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A review by monasterymonochrome
A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee
5.0
4.5 stars.
I was lucky enough to receive this through a Goodreads Giveaway. As a first novel, it certainly has its flaws, but, as a whole, it has enough heart, passion, and beauty to overcome them and make this an unexpectedly affecting reading experience.
First of all, the back-cover blurb (which is also used as the summary here) does a very poor job of selling the book, in my opinion. If it peaks your interest in the slightest, I would give the book a shot because it's honestly about a hundred times better than the incredibly vague blurb would imply. A lot of the plot points were really unexpected, and the book ended up being something wholly different than I was initially anticipating.
Its interest lies mainly in the character of Ritwik and his development over the course of the novel. Despite his enigmatic, reserved qualities, he quickly becomes a relatable and likable character. In some ways, he reminded me of a character like Jude from [b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1446469353s/22822858.jpg|42375710]; their experiences aren't necessarily comparable, but they're both the kind of character you root for and want so badly to have a happy ending even though you know deep down there isn't one coming. In that sense, it's a really difficult, upsetting book to read but also an important and emotionally-compelling one.
There were only two things that majorly stood out to me as problems. First, I felt like the initial desperation behind Ritwik's choice to remain in London illegally could have been made clearer. As it was, I didn't fully understand why he chose this option since it didn't read as though he had thoroughly explored more legal means of staying in the country and realized them impossible. If more time had been spent on fleshing out his reasoning, I think this element could have made more sense. Second, the ending did seem quite rushed, particularly the sequence of events leading to the flash decision that culminated in Ritwik's ultimate fate. It all happened within just a few pages, which made it feel less realistic and more like the book just needed to end that way.
Still, these were small issues in the grand scheme of things and hindered my enjoyment and appreciation of the book very little. I enthusiastically recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind having their heart ripped out of their chest by a fictional character's experiences every now and then.
I was lucky enough to receive this through a Goodreads Giveaway. As a first novel, it certainly has its flaws, but, as a whole, it has enough heart, passion, and beauty to overcome them and make this an unexpectedly affecting reading experience.
First of all, the back-cover blurb (which is also used as the summary here) does a very poor job of selling the book, in my opinion. If it peaks your interest in the slightest, I would give the book a shot because it's honestly about a hundred times better than the incredibly vague blurb would imply. A lot of the plot points were really unexpected, and the book ended up being something wholly different than I was initially anticipating.
Its interest lies mainly in the character of Ritwik and his development over the course of the novel. Despite his enigmatic, reserved qualities, he quickly becomes a relatable and likable character. In some ways, he reminded me of a character like Jude from [b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1446469353s/22822858.jpg|42375710]; their experiences aren't necessarily comparable, but they're both the kind of character you root for and want so badly to have a happy ending even though you know deep down there isn't one coming. In that sense, it's a really difficult, upsetting book to read but also an important and emotionally-compelling one.
There were only two things that majorly stood out to me as problems. First, I felt like the initial desperation behind Ritwik's choice to remain in London illegally could have been made clearer. As it was, I didn't fully understand why he chose this option since it didn't read as though he had thoroughly explored more legal means of staying in the country and realized them impossible. If more time had been spent on fleshing out his reasoning, I think this element could have made more sense. Second, the ending did seem quite rushed, particularly the sequence of events leading to the flash decision that culminated in Ritwik's ultimate fate. It all happened within just a few pages, which made it feel less realistic and more like the book just needed to end that way.
Still, these were small issues in the grand scheme of things and hindered my enjoyment and appreciation of the book very little. I enthusiastically recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind having their heart ripped out of their chest by a fictional character's experiences every now and then.