Book Review: Mehak Daleh's thriller 'And the Roses Bled' captures your curiosity from start till the end
When I began to read Mehak Daleh's debut novel, "And the Roses Bled", I could feel a chill around me, as though the dark narrative is casting its shadows while the characters came to life, particularly the little girls. I found myself looking behind my shoulders. I also liked the subtle ways through which the novel's gripping narrative turns many cliches about crime thrillers upside down.
"Kids know things....they do. But sometimes they refuse to accept or acknowledge what they feel uncomfortable with. They refuse to see it. It is survival. The child has to survive. So, they block things."
The story revolves around a catastrophe that strikes the lives of two little girls. The twins, Nina and Alisha, are happy little girls until one goes missing. What the other twin goes through is nothing less than a nightmare. You feel deeply for every emotion that Alisha is going through. She can feel everything her missing twin feels. Imagine how scary that feels! Her sightings are real even though others cannot see it. She is gradually about to 'see' and 'communicate' with those whom the ordinary human being would refer to as 'ghosts'.
Things turn more disturbing when Alisha begins to pursue the trail of clues that the 'other girl' shows her. The book, at this point, is narrated through a little girl's eyes. It is heart-wrenching.
She died. But how?
Her twin pursues the frightening trail of clues. At every point, you want to hold her close and protect her from the predators. But there's no stopping Alisha who is on the trail of brutality that is shown towards innocent little girls.
This fast-paced crime thriller is a grim reminder of how most of us simply skim the headlines on crimes pertaining to children.
Why do we want to hide ourselves from the facts? Why do we not probe further into the minds of predators?
In Alice Sebold's best selling novel, "The Lovely Bones, there is a poignant conversation with Franny who tells the little girl who had been raped and murdered brutally that sometimes we have to stop desiring certain answers.
Yes, she also says 'you have to give up on earth' altogether. The little girl had died but her spirit cannot stop tracking everything happening after her death.
The Wise ones teach us to let go of of every experience that we identify as "my" and "mine" as a preparation to 'give up on earth' and to be prepared for death.
Ever wondered why? When your body strongly identifies with the earth and all relationships, you tie yourself down and even death cannot fully release you. To release yourself, you need to take charge, let go of the earth and all that it means to you.
This is the essence of 'And the Roses Bled', where grieving little girls cannot find peace in death because they want answers to their own death. They find the answers and that's why this book captures your curiosity right till the end.
[DO READ: B3/703, Gulmohar Park] and [When the Chief fell in Love]
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