Strange Obsession

by Shobhaa Dé

Within months of her arrival in Bombay, supermodel Amrita Aggarwal is the envy of its people. Then, one day, she attracts the attentions of a mysterious woman called Minx. As the months pass and the demands of her unwelcome suitor grow, Amrita's life turns nightmarish as obsession turns to tragedy.

Genres: Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 1994

About the author

Shobha Rajadhyaksha known as Shobhaa Dé is an Indian columnist and novelist. She graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai with a degree in psychology. After making her name as a model, she began a career in journalism in 1970, during the course of which she founded and edited three magazines – Stardust, Society, and Celebrity.
In the 1980s, she contributed to the Sunday magazine section of the Times of India. In her columns, she used to explore the socialite life in Bombay lifestyles of the celebrities. At present, she is a freelance writer and columnist for several newspapers and magazines.
De is married to Dilip De, her second husband and they have six children from their first marriages. She lives in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai.

Reviews

[Lakwi · Rating 1 out of 5]

it was one of those strange books, the type where you find yourself wondering why you're reading it but at the same time, you find it impossible to put it down.

[mentalexotica · Rating 1 out of 5]

My first and last Shobhaa De. Never, ever, ever again. Ever.

[Nanda Wanninayaka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had never heard of Shobhaa De till Sunday Times exposed her in 1990’s subsequent to a visit by her to Sri Lanka to a book launch of hers. In an interview with her, a Sunday Times columnist had bombarded with a set of questions making her very uncomfortable. In fact, Shobhaa De is nothing but a cheap erotic story writer. But in India she is a respected columnist and a journalist. She was the editor of several fashion magazines and has also worked with few mainstream newspapers in India. She started her life as a successful model then took to journalism. She basically writes about the elite society in Mumbai in her novels. She is famous simply because there is a lot of sex in her books.

After what I read about her in Sunday Times, I wanted to read a book or two by her just out of curiosity. The first book I found was “Strange Obsession.” Name itself was quite curious and I thought I was to explore new horizons with the book.

Apparently the book is about a lesbian relationship. I don’t mind that if the book was written sensibly with a proper plot. There was nothing you can call a plot here. Just a set of incidents with boring elaborate descriptions of the elite society in Mumbai which doesn’t increase your inquisitiveness at all. It was a big pain to read the book further. But for the finish’s sake, I finished reading the book. I didn’t get anything out of the book. It didn’t even enhance my vocabulary much. I don’t know why I read it. I don’t know why you should read it either.

Amrita is a young, elegant and sexy girl from Delhi. She leaves Delhi to find greener pastures in Bombay with the hope of becoming a successful model. She becomes one of the most successful super models in India within few months of her arrival to the glamorous city. There she meets Meenakshi (Minx) who approach her as a dear friend but the latter’s thoughts on Amrita are very queer. Minx traps Amrita into a lesbian relationship with her before Amrita understands what it is. Getting rid of Minx becomes extremely difficult and Amrita finds herself in a diabolical web that Minx weaves masterfully that Amrita cannot find a way out. Amrita loathes the relationship but having no option to get out of it, she surrenders to Minx.

Shobhaa De usually doesn’t go in to the depths of lesbianism in her other books as I heard and even in this book she doesn’t try to elaborate the depths of the relationship. It just happens abruptly.

[Sai Sharanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a creepy & bizarre read ! No more Shobaa Dé for me !

[Mohitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange book. I started liking the plot at first, later on it was a drag. It was like a not so good bollywood movie, full of drama. It happens to be have lesbianism but the author couldn't contain the depth of relationship in words. May be i expected more from this author.

[M]

This is a difficult book to rate. I was hooked at the start.. but I couldn't overlook how amateurish the writing was and how weak the plot was. It felt like something a teen with minimal knowledge about life would cook up.

[Gurjit · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible...couldn't get past the first few chapters without trying really hard without any luck. such a bollywood showcase this book

[Kowshick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Waste of time

[Tomes Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting start , but wrapped up the plot in an obvious incomplete manner in the end.
This is one writer who writes real lousy but can still manage to keep you hooked

[Tanishq | Parsing Through · Rating 1 out of 5]

The entire book should come with a trigger warning. It's a ghastly account of the queer experience in India. The author has subsumed the traditional, misogynistic Bollywood trope of the jilted, abusive lover and his nemesis, the knight in shining armour. Wedged between is a damsel in distress that has no personality outside of being the subject of someone's affection.

[Sneha Jaiswal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Think I was 16 or 17 when I read this - slyly stole it from the family bookshelf, and was immediately punished by the book itself, by the virtue of it being awful. I mean it's been so long and I still remember it was about a cop who stalks and harasses a beautiful young woman. This goes on my 'books I regret reading' list.

[Shirley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. It kind of bordered between grotesque and cheesy. Halfway through one tends to ask what is happening and why?. You would end up disliking all the characters as well as the story.

[Alessia Sofia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard to put down, yet terrible at the same time? It does have some Bollywood intrigue that I like, but oufff, this story is heavy as a rock.

Anyways, read it in a day! Recommended for a summer read, I guess.

[Sayanti Chakravarti · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know from where I got the patience to read it till the end. It is certainly my first and last of Shobhaa De. Could not give anything lesser than 1 star but this book is not even worth that.

[Qurratulain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite possibly one of the worst books I've ever read.

[Varsha Thebo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf was that?! Please save yourselves and NEVER read this book.

[Asahi88 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dò un due con una smorfia di incertezza per un semplice motivo: a metà lettura, credevo che mi stava piacendo veramente o se non mi stava piacendo almeno stavo trovando godibile il libro per un pomeriggio di estrema noia, ma poi ci ho riflettuto meglio e ho capito che quello che mi era veramente piaciuto non era la storia in sé, neanche i personaggi (la protagonista poi...figurati!) ma il fatto di averlo letto in così poco tempo (forse questo bisogna anche dare la colpa un po' alla mia precedente lettura, grazie tante HILL!).

La storia è scorrevole, anche perchè l'autrice in alcuni momenti si scorda cosa sta raccontando e alcuni passaggi vengono totalmente saltati o dati già per certi all'intelligenza del lettore (per fare un esempio: quando Amrita incontra Ramon, il dongiovanni al bar che quando lo incontra gli fa capire che lei non è come tutte le altre che gli cascano ai suoi piedi, ma lei è una che si fa rispettare e la pagina dopo si parla di una ormai relazione tra lei e Ramon e uno dei tanti appuntamenti all'hotel per scopare...ma ma...mi sono persa qualche pagina? L'hanno strappata per caso?!).

Per quanto riguarda i personaggi, all'inizio mi piaceva Minx (e già questo dice tutto, visto che salvo la psicopatica di turno) all'inizio era descritta bene, mi piaceva il suo modo di parlare poi andando avanti cambia atteggiamento, ma vabbé è pazza ha pure senzo (anche la sua descrizione fisica...non ci ho capito una mazza! Ma è bella o brutta Minx? E' grassa, magra...mi pare che del suo corpo si parla soltanto che ha due tette enormi e si opera per questo)

La protagonista (la vera psicopatica della storia, secondo me): prima fa la timida, poi cerca ma non ci riesce a fare la spavalda (per due secondi) e poi ritorna cretina perchè ha capito che non ce la potrà mai fare. Karan che prima me lo descrive come uno stronzo, poi no, poi si... (prima non la caca, poi si, poi di nuovo no) E poi non ho sopportato tutti i personaggi che hanno assistito alla svolgersi della vicenda tra Amrita e Minx e non hanno fatto niente (tra cui Karan) per paura, ma cavolo!

opinione scritta il 24\10\17

[Meneesha Govender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amrita is young, gorgeous and sexy.

She leaves her home in Delhi for the bright lights of Bombay where she hopes to make a career for herself as a model.

Within months of her arrival, things are going well and she is on her way to being one of the most successful supermodels of India.

Then she meets Minx - a mysterious woman with a dark past and even darker hopes for Amrita and her life in Bombay.

Before she knows it, Amrita is caught in a diabolical web weaved by Minx and her hope of escape is almost impossible.

She is trapped in a relationship with Minx that she detests and is ashamed of but to which she nevertheless surrenders.

Strange Obsession is a novel about the sexual obsession of one woman for another. It is a gripping and at times frightening read.

The issue of lesbianism is not something that Dé goes into in any depth. It may also be that the value of Dé using such shocking subject matter in her work, is that these subjects are brought into the public domain and people are forced to acknowledge them at least.

[Akriti Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Strange Obsession" by Shobha De didn't meet my expectations. The characters in the book were flat and lacked depth, which made them seem clichéd and shallow. The protagonist's obsession with power and manipulation is unoriginal and predictable, making it difficult to empathise with her struggles. Additionally, the writing style was overly simplistic and lacked detail, with awkward dialogue and clunky prose that diminished the overall reading experience. The plot relied too much on tired tropes and sensationalised drama, making it predictable. In conclusion, I found "Strange Obsession" to be forgettable and would recommend looking for a more engaging and thought-provoking read.

[Divya Jain · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's about one person's obsession to stay in the life and control the other.

I found it difficult to complete maybe because I was going through a similar phase in my life at that time, the so-called, psuedo 'because I love you' impossing. Mira was more than that. She had the backing of her powerful father and the insanity to go to any length for it, which made her even more cynical.

Overall, I don't know whether to feel traumatized by such a story or awe for the writer's calibre to make me feel the way the protagonist must have felt.

[Shaman Krishna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowww!!! Like Sheldonz !! So gripping. An Indian writing which I felt couldn't put down as if am strolling among the characters. I wished in this novel, I could have had the story said by the antagonist.

[Tash · Rating 5 out of 5]

well.............d buk might drive u crazy till d climax.

[Book'd Hitu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical shoba de book with all type of entertainment ingredients in it.

[Sindhu]

good book for teenagers

[Sushmita Das · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't believe that I was reading such a book yet read it till I kept it down.

[Sabina Biasuzzo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interrotto con fastidio, libro insulso, un film di Bollywood. La vita è troppo breve per perdere tempo con storie da adolescenti

[Manu Bhatnagar · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading this, was thinking the mental status of the author while writing it,still a gripping work of fiction but will be my last book of her.

[Sudha Shree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing is not as bad as I was said. Real obsession indeed! Light read... Yeah gripping too!