The Obscure Logic of the Heart
I read Priya Basil's Ishq and Mushq and knew that she was a good writer who could create astounding scenes that projected themselves in front of our eyes. It was then logical for me to go for her next novel The Obscure Logic of the Heart. The front cover was quiet intriguing with a half of a face of a pretty woman and a shadow of man in the background. The readers could guess that this book was going to be a love story.
The two main characters are very well sketched and the readers start feeling with them from the very begining. The lifes and the loves of the heroine Lina and the hero Anil of the story are interwined cleverly with the more complex issues of illegal arm trade, Islam religion and interreligion marriages. The story is set in countries like London UK, New York USA, Kenya etc. On these varied platforms the play of emotions perform their best.
Priya has used letters written by a woman to a man to tell the story, a very unexpected technique for a love story I must say. As the readers read the letters, they are subtly made aware of the true nature of the main characters. They get glimpses of the strength behind the apparent weeknesses of the characters.
The scenes, especially the one where Lina and Anil are out with there friends and they meeet a rude gang and their confrontation reminds one of a scene from a Bollywood movie. Priya has created a world away from the usual world where the readers loose themselves in the heart warming story of these lovers.
As is expected in a love story there are oppositions but these are not always via a person, here in this story the strongest villian lies inside the hearts of the characters. The push and pull of the heart strings within each characters creates an intense pool of emotions and the readers are left speechless.
A must read for all as it touches the heart, the mind and in some beautiful instances the soul of a reader.
Smita Singh
VAANI
