A review by nanditha
Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory by Aanchal Malhotra

3.0

Loved the unique concept of the book and the intriguing human narratives which taught me so much about the horrors of Partition as well as the resilience of the people who survived. However, Aanchal Malhotra's writing style didn't work for me (reading the book started feeling like a chore after sometime). I wish she hadn't interrupted the interviews with her own thoughts/feelings/musings and that she had covered a wider group of people which was inclusive (I was beginning to get tired of reading only about people who grew up in havelis/palaces).

It also felt like the author had written some passages in each chapter to evoke certain emotions from the reader which came across as forced and artificial to me. Despite being an emotional person, none of those passages made me even remotely tear up.