Friday, December 13, 2019

THE GIRL WITH BLUE EYES BY VAIIBHAV NIGAM: A Review



The title of this novel would surely remind of you Tony Morrison's classic, the Bluest Eye. The themes discussed in the novel are entirely within the Indian context. The book does not have any connection with Tony Morrison's book. However, the author has created a purpose for those words to appear in the title of the book. The title closely reflects the luring mystery in the plot.

The Girl with Blue Eyes is the story of Armaan. He falls in love with a girl named Tanisha. He lives with a commonsensical logic that love happens only once. The idea is soon to change. Armaan realizes that he has another side to him. This happened when he encounters the girl with blue eyes. This encounter is not just an ordinary one. Armaan falls victim to an accident. The image of the girl with blue eyes flashes in front of his eyes. The mysterious girl with blue eyes becomes Armaan's single obsession. Months later, he meets the same girl in real life. He realizes that his life and heart are not just entangled in the love for Tanisha. In fact, Tanisha has moved into another region of his heart.

Armaan finds himself drawn more towards the girl with blue eyes. In a dual relationship, Armaan's life becomes a real mess. This story is evocative of how human relationships are shaped by destiny. Each page spills crackers of suspense upon the reader's mind. The plot of the novel is suspenseful and it certainly steals the show.

Being a self-published book The Girl with Blue Eyes certainly deserves more attention. Self-publishing is one of the most genuine efforts taken in literary arts by authors themselves. It is also true that by self-publishing the author himself becomes the authority over the book. The author and the reader communicate without an intermediary channelling the contents of the book and the product of the book itself to the readers' realm.

The typesetting of the book seems to be a typical self-publishing style. When the authors use amateur technicians to typeset the book it often results in unwanted gaps between paragraphs and lines. In such cases, the gap between the paragraphs would be conspicuous. The cover of the book is decent and the font size enables readers to read it in a busy train or bus. The space between lines is also convenient. Priced in Rs225, the book is also available for a discount price on various online retail sites.

Vaiibhav Nigam is an author and speaker. The Girl with Blue Eyes offers a glimpse into the fact that we could expect more from this author.