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A review by theeditorreads
The Diary on the Fifth Floor by Raisha Lalwani
5.0
Emotions Gone Practical
Do we like who we have become?
A story of a diary, or a diary full of stories …
Synopsis:
Sairah Khanna, a twenty-five-year-old woman, is on the fifth floor of the Holy Grace Hospital: the Psych Ward. The appointment at that particular time is for one Savannah Khanna. Sairah says she is there for her sister, Savvy, who she thinks needs, specifically, Dr. Rama Berry's help. Only Dr. Berry can get through to her. But, she is lying about something. Carrying a blue cloth bound diary, which seems to be her lifeline, what is it that she is hiding – something in the diary, or something to do with herself?
Review:
The book starts with a prologue, questioning the reality of life (which totally fed my cynical mind, and reading the entire book from then on was an exercise in nodding my head).
Written in the first form of narration, from the point-of-view of the only protagonist Ms. Khanna, this book is divided into thirty-one chapters, some of which are written in the epistolary form of diary entries. The only other substantial character in the book is the psychiatrist Dr. Berry. She is as good as they come; warm, poised, and at once putting her visitors at ease. The author has successfully shown the characters for what they are.
The strong, and confident, yet kind, doctor.
The hesitant, confused, nervous, patient.
He looked at me in a way we look at the hand towel in a public washroom.
(When the protagonist mentions at the reception that she is in the hospital to visit the psychiatrist. Talk about the taboo that mental health still is in our country!)
Set in Delhi, with no real location whatsoever, the book is a transition from the season of autumn (and it released in Autumn, what a coincidence!) to winter; as much as there is a transition in the life of Ms. Khanna. Now, is it positive or negative, it is for you to find out…
Someone you love has passed away no more than fifteen minutes ago and the first thing that comes to your mind is a Facebook update?
(Some pathetic excuse for a human, I tell you!)
Ms. Khanna finds in Dr. Berry an outlet. An outlet to release her pent-up emotions. Feelings about how the world works, humanity behaves, etc.; which are contained in her personal diary, collated from her or her next-of-kin's or her friends' day-to-day personal life experiences, or something which she has seen, anytime, anywhere, which has left a deep impact on her. Each subsequent chapter barring the consultations with the good doctor, is a diary entry, of a particular day, often with captivating titles.
I maintain a personal diary; I think many of us do. In this isolated world, where there is hardly anyone who can lend you a patient ear, it has become somewhat of a necessity. And so, I can sympathise with Ms. Khanna when she thinks, the prospect of listening to the psychiatrist analyse her own thoughts back to her was more than a little unnerving.
The blurb is what attracted me to this book, intrigued me. It is a sign of things you can expect from this book, and if you look at the world through rose-tinted glasses, then be warned, you would not be able to digest it. Revealing some essential truths about how humanity nowadays behaves through her protagonist, the author writes some hard-hitting lines about the reality that is prevalent at present. Hence, the genre = realistic fiction. From deceiving people in the name of healing to the inherent meanness that is increasingly becoming a character trait of many people, to the blind faith that even some of the educated and learned masses refuse to deviate from; the author has put it all out there. The ending is quite shocking but, in a way, it sums up the story nicely. Highly Recommended! A must-read book from a debut author.
I was a bit confused at first about the genre, even thinking about it as psychological suspense. What I found was stark reality staring me in the face! Reading Albert Camus' The Outsider (also known as The Stranger) didn't help; as next, I started thinking of this book as an absurdist fiction. After all, there is but a fine line between realism and absurdism. I thought of the book in that sense because of the protagonist's extreme thought processes, maybe; or maybe it was something else, entirely. It is mentioned in the fourth page (iv) itself that 'This is a work of fiction'; but, is it really? Have you ever felt that sometimes it is tough to separate the writer from the book?
Dr. Berry suggest that I make it fictional.
This is a quite unusual book, unusual in a good way but, after closing it, coming back to the cover illustration (and the design, both of which are beautiful, by the way), it made me think, what if the entire story happened only in the protagonists' head?
Aptly titled, it leaves you with many questions, the answers to which you may/may not find in your own personal diary!
P.S. I received a copy of this book as a part of a review program by V Influencers.
(https://www.instagram.com/vinfluencers/)
The above review is honest and unbiased.
Originally posted on:
https://sassyshaina.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/the-diary-on-the-fifth-floor-by-raisha-lalwani/
Do we like who we have become?
A story of a diary, or a diary full of stories …
Synopsis:
Sairah Khanna, a twenty-five-year-old woman, is on the fifth floor of the Holy Grace Hospital: the Psych Ward. The appointment at that particular time is for one Savannah Khanna. Sairah says she is there for her sister, Savvy, who she thinks needs, specifically, Dr. Rama Berry's help. Only Dr. Berry can get through to her. But, she is lying about something. Carrying a blue cloth bound diary, which seems to be her lifeline, what is it that she is hiding – something in the diary, or something to do with herself?
Review:
The book starts with a prologue, questioning the reality of life (which totally fed my cynical mind, and reading the entire book from then on was an exercise in nodding my head).
The choices we make define the kind of people we then become. The main question here is: Do we like who we have become?
Written in the first form of narration, from the point-of-view of the only protagonist Ms. Khanna, this book is divided into thirty-one chapters, some of which are written in the epistolary form of diary entries. The only other substantial character in the book is the psychiatrist Dr. Berry. She is as good as they come; warm, poised, and at once putting her visitors at ease. The author has successfully shown the characters for what they are.
The strong, and confident, yet kind, doctor.
The hesitant, confused, nervous, patient.
He looked at me in a way we look at the hand towel in a public washroom.
(When the protagonist mentions at the reception that she is in the hospital to visit the psychiatrist. Talk about the taboo that mental health still is in our country!)
Set in Delhi, with no real location whatsoever, the book is a transition from the season of autumn (and it released in Autumn, what a coincidence!) to winter; as much as there is a transition in the life of Ms. Khanna. Now, is it positive or negative, it is for you to find out…
Someone you love has passed away no more than fifteen minutes ago and the first thing that comes to your mind is a Facebook update?
(Some pathetic excuse for a human, I tell you!)
Ms. Khanna finds in Dr. Berry an outlet. An outlet to release her pent-up emotions. Feelings about how the world works, humanity behaves, etc.; which are contained in her personal diary, collated from her or her next-of-kin's or her friends' day-to-day personal life experiences, or something which she has seen, anytime, anywhere, which has left a deep impact on her. Each subsequent chapter barring the consultations with the good doctor, is a diary entry, of a particular day, often with captivating titles.
People prefer talking about each other rather than talking to each other.
I maintain a personal diary; I think many of us do. In this isolated world, where there is hardly anyone who can lend you a patient ear, it has become somewhat of a necessity. And so, I can sympathise with Ms. Khanna when she thinks, the prospect of listening to the psychiatrist analyse her own thoughts back to her was more than a little unnerving.
The blurb is what attracted me to this book, intrigued me. It is a sign of things you can expect from this book, and if you look at the world through rose-tinted glasses, then be warned, you would not be able to digest it. Revealing some essential truths about how humanity nowadays behaves through her protagonist, the author writes some hard-hitting lines about the reality that is prevalent at present. Hence, the genre = realistic fiction. From deceiving people in the name of healing to the inherent meanness that is increasingly becoming a character trait of many people, to the blind faith that even some of the educated and learned masses refuse to deviate from; the author has put it all out there. The ending is quite shocking but, in a way, it sums up the story nicely. Highly Recommended! A must-read book from a debut author.
I walked in the dark, with a heart full of love.
I was carrying my soul, when Dior was enough!
I was a bit confused at first about the genre, even thinking about it as psychological suspense. What I found was stark reality staring me in the face! Reading Albert Camus' The Outsider (also known as The Stranger) didn't help; as next, I started thinking of this book as an absurdist fiction. After all, there is but a fine line between realism and absurdism. I thought of the book in that sense because of the protagonist's extreme thought processes, maybe; or maybe it was something else, entirely. It is mentioned in the fourth page (iv) itself that 'This is a work of fiction'; but, is it really? Have you ever felt that sometimes it is tough to separate the writer from the book?
Dr. Berry suggest that I make it fictional.
This is a quite unusual book, unusual in a good way but, after closing it, coming back to the cover illustration (and the design, both of which are beautiful, by the way), it made me think, what if the entire story happened only in the protagonists' head?
Everyone needs someone to lean on, and not being able to trust anyone long enough to take a bit of weight off your shoulders is a harsh way to grow up.
Aptly titled, it leaves you with many questions, the answers to which you may/may not find in your own personal diary!
P.S. I received a copy of this book as a part of a review program by V Influencers.
(https://www.instagram.com/vinfluencers/)
The above review is honest and unbiased.
Originally posted on:
https://sassyshaina.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/the-diary-on-the-fifth-floor-by-raisha-lalwani/