Take a photo of a barcode or cover
gopika 's review for:
The Nine-Chambered Heart
by Janice Pariat
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The novel explores the contours of love and loss as precariously walked by a young woman and the people who have loved her, or who she has loved, at some point or the other in her life. In deeply honest recollections by nine different characters in nine different chapters, the protagonist is fleshed out real and raw, yet only in parts, only as a puzzle waiting to be pieced together.
Only cats have names in this novel. The protagonist is without a name, so are the nine narrators, which somehow helps retain an intrigue around the characters all along. The novel’s settings, which are seemingly familiar lands, are also unnamed, but identified metaphorically in many ways. For instance, London is the “city with a river.”
The novel makes for some excellent light-hearted reading. Its premise is rather interesting and speaks to how any perspective is partial, flawed, and subjective, how nobody is ever perceived whole or known in their entirety. The characters, with all their flaws, are relatably human, vulnerable, and hence loveable. The writing is sprinkled with gems of beautiful prose all around. The author displays a remarkable penchant for describing locations and scenes of daily life, which she does in the most charming and wistfullest of manners.
However, even as the author poignantly documents the travails of love and leaving, after a point, the stories seem to take an unappealing monotone, with the characters losing diversity and their relationships taking on similar, predictable trajectories. Although the novel attempts to explore love in all its different forms – romantic love, “deep profound friendship”, mentorship, etc. – it is disconcerting that the protagonist is time and again reduced to an object of lust. The author fails to navigate the male gaze that ends up becoming unrealistically overt in certain passages.
Only cats have names in this novel. The protagonist is without a name, so are the nine narrators, which somehow helps retain an intrigue around the characters all along. The novel’s settings, which are seemingly familiar lands, are also unnamed, but identified metaphorically in many ways. For instance, London is the “city with a river.”
The novel makes for some excellent light-hearted reading. Its premise is rather interesting and speaks to how any perspective is partial, flawed, and subjective, how nobody is ever perceived whole or known in their entirety. The characters, with all their flaws, are relatably human, vulnerable, and hence loveable. The writing is sprinkled with gems of beautiful prose all around. The author displays a remarkable penchant for describing locations and scenes of daily life, which she does in the most charming and wistfullest of manners.
However, even as the author poignantly documents the travails of love and leaving, after a point, the stories seem to take an unappealing monotone, with the characters losing diversity and their relationships taking on similar, predictable trajectories. Although the novel attempts to explore love in all its different forms – romantic love, “deep profound friendship”, mentorship, etc. – it is disconcerting that the protagonist is time and again reduced to an object of lust. The author fails to navigate the male gaze that ends up becoming unrealistically overt in certain passages.