This is the book I have been telling everyone I meet to read. I am not sure how to describe what the book is about because to condense this story into 2-3 lines feels impossible. And saying that it is a story of the narrator and his family, mainly his mom who is a manic-depressive is just not enough even though I have done it now.
From the first page, I knew I made the right decision in buying it because I knew I will read it many times. If for nothing else, then for the writing. Every sentence has been chiseled and carved to perfection. And if I were the kind of person to underline memorable quotes, this book would have pencil marks all over it.
Jerry Pinto brings the characters alive. Every time I opened the book I entered the 1 BHK in Mahim where this family lives. I watched as Em slashed her wrists, I recognized the helplessness the narrator felt when there is nothing he could do while his mother suffered; the determination of the kids to maintain a veneer of normalcy in front of anyone who is not part of the family; the isolation they felt despite a steady stream of well-wishers. This book communicated all of these emotions without self-pity. The matter of fact tone and the emotional restraint in the book are what made this story so real and moving. By the end of the book I was in tears.
Despite all of the charged emotional content, not once does the story devolve into melodrama. In fact there were plenty of laugh out loud moments.The author does a marvelous job of maintaining that balance between pain & humor that comes instinctively to us in times of crisis. And he does it without it becoming morbid or cynical.
Anyone who has ever dealt with the sickness and death of a loved one will relate to some aspect of this story. I think everyone should read this book.
Publication Year: 2012
Country book is based in: India
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