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deepan2486 's review for:
The Rape Trial
by Bidisha Ghosal
“Any and every aspect of a woman’s agency is feminism.”
Bidisha Ghosal’s book ‘The Rape Trial’ is an excellent narrative that upholds the injustice and biasness prevalent our society. Though the book primarily is themed on rape—a word which already has a lot of stigma attached to it owing to the current scenario; it transcends to be a story that speaks of the dark sides of the legal system, the corruption present not only in the security forces but also in our own guarded minds, and turns out to be an alarming account of the drama and crooked stage-plays that goes on across the various strata of society.
PLOT:
A decade has passed since Rahul Satyabhagi, son of a massive business tycoon allegedly raped Avni Rambha. Amidst court hearings and accusations which had to be turned down due to insufficient testimonials, Rahul had risen above the judicial system and had successfully negated his guilt. But presently a sting operation brings to light the actual truth-- he had indeed committed the crime years ago. Just like that, a decade-old closed case stashed away in the corner, is brought out to the tables again, and further investigation is initiated. What follows is a political and social battle between the accused and the victim Avni, who had had to flee from the country and settle abroad. The three protagonist friends- Rhea, Amruta and Hitaishi—find themselves involved in the case from multiple directions. Rhea is Avni’s childhood friend but she also is acquainted well with the Satyabhagi family, who had scooped her out of disadvantageous siatuations many a times. In this tug of war between whom to favour and whom to sue, a horrid but accurate picture of criminal cases comes up. The trio devise ways to come out of this impending doom that is hideous and cruel—will they succeed?
The answers lie in the book.
The author’s narrative was gripping and meticulous—capable of holding the readers interest right from the beginning. She weaved the plot keeping in mind the sordidness of criminal cases which at times, made the writing raw. The descriptions and turnout of the events wasn’t sugar-coated or swerved from its harsh reality thereby making the readers flip the pages with bated breath. The conversations between the characters were very well crafted and it got represented just as a dialogue would in real life. The vivid narration was equipped with details which made the visualizations much more intense and set the tone for the incidents that were taking place. The book holds the capacity to trigger various emotions within the readers—sometimes we feel bone-shattering hatred, sometimes we feel unwavering empathy and sometimes just pure pity not only for the victims of the crime, but also victims of the several notorious chain of events these crimes evoke. The characters were developed potentially well, highlighting both of their white and black shades and even hovering enough on the aspects where they were blatantly grey. Justified importance was given to the explorations of each of the character’s own story and that facilitated the understanding of what lied at their core.
One of the most captivating traits that I found in the author’s writing is how cinematic her descriptions are. The beginning and the endings of the chapters, have just the right quantity of cliff-hangers and suspense elements which along with the vibrant visual imageries, set up the scene of the drama so well that it falls nothing short of a good cinema.
In all, the execution of the book is spot-on. It is the kind of book which makes us challenge our own perceptions of what is right and what is wrong, what is cruel and what is kind, and what is justice and what is not. A very thought provoking read, the author’s courage and fierceness against the flawed judiciary leaps out of each page: creating a very appropriate piece of literature for the 21st century.
Title: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Plot: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Characterizations: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Overall impact: ☆☆☆☆1/2 (4.5/5)
Engrossing factor: ☆☆☆☆ (4/5)
Disclaimer: This review is in lieu of a review copy
Originally published on my own blog: https://deepansbookshelf.blogspot.com/2020/05/review-rape-trial-bidisha-ghosal.html
Bidisha Ghosal’s book ‘The Rape Trial’ is an excellent narrative that upholds the injustice and biasness prevalent our society. Though the book primarily is themed on rape—a word which already has a lot of stigma attached to it owing to the current scenario; it transcends to be a story that speaks of the dark sides of the legal system, the corruption present not only in the security forces but also in our own guarded minds, and turns out to be an alarming account of the drama and crooked stage-plays that goes on across the various strata of society.
PLOT:
A decade has passed since Rahul Satyabhagi, son of a massive business tycoon allegedly raped Avni Rambha. Amidst court hearings and accusations which had to be turned down due to insufficient testimonials, Rahul had risen above the judicial system and had successfully negated his guilt. But presently a sting operation brings to light the actual truth-- he had indeed committed the crime years ago. Just like that, a decade-old closed case stashed away in the corner, is brought out to the tables again, and further investigation is initiated. What follows is a political and social battle between the accused and the victim Avni, who had had to flee from the country and settle abroad. The three protagonist friends- Rhea, Amruta and Hitaishi—find themselves involved in the case from multiple directions. Rhea is Avni’s childhood friend but she also is acquainted well with the Satyabhagi family, who had scooped her out of disadvantageous siatuations many a times. In this tug of war between whom to favour and whom to sue, a horrid but accurate picture of criminal cases comes up. The trio devise ways to come out of this impending doom that is hideous and cruel—will they succeed?
The answers lie in the book.
The author’s narrative was gripping and meticulous—capable of holding the readers interest right from the beginning. She weaved the plot keeping in mind the sordidness of criminal cases which at times, made the writing raw. The descriptions and turnout of the events wasn’t sugar-coated or swerved from its harsh reality thereby making the readers flip the pages with bated breath. The conversations between the characters were very well crafted and it got represented just as a dialogue would in real life. The vivid narration was equipped with details which made the visualizations much more intense and set the tone for the incidents that were taking place. The book holds the capacity to trigger various emotions within the readers—sometimes we feel bone-shattering hatred, sometimes we feel unwavering empathy and sometimes just pure pity not only for the victims of the crime, but also victims of the several notorious chain of events these crimes evoke. The characters were developed potentially well, highlighting both of their white and black shades and even hovering enough on the aspects where they were blatantly grey. Justified importance was given to the explorations of each of the character’s own story and that facilitated the understanding of what lied at their core.
One of the most captivating traits that I found in the author’s writing is how cinematic her descriptions are. The beginning and the endings of the chapters, have just the right quantity of cliff-hangers and suspense elements which along with the vibrant visual imageries, set up the scene of the drama so well that it falls nothing short of a good cinema.
In all, the execution of the book is spot-on. It is the kind of book which makes us challenge our own perceptions of what is right and what is wrong, what is cruel and what is kind, and what is justice and what is not. A very thought provoking read, the author’s courage and fierceness against the flawed judiciary leaps out of each page: creating a very appropriate piece of literature for the 21st century.
Title: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Plot: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Characterizations: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Overall impact: ☆☆☆☆1/2 (4.5/5)
Engrossing factor: ☆☆☆☆ (4/5)
Disclaimer: This review is in lieu of a review copy
Originally published on my own blog: https://deepansbookshelf.blogspot.com/2020/05/review-rape-trial-bidisha-ghosal.html