The Devils Daughter

by Vidhie Mukerjea

Genres: India, Nonfiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Amaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book intending on learning more about the insides of the Indrani Mukherjea saga, but this book does not touch upon that much. Rather, it's the story of a girl stuck in the middle of a scandalous murder case and how she overcomes it.
I find it very interesting to hear her story especially since while this was going on, I like many others were glued to the TV, hearing all sorts of juicy gossip and getting excited with any new 'breaking news'. After reading this, I feel bad to have been that way, not realizing that the people we watch being scrutinized are people like us. Just caught in misfires and misfortunes. I feel empathetic towards here, and I will show empathy the next time I see media outlets tear down people and families.
Vidhie shows great courage coming out of something so traumatic. You cannot expect someone to rise above instantly in a situation like this but it is good to know that there is always a silver lining in the cloud.
What I learned is to overcome, rise above, do whatever it is that makes you happy when you feel the world is crumbling around you. Just keep going, find happiness with your mind, and do not hide your emotions or try to escape your thoughts.

[ghostatmidnight · Rating 1 out of 5]

Appreciate the sentiment and the pain spoken about, but the writing is terrible. Needed a whole team of editors but looks like there wasn't even one around.

[Shweta Rohira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devil’s Daughter is a forthright journal of an insubordinate young girl who wonderfully changed into a young lady and benefited as much as possible from her misfortunes. She diverts into a butterfly from the caterpillar without anyone else by liking all that universe was presenting to her. Turning internal battling her evil presences and the social orders devils. What I preferred with regards to the book as the snippet guarantees it's an honest diary I could feel that appearance in the actual book. Never, she has legitimized anyThing or attempted to acquire compassion or besides put anyone wrong all she has done is poured her musings and feelings on the paper that inspires an emotional response from you. It felt that in some way or another I had figured out how to get my hands on Vidhie Mukherjee personal diary and could read and get to know all about her.

“Everyone has a chance to reinvent themselves and who they want to be daily!“ I second this and had a great deal of profound considerations and gaining's from this book. Peruse a ton of journals yet forever my most loved was The diary of Anne Frank as I felt that was a book that was composed by heart and after ages, I would say Devil’s Daughter is another diary that contacted my heart.

[Dimple · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing leaves much to be desired and the content is quite repetitive and, at times, immature. While it might seem like a long journal entry, Mukerjea certainly has a story to tell, though probably better in someone else’s words.

[Larsen Dias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Random book review series part 1 – So in this category I pick one random book from Goa's Central library just based on the front and the summary on Its back cover.
So today I am going to review “devil’s daughter” by Vidhie muckerjee.
So, why I choose this book? Well, I really liked its title,. It’s amusing and kind of gives hints about her parents. Coming to the back cover it says on the eve of the author's 18th birthday and her mother gets arrested for an unspeakable crime. That was the first catch I decided I needed to read this book. I did not Google about it, nor did I check its reviews on Amazon. I just got it from the library
So after completing the novel, were my initial impressions correct?? Hell yeah. So, this book starts with the introduction of Vidhie character from the very beginning It has been made clear that she is the daughter of a high-profile couple. She enters her bungalow and finds two police officers s interrogating her mother. She first thinks it’s some random case as her mother was extremely calm. Things start taking "u"turn and police grab her phone too. She somehow contacts her father and calls him home. Police arrest her mother and takes her in custody. Vidhie still did not have any clue until her friends sent her a screenshot of times now headline “Indrani Mukherjee arrested for murder of daughter Sheena Bora” only then did I realize this book is about an infamous murder. Yes I could not control and Googled to find about the case, but that’s a separate topic
book has 17 chapters and is of 240 pages. Each chapter tells story about vidhie her bond with Sheena Bora and his boyfriend, who in turn was her stepbrother and she portrayed it beautifully. Her relationship with her stepfather Peter Mukerjea was depicted so beautifully that everyone will wish /wished to have such a relationship with future kids / parents. 10-second hug rules I think many people should copy it. it’s basically Vidhi and her father had made the pact when she was a kid that if they did not hug each other for 10 seconds they will both end up having a bad day, and she continued it till now. Many people will get jealous of their lovely father daughter bond until her father gets arrested too. So, everything she loved is taken from her few days and Since she was the daughter of the famous couple, every news channel invades her privacy by asking her illogical questions and sharing her old Instagram posts on prime-time news channel
Her not so good bond with her mother, How her mother control every aspect of her life and how she had to cope being all alone is discussed in further chapter.
There is a good friendship plot between Vidhie and her friends June. And even though it’s just a book, I really liked the location portrayed in this book. The book takes you too Europe, South America, some volcano location s and what not, and it really takes you on the journey along with Vidhie
So 3rd and 4th parts (there are 4 parts in this 240 pages book) are quite fast-paced it scenes in which Vidhie meets her father in jail is quite emotional and so is she meeting her mother in court and bursting on her gives you idea what she went through. Unlike other non self-help book , this book give s 5 important life lessons which I really liked. And ya there is a hug when her father comes out of the jail

[Kajal Kapur · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book I had read in 2021 when it was released. I was so keen to know of Vidhie Mukherjea's side of the story for whatever transpired in her life at the cusp of her 18th birthday.

As I delved into this book, I was initially interested in gaining more insight into the Indrani Mukherjea saga. But that is NOT what this books is about. Devil's Daughter instead tells the story of a young girl caught in the middle of a scandalous murder case and how she managed to overcome it all.

Vidhie's personal account of this difficult time is captivating, especially since many of us were glued to our screens, eagerly following every development of the case as it unfolded. Reading this book was a reminder to me that those who are scrutinized in the media are real people just like you and me, caught up in the misfires and misfortunes of life. It was a humbling experience, and I came away from the book feeling empathy for Vidhie.

What struck me the most about the book was her bravery and resilience. Overcoming something as traumatic as what she went through cannot be an easy task, and it is important to recognize that everyone heals at their own pace. However, reading her story showed me that there is always a silver lining to every dark cloud. As she goes about to discover herself on a trip to South America, I did feel that she was pretty privileged to have had the opportunity to step out of all the mess and reassess her life. But that does not take away from the internal turmoil that she had had to deal with.

One of the most important takeaways for me from Devil's Daughter was the reminder that no matter how challenging life may become, there is always a way to overcome it. Finding happiness amidst difficult times may seem impossible, but it is crucial to keep going and not to suppress your emotions or thoughts. Instead, it is important to find ways to rise above it all and pursue what brings joy to your life.

My only grouse with the book is that it is a very amateur attempt at sharing the narrative/journal. The book is also edited badly and coming from Westland, that is least expected. Vidhie is, understandably, not a writer by profession but I just wish there were a team of editors to help her sieve through the words and build an interesting narrative to avoid repetitions at the least.

For a youngster to have overcome a scandal as big as what she found herself in the middle of, to a confident woman who is now taking charge of her life, this is inspiring indeed. But as a reader I was a little underwhelmed with the construct of her story in the book.

[Laxmi]

This book is written by a lady, who found herself clueless when her mother and eventually her father were arrested for a crime; she was 18 then. She is one of the daughters of Indrani Mukerjea. While most of us must have followed the Sheena Bora murder case, the author tells her side of the story revolving around this case.
Apart from whatever the author has chosen to reveal about the crime, the book also highlights the nuisance and interference from the media and how it affected her and her family and also goes on to clarify how much truth there was to the headlines flashed. The author also courageously confesses the indulgences of her privileged life.
This book (and the author's perspective) not only shows the reader the not-so-popular side of the story, but also makes one reflect on ones own actions in life. It is admirable that the author, while having been through a difficult patch too early in life, seems to have gained such wisdom being just in her 20s.

[Debasmita B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprisingly moving and raw book and quite triggering at times because she openly discusses her mental health breakdown. I might be slightly too old for it (ideal age 16-24) but it was still a nice read, and especially frank. Writing is slightly immature and a little basic, and it does come through that she is speaking from a place of privilege, but she also acknowledges it and sounds surprisingly self-aware.

[Nunui Hmar]

Not much to comment on the writing, I'm only glad Vidhie wrote this book. I've been following the Sheena Bora murder case and I always wonder what's Vidhie's take on the whole incident and how she must-have felt.