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Without A Goodbye
"27th October was like a normal weekend. Danica was in Patna with her uncle’s family. Before going for her competitive exam, she had called up her mother (Aarti) who lived in Fatehpur in a joint family. They had a regular conversation and ended the call. Aarti said that she would call Danica after her exam, in the evening.In the evening Danica called her mom, but both her mobiles were switched off.She called her aunt and was informed that Aarti had been missing since afternoon.What happened to her? How can the thread that unites a family completely break with this sudden incident?Does ending one’s life really end the problems?Is giving up, the only solution to the problem?A daughter and a mother. This is story of a life. You choose to live or to die."
198 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Swati Kumari
10 books16 followersSwati Kumari has lived in different cities across the country, and at present lives in Bengaluru. She completed her MBA from the National School of Business, Bengaluru and International Management from Écolesupérieure de Commerce de Pau, France. She believes in dreaming and creating her own destiny. Swati is also a holistic healer and loves counselling and helping people in solving their problems. She has previously published Without a Goodbye and Amayra-the essence of life, which have been welcomed by the International Association for Suicide Prevention.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 3, 2015
its a heart rendering tale of a child dreams ,aspirations and the sacrifices of mother for their children , the book also targets the mindset of the society where generally the female role is not seen as more than a subordinate in her family and almost in every walk of life ,it reflects the broader social ills which has plagued the countryside for a long time and compel,s one to think and bring some change,really a thought instigating and a quality reading specially in memoir style of novel writing.
November 4, 2015
wow ,i am fascinated with the book ,the author spells some magic through his words that you fell compelled to read it one go.
January 25, 2016
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Quite a few articles in the newspaper these days focuses on crimes against women, and it has been more in focus since the last few years, I think. Yet, on the other hand, there remains some silence too. I don’t know what it was that prompted me to take this book for reading; maybe it was the blurb that said “A daughter and a mother. This is the story of a life. You choose to live or die.”
No one likes to part company without a goodbye. It feels painful. It’s even more painful when the two in question are mother and daughter. Danica, who is in Patna for an exam, calls up her mother Aarti before the exam. Nothing seems to be out of place then, but when she calls in the evening after the exam, both of her mother’s mobiles were switched off. Enquiring with her aunt, she comes to know her mother is missing. She wants to know what happened, but her questions seem to have no answers. Later, when her roommate questions her about that day, she shares the diary of her mother which talks of Aarti and her life, before and after Danica was born. This is the story.
When we see so many love stories being published each month in the Indian Writing in English category, this novel comes as a breath of fresh air. It is a love story, but not a romantic one. Though it is about the relationship between mother and daughter, the story focuses more on the life of the mother Aarti, how she was treated by her husband, the sacrifices she made, what she went through and what led to the day it all changed. The diary entries are nicely done, though a bit more detailed than I’ve seen them to be (it varies with people, I suppose). I loved the emotions, and how mother and daughter interacted, as well as to see the women take a more prominent role in the life of the family. That men first mentality is also well explored in the novel.
As I said earlier, though Danica and Aarti are prominent characters, I feel the focus is on Aarti, and so her character stands out more. Strong, loving and determined, hers is a character I admire. Danica’s character too is nice, and in some ways, reflects what she has imbibed from Aarti’s character. And the character of the husband/father is so relatable to the Indian society we read of, that he can easily be pictured as the villain of the piece.
The novel flows smoothly through the entries of the diary, and is narrated well in first person. It is engaging, and a quick read. The simple language works for the character, but at times, one cannot differentiate between the characters through their dialogues/language. It could have also had another round of proofreading, just to smooth out a few places. I liked the ending, though given the relationship between mother and daughter, it jarred. Though there is a glossary at the end, it felt like there were too many family terms in Hindi. And not a big fan of the cover art either.
It’s definitely a very readable and thoughtful book, and has more positives than negatives. Best wishes to the author for her next venture too.
Vinay Leo R. | A Bookworm's Musing
Quite a few articles in the newspaper these days focuses on crimes against women, and it has been more in focus since the last few years, I think. Yet, on the other hand, there remains some silence too. I don’t know what it was that prompted me to take this book for reading; maybe it was the blurb that said “A daughter and a mother. This is the story of a life. You choose to live or die.”
No one likes to part company without a goodbye. It feels painful. It’s even more painful when the two in question are mother and daughter. Danica, who is in Patna for an exam, calls up her mother Aarti before the exam. Nothing seems to be out of place then, but when she calls in the evening after the exam, both of her mother’s mobiles were switched off. Enquiring with her aunt, she comes to know her mother is missing. She wants to know what happened, but her questions seem to have no answers. Later, when her roommate questions her about that day, she shares the diary of her mother which talks of Aarti and her life, before and after Danica was born. This is the story.
When we see so many love stories being published each month in the Indian Writing in English category, this novel comes as a breath of fresh air. It is a love story, but not a romantic one. Though it is about the relationship between mother and daughter, the story focuses more on the life of the mother Aarti, how she was treated by her husband, the sacrifices she made, what she went through and what led to the day it all changed. The diary entries are nicely done, though a bit more detailed than I’ve seen them to be (it varies with people, I suppose). I loved the emotions, and how mother and daughter interacted, as well as to see the women take a more prominent role in the life of the family. That men first mentality is also well explored in the novel.
As I said earlier, though Danica and Aarti are prominent characters, I feel the focus is on Aarti, and so her character stands out more. Strong, loving and determined, hers is a character I admire. Danica’s character too is nice, and in some ways, reflects what she has imbibed from Aarti’s character. And the character of the husband/father is so relatable to the Indian society we read of, that he can easily be pictured as the villain of the piece.
The novel flows smoothly through the entries of the diary, and is narrated well in first person. It is engaging, and a quick read. The simple language works for the character, but at times, one cannot differentiate between the characters through their dialogues/language. It could have also had another round of proofreading, just to smooth out a few places. I liked the ending, though given the relationship between mother and daughter, it jarred. Though there is a glossary at the end, it felt like there were too many family terms in Hindi. And not a big fan of the cover art either.
It’s definitely a very readable and thoughtful book, and has more positives than negatives. Best wishes to the author for her next venture too.
Vinay Leo R. | A Bookworm's Musing
November 27, 2015
'Women' has always been treated as piece of toy.Authoress Swati Kumari in her debut book, showcases the condition of women in present scenario.She talks about society's reaction and relative's support, when a woman goes through a critical phase of her life.Albeit, the story might be a story of many homes,authoress took her pen to let the voice of her hear reach to the readers'.
Writing Style : Her writing style is way simple. She has used very simple words that even a school kid would comprehend it easily or may found it way simple.She doesn't festoon her thoughts with opulent words and imaginative comparison,which makes the journey easy in absence of the burden of keeping dictionary.
Read full review here : http://madhyapradesh.johntext.de/revi...
Writing Style : Her writing style is way simple. She has used very simple words that even a school kid would comprehend it easily or may found it way simple.She doesn't festoon her thoughts with opulent words and imaginative comparison,which makes the journey easy in absence of the burden of keeping dictionary.
Read full review here : http://madhyapradesh.johntext.de/revi...
November 17, 2015
The story is heart touching indeed. The plot is very well designed. It is truly a page turner. Emotions are vividly expressed. Suspense is quite well maintained throughout. Twists and turns make this book worth buying.
Totally loved reading it. Finished it without a break. It is written in simple english which makes it a comfortable read. characters are well established and well portrayed.
I wish all the success for her book and thank her for penning this down.
I will definitely look forward to her next novel.
As a suggestion, i would ask her to keep a picture of her and a short bio on the back cover and provide a title in all chapters.
Keep up the good work. Way to go.
Totally loved reading it. Finished it without a break. It is written in simple english which makes it a comfortable read. characters are well established and well portrayed.
I wish all the success for her book and thank her for penning this down.
I will definitely look forward to her next novel.
As a suggestion, i would ask her to keep a picture of her and a short bio on the back cover and provide a title in all chapters.
Keep up the good work. Way to go.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews