Sarika Mishra, a successful Charted Accountant in Jaipur, decides one day to break free from her abusive marriage and pursue her dream of being a performer, a Bollywood celebrity. She is naturally ridiculed and even shamed for her choice by her in-laws, and her disgruntled husband. Would she muster the courage to step out of the marriage, break the rigid societal norms, and chase her dreams, is what the story of Virago is all about.
The title of the book and its beautiful cover, both, allude to a strong woman-centric storyline. However, the story reeks of a cliched Bollywood drama. It is not unheard, that a married woman with a child aims for a break in Bollywood, fights all the odds extended by a patriarchal society, makes it big on her own, and surpasses her husband in success and popularity. It then becomes onus of the narration to make an ordinary tale into an interesting and riveting read. In this regard, stories with strong female characters are always welcomed. Though there is a visible attempt to portray Sarika as a ferocious and rebellious protagonist, the narration does not do the story a justice.
The story is presented with a simplicity that lacks imagination and allows no room to develop the characters to their intended flavors. And so, though the readers might feel like pitying Sarika at times, appreciating her for her bold choices, or hating her husband, Krishnav, for his chauvinism, they might not find compelling reasons in the narration to do so. The lack of imagination extends to the character descriptions, with simple brown/black hair, fair/whitish complexion etc. used to describe every character, and to the choice of words as well. It seemed like the author could come up with no alternative phases to describe abuse, apart from using the same term ‘physical/emotional bashing’ each time. There are also too many grammatical mistakes to be ignored. Accounting all these reasons, I would rate the book as 3 out of 5 stars.
The redeeming quality of this book to me is the fact that Sarika’s parents are portrayed in a favorable light, as people who understand their daughter’s misery and are willing to offer her all possible support in her endeavors. Sarika’s in-laws as well, though depicted as having a typical regressive mentality, are shown as intrinsically good people who respect their daughter-in-law. The story is also divided into short chapters, each beginning with a muse or a thought in context to the subject of the chapter. The abrupt switch to first person narration in the last chapter was however a bit confusing because the story was otherwise narrated in third person.
I would recommend this book to those who love light, entertaining reads. The book can be read in one sitting, in not more than 3-4 hours.
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Radhika Mishra ia s successful Chartered Accountant. she has everything that one could ask for. Yet, her heart desires for something more. Something else. something that requires unsettling the settled. an urge so strong, it forces her to put everything on stake. An endeavour so bold, that would mould her into a new being. Will she be successful or regretful ? One needs to read to find out.Author Ritiqa Pachauri is an English teacher who loves telling stories to children. Virago is her second novel after ‘The Affair’. She lives in Jaipur with her family.This was quite a short, interesting and engaging read. The cover is also beautiful and seldom you get to read such a strong woman oriented story who didn’t sacrifice her life to the situations, but fought back and gained everything she desired just like a Virago. The story has shown the two different sides of a woman; first when she made sacrifices and manage everything for her family and children, second how she build her identity at her workplace with equal hard work. The different characterizations especially Radhika were perfectly done. The support by her family and friends at her difficult times is the most essential part in anyone's life. Apart from that to be self-motivated is the key to success. The chapters are small while the language is simple and understandable. Emotions were on point especially towards the last part.It propagates that everyone should be allowed to do what they love no matter what. You need to get detached to get a clearer perspective of yourself. Detach yourself from the expectations, desires & the pressures of the society and the strongest of them being fear. Because Fear suppresses you, makes sure you remain where you are.Overall a fantastic read for me. I enjoyed reading each page. Every moment, every situation, every emotion is expressed very beautifully. The narration is commendable and far enjoying. Recommended to those who want to read a powerful women-centric book.
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Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 16 July 2019
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Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on 6 October 2019
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Radhika Mishra ia s successful Chartered Accountant. she has everything that one could ask for. Yet, her heart desires for something more. Something else. something that requires unsettling the settled. an urge so strong, it forces her to put everything on stake. An endeavour so bold, that would mould her into a new being. Will she be successful or regretful ? One needs to read to find out.
Author Ritiqa Pachauri is an English teacher who loves telling stories to children. Virago is her second novel after ‘The Affair’. She lives in Jaipur with her family.
This was quite a short, interesting and engaging read. The cover is also beautiful and seldom you get to read such a strong woman oriented story who didn’t sacrifice her life to the situations, but fought back and gained everything she desired just like a Virago. The story has shown the two different sides of a woman; first when she made sacrifices and manage everything for her family and children, second how she build her identity at her workplace with equal hard work. The different characterizations especially Radhika were perfectly done. The support by her family and friends at her difficult times is the most essential part in anyone's life. Apart from that to be self-motivated is the key to success. The chapters are small while the language is simple and understandable. Emotions were on point especially towards the last part.
It propagates that everyone should be allowed to do what they love no matter what. You need to get detached to get a clearer perspective of yourself. Detach yourself from the expectations, desires & the pressures of the society and the strongest of them being fear. Because Fear suppresses you, makes sure you remain where you are.
Overall a fantastic read for me. I enjoyed reading each page. Every moment, every situation, every emotion is expressed very beautifully. The narration is commendable and far enjoying. Recommended to those who want to read a powerful women-centric book.
Author Ritiqa Pachauri is an English teacher who loves telling stories to children. Virago is her second novel after ‘The Affair’. She lives in Jaipur with her family.
This was quite a short, interesting and engaging read. The cover is also beautiful and seldom you get to read such a strong woman oriented story who didn’t sacrifice her life to the situations, but fought back and gained everything she desired just like a Virago. The story has shown the two different sides of a woman; first when she made sacrifices and manage everything for her family and children, second how she build her identity at her workplace with equal hard work. The different characterizations especially Radhika were perfectly done. The support by her family and friends at her difficult times is the most essential part in anyone's life. Apart from that to be self-motivated is the key to success. The chapters are small while the language is simple and understandable. Emotions were on point especially towards the last part.
It propagates that everyone should be allowed to do what they love no matter what. You need to get detached to get a clearer perspective of yourself. Detach yourself from the expectations, desires & the pressures of the society and the strongest of them being fear. Because Fear suppresses you, makes sure you remain where you are.
Overall a fantastic read for me. I enjoyed reading each page. Every moment, every situation, every emotion is expressed very beautifully. The narration is commendable and far enjoying. Recommended to those who want to read a powerful women-centric book.
Images in this review
