral (instead of A"b"iral) - but the regional
influence made its presence felt. Being from the east myself, I immediately
understood that bit, since we say: "abiral dhara" - for something
that flows continuously, perpetually or perennially.
Now for my
verdict: This is not a run-of-the-mill story and stands out among the deluge of
dreck camouflaged as bestsellers - in our bookstores these
days … and is light on the wallet too. Debutant author Abiral Kumar has
impressed with his maiden offering and will certainly be someone to watch out
for in the future.
Set deep in
the forests of Brahmaputra, this is a story of fate, of fortune, of sacrifice,
of friendship, of duty, of rage and resistance, of transformation, of courage
and steadfastness; and of relationship in all its myriad shades.
It is an
unusual - a hatke - tale woven with abuse, lies, compassion,
tenderness, history, trickery, deception and mayhem … but is ultimately a tale
of hope and survival.
A story of
men and women - transcending great odds. A story of a boy and a girl -
overcoming great barriers - of time, of space and geography, in some of the
most interesting, enchanting … yet treacherous terrains on earth - where peace
jostles with turmoil and violence fights hope and redemption.
It is full of
everything; greed, love, innocence, mystery, apathy, horror, grief, et al … are
in abundance on the grounds surrounding the mighty and holy Brahmaputra, and so
are magic, honour, destiny and romance. And the story plays out, tying in a
romantic love story in a most unique way.
But can the
past save the future?
The Book
Blurb: What if the religious
vision of evolution of humans was not entirely true? What if the holy books,
prophets and the historians neglected one small detail that is bound to prove
costly?
A fragment of
the most ancient civilization, surviving till date, is brutally slaughtered in
the forests of Brahmaputra. Everyone is dead except for a sixteen-year-old girl
who has to drink her own blood to survive. The clues left behind by her father
lead her to the mountains where she was born – only to discover that her quest
has just begun.
An ancient
prophecy foretold of a girl, named Pari, who is destined to bring forth a
goddess. Destined to lead the most ancient civilization lost in oblivion
towards a new dawn.
Destined to
be sacrificed…
All goes as
foretold, until she meets Abiel, a small insignificant boy, a negligible dent
in her destiny..that is bound to change everything!
The future of
the human civilization depends vastly on its past..and the war is on the verge
of happening…
The plot: The prodigal son returns …
but is it for good? Why does he want the pearlthen?
Two feuding
brothers - handsome but no longer young: each with a mission of his own. What is
it and who wins?
Two children
– innocent and pristine – meet and then part. Will their paths cross again?
A young girl
- not yet out of her teens. But why is she looking for the pearl too?
An idealistic
young man, son of a powerful minister, answers the call of the mountains and
becomes a wanderer, shunning his destiny as his father's heir. Why is he
searching for a fairy?
What makes
him, a non-violent man, handsome and in the bloom of his youth, risk his all?
And will he
find his fairy?
Well, don't
expect me to play the spoiler. I will not reveal any more than I have already
done. So if you want to know more, get hold of the book and read all you can.
Each
character is a mere pawn in this bizarre game of life and death, of power and
pelf, of past and future … and each with a story to tell. Or hide.
My two pence: Abiral has a way with
words and is quite the storyteller. Frankly I am marveling at his caliber and
also doffing my hat - at his amazing imagination. To conceive of such a fantastic
plot and then weaving it in words - verse and prose - is no mean feat, even for
a seasoned author. What to say of someone who was merely 15-years young!
The book
jacket cover is also quite well done. And though the book blurb does give away
some clues about the story resting within its pages, it still manages to
withhold most of it.
The few typos
could and should have been easily pruned out.
However, some
sharp editing - to tighten up the plot - would have been welcome. The
encounters, the conversations (especially between Pari and Abiel), the
character developments - all could have been a bit more compact - in order to
maintain the pace and subtlety, while guarding against some events and
characters getting too predictable or over done.
The conversation
bits should have come out separately, instead of being lumped together in
paragraphs. Also some rearranging of the chapters/narrative would make for a
smoother flow of the plot/storyline.
And I wish
some more thought had been given to the choice of the titles - of each chapter.
Frankly, there is great scope for innovativeness here - something Abiral is
quite capable of doing justice to. The existing titles sort of rob off the
charm and suspense of the following pages, somewhat diluting the interest, and
given the nature of the book - that is simply not done.
All those
sub-titles in caps … need to go. Time to put on the proverbial thinking cap.
This brings
me to the book blurb. Umm, time to reach for the metaphorical screwdriver here
as well, and a few turns of it and I firmly believe it will reveal only what it
should and whet the readers appetite.
Abiral has
chosen to take the road less traveled vis-à-vis the spate of new authors who
have presented themselves for us to sink our teeth into. The story at the heart
of this novel is most fascinating. And given the kind of events woven into the
narrative: taut drama, twists, suspense, conflicts, mystery, romance, surprise
elements, a few heart tugging moments, the works … the pruning off of the
deadwood - would only ensure that it continues to retain its charm till the
last page has been turned, instead of having its pace and flavour interfered
with.
But all said
and done, this is the work of a 15-year-old schoolboy. A very promising budding
author at that … whose perspective, writing style and imagination will bowl you
over.
The story
resting within the pages of this book is fresh and there isn't any sense of
déjà vu, meaning one does not get the feeling of plodding through rehashed
stuff. You know, old wine in new bottle and all that.
My rating: I'm going with a 3.5/5 -
for Abiral's maiden offering: amazing concept backed by a limpid writing style.
He is one author whose literary progress I'll watch with interest. I now look
forward to reading the rest of the trilogy, and am quite sure that their narrative
will sweep me up in its fold and keep me there.
In Ruskin's
writings we come across "Pari Tibba" quite often. Hopefully someday
we'll get acquainted with "Ganji Pahadi" - through Abiral's prolific
pen - when the pen is not busy writing some or the other eggjam paper that is!
Details of
the book: The Lost Pearl of Paradise:
In Search of a Fairy/ Author: Abiral/ Publisher: Frog Books [An imprint of
Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd]/ Publishing Date: 2012/ ISBN-10: 9381576687/
ISBN-13: 9789381576687, 978-93-81576-68-7 / Pages: 273/ Price: Rs.195, US $8
[Rs. 184 on Flipkart].
Photograph: The book jacket cover of The Lost
Pearl of Paradise: In Search of a Fairy. Picture courtesy: link.
