Author– Rajiv Mittal
Book- Brahmahatya- Sanskrit for ‘the act of killing a Brahmin’
Previous Works– Debut Novel
Publishers– Amazon Kindle
Number Of Pages- 297
Format– Ebook (Kindle)
Blurb–
A story of revenge and redemption and deeds shaped by forces that humans believe they have defined through mythology and scriptures but still struggle to understand.
A woman employee of a retirement home is shocked to discover that a new resident is in fact the son impersonating his father. The son is seeking revenge. She, by her past actions, is unwittingly complicit in his being there and now tries to thwart his peculiar plans. A senile woman-resident and an enigmatic founder offer him sage advice. The samudra manthan (a major episode in Hindu mythology), a slightly dim secretary and a sinister boss play their part in ensuring justice is finally served but in an unexpected manner.
The novel quotes frequently from the ancient Hindu scriptures and stories that the protagonists use to justify their actions. The treatment of the elderly in society is a major theme.
‘I found Rajiv Mittal’s novel completely charming. The story is always interesting and is funny and moving by turns. It has really original elements with its setting and his use of the Hindu stories. I think it is such a good novel and with such appealing characters. I loved it!’ Rebecca Smith, author of ‘The Jane Austen Writers’ Club’.
Review-
Brahmahatya- Sanskrit for the act of killing a Brahmin is a contemporary fiction by Rajiv Mittal.
Ravi Narasimhan, a guy in his early 40s is compelled to finding a suitable old age residence for his father who needs to be under constant observation and care, the hunt for a perfect place in the stranger city makes his life fall apart.
When things don’t end well enough for his father, the grief-stricken son resorts to a strangely unconventional means to attain salvation from his ghosts of resentment and revenge.
He spends his days, plotting revenge against the man, a Brahmin by birth, he thinks is responsible for the death of his father. Will he succeed in his personal vendetta? Will he be able to commit, Brahmahatya? Read the book to find out.
The book had a casual start but as the number of pages increase, the book sinks to a slow pace, going slower by each chapter.
The first twist that the author introduced was somewhat ungraspable because of obvious reasons of not being familiar with the story. The second twist spiced up the plot, from being a slow and light read to being something the reader would be intrigued to be reading, the metamorphosis of the plot was appreciable.
The description of sex from the dim Sridhar’s point of view was something unexpected, and a marvelous deed. Especially when he tried to level it with good, bad and holy, surely a great way of expressing the act.
The texts in the book have been stated with a reference to the religious scriptures, each shloka explained after each paragraph. Being a person who doesn’t follow sacred writings at most instances, the book provided me with knowledge about the holy writings that I would probably never read and that’s what is going to please a good number of readers. You not only read a book for the sake of the fiction, you also get the Gita rahasya that you always wished to read, but couldn’t because of procrastination.
The plot, though a bit slow, is an intriguing one, I completed about 77% reading of the book in a day and the plot kept me hooked to it. It’s a story whose end you will never be able to guess.
Also read- Review Pen: Principles Of Success Made Easy by Dr Roopleen Prasad
Ratings-
Cover- 2.5 stars
Title- 3.5 stars
Blurb- 3 stars
Plot- 4 stars
Writing and Presentation- 3.5 stars
Overall- 3.3 out of 5 stars.
The cover is a simple design and i would like to advice the author, Rajiv Mittal to go for professional assistance the next time. A cover is what catches the eyes in the first instance and a well designed cover would attract readers.
The title “Brahmahatya-Sanskrit for the a ct of killing a Brahmin” could have been shortened to “Brahmahatya“, this way the title preserves the aura of the book.
When Ravi comes to have knowledge of Dr.Chari, he enquires his caste,that was a bit out of context as Ravi wasn’t one of those people who would consider a man’s caste, nor did he ever repeat the drill for any other character in the book. It looked like it was done for the sole purpose of starting the title of the book to make sense and a bit more of creativity could have been applied in doing so.
I read the book being reading the blurb, owing to my fear of over revealing blurbs and I am glad that I did so. The blurb reveals the first turning point of the plot which if kept hidden by some wise wordplay would keep the reader hooked.
The book has a fine editing but at some places, I felt the lack of punctuation and better presentation.
I read the kindle edition of the book and there are a good number of errors in the chapter spacing after Chapter 10.
Reviewed By- Banaja Prakashini
Grab the book from- Amazon
About Rajiv Mittal-
Rajiv Mittal was born in Chennai, India in the early nineteen sixties. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and a CPA from Australia. He, now lives in Melbourne after a stint of several years in the Middle East. “Writing was a vague aspiration. It became reality for me thanks to a stranger who said I reminded him of the main character from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. He quoted from it, ‘Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.’ ”
This is a great review! I just love revenge stories, they are so delicious!
Kimberly Love, Author
http://www.kimmilove.com
Author of upcoming book You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine, http://www.instagram.com/kimmiloveauthor, http://www.twitter.com/kimmiloveauthor, http://www.facebook.com/kimmilovetheauthor