Title: It's Not About You
Author: Ratna Vira
Publisher: Pan
Review:
Ratna Vira’s ‘It’s Not About You’ charts a family’s journey
wrought through emotional upheaval at the face of a tragedy that befalls them
uninvited.
Single mother Samaira juggles her corporate job and Aksh,
her teenage son, even as she defies society, disapproving in-laws and her own
family. But when Aksh is found battered and beaten at school, she finds herself
questioning her role as a mother. Faced with a conspiracy of silence from the
school, she delves deeper only to discover the murky world of bullying, the
secret life of teenagers and the emotional distance between parents and
children.
In her pursuit of truth and justice, Samaira ends up
challenging the power equations of politics, wealth, and influence.
Though in this condensed version of the novel the story appears to be
unilateral, there’s much that goes unsaid. And it is this ‘unsaid’ that sets
apart the book in the literary milieu. Ratna has tackled the vast and
disturbing issue of bullying with such dexterity that it keeps the reader thinking
even after the book ends. What is to be noted here is that it’s not just Aksh,
Jay, or Priya who have been harassed. Samaira had her own share of bullying in
her own family. The setting can be anything, the circumstances may also differ,
what remains the same are the bullies who are drunk with power, position,
authority, and money.
The story is sordid, grim, and beautiful all at once. It
leaves behind a message for the readers — only by looking beyond the social,
class, and economic differences can we become good humans. The dirty game of
politics has seeped into our very bloodstream and it is time that we rise above
and beyond. We need to fight our own demons, stand up to what’s inappropriate
and not cower at the face of bullying of any sorts.
Ratna’s writing technique is simple yet profound. She knows
how to elicit the desired emotions from her readers, keeping them hooked to the
very end. But there are a few things that I couldn’t overlook. The novel drags
at certain places to the point of becoming boring. In several chapters nothing
actually happens. The story seems repetitive. The ending is quite rushed. The
entire story actually unfolds itself in mere paragraphs. However, ‘It’s Not
About You’ is a must read and I’d recommend it to all and sundry.
About the Author:
Ratna Vira is a human resource and communications
professional with a master’s degree from London School of Economics, a master’s
in English Literature from St Stephen’s College and an MBA. She lives in
Gurgaon with her daughter and son. It’s Not About You is her second novel.
Buy Link:
* I received a review copy
from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
** Picture courtesy:
Amazon.in
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