DANCING WITH DEMONS
by Nidhie Sharma
-
A
book review
BOOK TITLE:
Dancing with Demons
AUTHOR: Nidhie Sharma
PUBLISHER: Harlequin India Pvt Ltd
NO.OF.PAGES: 288
COST: 299 INR
Karan Pratap Singh is on the
brink of winning the Amateur Boxing Championship, when in a moment, he loses it
all. His fall from glory seems fuelled by ruthless arrogance and an
out-of-control anger management problem. That, however, is just symptomatic of
a deeper issue. Buried under layers of his fractured subconscious lies a
childhood secret he cannot come to terms with.
Sonia Kapoor is a beautiful
volatile young woman with a secret that torments her at night but a secret that
she feels no guilt for.
When fate throws Karan and Sonia
together in Mumbai, their personal demons and past collide and stir up trouble
in their fragile and uncertain present. But, is redemption possible without
forgiveness?
My views:
About the story and the
characters:
The
story starts with Karan Pratap Singh fighting his finals in the Boxing
Championship. He knows he can win it, yet he loses it. What would be the reason
for the sudden change?
After
that incident, his life spirals downwards. The life is merciless to him in his
entire endeavour. That is when Sonia enters his life. Her past is an enigma. Whether
they were able to come out of their past and live in the present or were they
chased by the past demons unable to find the door of freedom?
The
portrayal of Karan Pratap Singh is that of an innocent yet strong man. Though haunted
by the past, his soul focus is boxing. And he regards his coach Jerry as his
own father figure. When life leaves him alone, though he finds it hard, his
fighting spirit never dies. He is taunted by his own failures and his past
haunts his life even more.
Sonia,
on the other hand remains the mysterious and yet beautiful character in the
book. The readers do not get to know about her in the beginning and that adds a
mystery factor to the book.
Of
the two characters, one is given as an open book. When Karan faces the woes of
his life, the reader tends to empathize with him. You can feel his emotions and regrets. The author
has done a good job in portraying the mighty boxer. Sonia, on the other hand is
painted as a girl running away from something and even she doesn’t know about
it. But, before the end of the story, you get to know her more and the readers
will end up wishing only the good for them.
The
boxing scenes are penned by the author in such a manner that even a person with
no prior knowledge in boxing, will be able to assimilate well. I, for one,
thoroughly enjoyed the fighting scenes.
About the writing:
The
writing in general had been kept simple by the author. It was easy to read,
except for in some places, where I had to read twice to grasp what the author
actually meant.
About the ending:
It
was predictable and cinematic.
The
author had mentioned about her intentions of directing a movie with the same
story. But that doesn’t mean she should make the book filmy. And when reading
the ending, I was remembered of a movie that dealt with boxing. It was similar.
Because, most movies take the same route and one will not be expecting a book
to end in that fashion. And there ended my liking of the book.
Final Verdict:
It
had been a great and commendable effort by the author, but not impeccable.
There
are places where the author should consider modifying and she should do it
certainly, if it is going to be a movie. The movie goers have different
expectations nowadays and if you are going to serve the same dish, it will not
be palatable.
My Rating:
6.5/10
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