It's been ages since I had read an emotionally compelling dark novel. My diminishing reading habit only allowed me an occasional Robert Galbraith or a Robert Ludlum. So, when I started reading 'Demons in My Mind' it took me a bit of time to sink my teeth into the allegorical tone.
The book starts almost like a fable. Like a lull before the storm, we are introduced to a moribund man named Dakshesh who has given up on life and whose only hope for cure are three mythical monks considered to be panacea by his fellow villagers. When he wakes up he meets Rizwan, a professional killer, Murli, a disgraced artist and Joseph, a tortured soul mystified in his own misery.
Each one of them tells his backstories and the tone shifts from magical realism to more of a suspense thriller. Rizwan blames the world for robbing his innocence and turning him into a monster. Murli feels betrayed that he spent all his artistic life glorifying women only to be repudiated by one. And then there is Joseph, his story of loss and another character named 'Alia', who acts like a metaphor of the monks' collective conscience and how all the individual stories are intertwined. Few events are gruesome in details but they serve the purpose of shaking the reader out of his comfort zone. The book drives home the point 'The problems that often cloud our minds - are the real or creation of our own mind?'.
Not that it does not have its flaws. It takes a pretty strong stomach to go through few of the torture scenes. Few of the side characters are not fleshed out to last a strong imprint.
All in all I felt emotionally drenched when I finished the final page. It might have been a nerve-wrecking ride but the final message makes the journey worth its disquiet.
PS: Author is a friend. Still I have tried to keep it unbiased.
The book starts almost like a fable. Like a lull before the storm, we are introduced to a moribund man named Dakshesh who has given up on life and whose only hope for cure are three mythical monks considered to be panacea by his fellow villagers. When he wakes up he meets Rizwan, a professional killer, Murli, a disgraced artist and Joseph, a tortured soul mystified in his own misery.
Each one of them tells his backstories and the tone shifts from magical realism to more of a suspense thriller. Rizwan blames the world for robbing his innocence and turning him into a monster. Murli feels betrayed that he spent all his artistic life glorifying women only to be repudiated by one. And then there is Joseph, his story of loss and another character named 'Alia', who acts like a metaphor of the monks' collective conscience and how all the individual stories are intertwined. Few events are gruesome in details but they serve the purpose of shaking the reader out of his comfort zone. The book drives home the point 'The problems that often cloud our minds - are the real or creation of our own mind?'.
Not that it does not have its flaws. It takes a pretty strong stomach to go through few of the torture scenes. Few of the side characters are not fleshed out to last a strong imprint.
All in all I felt emotionally drenched when I finished the final page. It might have been a nerve-wrecking ride but the final message makes the journey worth its disquiet.
PS: Author is a friend. Still I have tried to keep it unbiased.
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