-Like Splitting Your Soul From Your Body-
Review of 'Without Me Knowing'
Quote Alert
"𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬, 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐲𝐚𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭? 𝐇𝐞'𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞. 𝐇𝐞'𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧."
Grief is a thing with thorns and wings. Wings so it can fly all the time in your subconscious and thorns so it could gouge the pieces of your heart and soul slowly, one chunk at a time. Not many people realize this, but breaking up with someone and ending a relationship feels like being in mourning. It feels like death. Those who love truly grieve deeply. And it is rightfully said that grief is the price we pay for love. These bones and thorns of grief are prominently visible in Vrinda Garg's story. But it's not just about grief. It's also about second chances, hope and resilience. About dusting off and getting up, and going out and about to find love once more when it has already bitten and taken a chunk of your heart out the first time.
The book starts at a separation. Ayaan wants a time out in his relationship with Anaya. This is particularly an intense scene, with emotions running high on both the sides. Author deserves accolades because she hasn't judged any character or being impartial to anyone. The POV of both the characters is brought out clearly.
Garg has used this moment to etch out the traits of both the characters, presenting their differing thought process.
About Ayaan she writes: 'His emotions ran deep, hidden behind walls of silence. He felt misunderstood, even around Anaya. Sometimes, he felt that even she didn't truly understand him, that her idea of him was different from the man he really was. He was with her, yet he felt a quiet loneliness.
As the story progresses, the author builds up emotion and drama, and throws the characters into the mix. The reader can't help build a bridge of empathy with the lives of these people. An emotional cord is immediately hooked and it continues until the last page is turned over. Will Anaya find the love of her life? Well, read the book to find out more. I am not going to tell you everything here.
Strong characters make for strong stories. If the characters are flaky or one dimensional, the joy of reading a book, even if the story is interesting, is rendered half. The characters of this story are unpredictable, impulsive, multi dimensional and drive the story forward. It's a delight to see a character-driven story because their actions are as interesting as the plot and the twists. This also makes up for layering of the characters, adding a touch of humanity to papery words and that's just delightful.
About Ayaan she writes: "He didn't share his deepest feelings often, but when he did, it was always the right time. And though he didn't know it yet, he would eventually learn that letting others in didn't mean losing himself but just letting yourself feel more human."
About Anaya:
"Her heart raced, a quiet panic rising within. How could love feel like this-something both certain and fragile, held at a distance she couldn't reach? Her mind drifted to all the times she'd believed she wasn'tenough for someone, that her love was never worth staying for."
The author has written some poignant lines about love. They feel organic and merge with the narrative z without hindering the flow of the story.
Have a look: "The thing about love is that all odds become even when you are in love. There are some people you just click with. You are talking about life and death, they ease you out of your insecurities, and you don't realise it until you're in the middle of telling them about your first heartbreak."
The author has treated love in quite a mature way. And some of these lines appear to be coming from a seasoned guru, having experienced the humankind for years. The lines ring with truth and carry a weight of emotions as well as credibility. Read here:
"Because the truth was, beneath all the heartbreak, beneath the unanswered texts and emotional distance, beneath the ache of feeling unseen-there was still love. Unshakeable, maddening, tender love. The kind that doesn't disappear just because it's hard. The kind that clings to the edges of your heart, even when your mind tries to walk away."
Pick this celebration of love and resilience this festive season.