Anya's Lyric -Review

AUTHOR: Nikhil Kumar
FIRST PUBLISHED: 2016
ISBN: 9781530307210
GENRE: Fiction
PUBLISHER: Create space Independent Publishing Platform

EXCERPT: (Credits: Goodreads)

A story of one girl's courage in the face of our society's worst offences. Anya's Lyric is the critically acclaimed new book by Nikhil Kumar, that tracks the journey of a young girl's self-discovery and the roads that lead her from a turbulent childhood to peace. We see the world through Anya's eyes - a girl who suffers from a learning disability - and discover places, incidents, and people through her. A girl born on an unlikely day to an unlikely couple, Anya stumbles through her chaotic life that gets undone at every step because of her inability to communicate what she wants to say. Follow her journey of courage, self-discovery, and empowerment as she gradually finds the hidden path to peace.

REVIEW: 

Sometimes when you read something, it stays with you for a while longer. Both to ruminate it and then process it. The longer you sink into it the more mystic it turns out to be. To me this book came across as that; mystical yet linked  together in a very mysterious manner leaving a profound impact on the reader.

There are very few books that compel you to think, to delve deeper. This novel begins that right at the start and takes you through a series of events linked together hooking you till the end. At times it may seem a bit confusing but that's the beauty of it, reading between the lines. 

The novel sticks to the main character Anya, exploring life through her eyes, through her memories. What I liked the most was, even though there were multiple characters none of them crowded the space, the book at the crux was Anya's story and it remained that till the very end. The non-usage of other character names but depicting them by their features, profession et al. was ingenious. 

As the tale unfolds you try to find a pattern, and it is there but just not that obvious. It's not just multi-layered but one story is connected to the other. eventually tying the lose knots at the ends. 

We come to know how Anya came to be, what is it that makes her special? Her journey of being a simple naive child in a ruthless world, who is so very different from others. Is being different bad? was the one question that kept on haunting me all throughout this novel. Perhaps, it is because the world chooses to ignore you, to mock you, to not understand you. But it is after all, the 'power of one' your own self to evolve or to suffer. Even though Anya was different, she was courageous in her own ways. 

The writing style is lyrical, the imagery and setting brilliantly graphic making you feel like you're in the moment. The language is crisp and the words artful. The novel has the power to transfer you to an alternate universe where Anya lives and you're just a spectator. Reminded me of the pensive experience from Harry Potter. Although the novel is short and can be finished in one setting, it took me time because of my over hectic schedule. And even though I read it three slots it didn't feel like I needed to begin from the start, I could connect to it even then, that's the beauty.

Read it to cherish it. Simple, poignant and deeply touching. Do give it a try.

RATING: 4/5
PRICE: Rs. 564| $ 7.54
BINDING: Paperback
PAGES: 182

P.S: You can also check out the review here,
Goodreads
Amazon India

I got this book from The Readers Cosmos as part of their Book Review Program.