Hello to my Blogger fam. I am back after a very long time to my blog site. It's just that I take a lot of time to finish a book these days. As I have already told you, I am managing two jobs simultaneously and applying for new jobs to expand my horizons.
But, let's not get into all the details. I am back with yet another book review which has been a wonderful read for me this year. The book I have brought today is the third book by Anuradha Roy that I have read this year. This is the third blog of the Anuradha Roy series.
So, the name of the book is, as you have understood by the title of the blog An Atlas of Impossible Longing.
So, this is a very interesting novel by Roy in which she has dealt with India and specifically Bengal before and after Independence.
The story is divided into three parts by her which are named, The Drowned House, The Ruined Fort, and The Water's Edge.
In the first part, the story mostly revolves around Amulya and Kananbala who have come to live on 3 Dulganj Road along with their children, Kamal and Nirmal. Opposite them live the Barnums who are British.
Amulya loves gardening and is a very devoted husband to Kananbala. The first part is all about their early days at 3 Dulganj Road.
During the first part itself, the murder of Mr Barnum takes place which shocks Kananbala but she is unable to tell the policeman anything because of her growing insanity.
In the first part, both Kamal and Nirmal get married to Manjula and Shanti respectively.
Unfortunately, Amulya dies in the novel when he hears about his younger daughter-in-law's death at Manoharpur.
Amulya and his family live in Songarh.
In the second part, we come across Shanti and her father, Bikash Babu. They live in Manoharpur where Nirmal leaves his wife so that she can give birth to their first child.
But, Shanti dies during childbirth as there is no midwife to help her during her delivery. She leaves behind a girl whom she names Bakul before she dies.
Nirmal at first refuses to see Bakul but ultimately accepts her in his life. He starts caring for her and also brings in two other people to Songarh.
The first of them is Mukunda who is an orphan partially adopted by Amulya at first. He cares for the boy and sends money for him at regular intervals. But after Amulya's death, Nirmal takes the responsibility of taking care of Mukunda.
The second person who enters the house in Songarh is Meera who is a widow of a distant relation.
While Bakul and Mukunda grow closer to each other, Meera and Nirmal also start developing feelings for each other.
However, Meera starts feeling uncomfortable in Songarh and decides to leave for her house where her brother has found a job for her. Mukunda sees Meera off at the station and that is the last time both of them see each other.
By the time the third part rolls around, India is already at the cusp of independence from the British. This part is solely told through Mukunda's eyes and we get a glimpse of what life is like at Songarh, Calcutta, and Manoharpur.
When the closeness between Bakul and Mukunda grows too much, Nirmal decides to send Mukunda off to Calcutta in the hopes that he can keep both of them separate.
Mukunda becomes a successful building contractor under Aangti Babu who also treats him as a close aide and confidante. Mukunda also marries his acquaintance's middle daughter with whom he has a son named Goutam.
As a college student, Mukunda lives in a rented house which is small for him. But, through a friend's recommendation, he starts living at the house of Suleiman, a history teacher by profession and his wife.
He develops a close bond with both Suleiman chacha and his wife who he fondly calls chachi.
The rest of the story is all about Mukunda's longings for returning to Songarh, a longing to be with Bakul and Mrs Barnum there and when his wife leaves with their son, to meet his son.
I loved reading this book. Although it took me a lot of time, I managed to finish it somehow. If you read the synopsis given by me, you also would love to buy a copy of this book.
I also like reading Bengali stories. I have many in my lifetime and I always go back to them whenever I need comfort. Bengali stories have my heart. Many of my novels are on Bengal.
Anuradha Roy writes her stories with great precision which makes them all the more fun to read.
So, if anyone is interested in reading this story, then surely purchase her novel. You will not feel disappointed.
That's it from this book review by me. I will be back with some exciting blogs for you all soon. Till then, keep reading.
An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy: Link for Indian Readers
https://www.amazon.in/Atlas-Impossible-Longing-Anuradha-Roy/dp/9350094886
An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy: Link for Foreign Readers
https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Impossible-Longing-Novel/dp/1451608624
