Anita Nair
..and finally after over two years of it sitting on my bookshelf, I finally forced myself to read it. I have to say that the short description provided doesn’t do justice to the book at all.
Although it started slowly, I warmed to the book in a while. The fact that its based in kerala and around an art form that best symbolises my homeland perhaps lessens the objectivity of this review a bit, but I loved the way Anita Nair has used the navarasas to convey the different moods/emotions/rhythm that make up the story.This, along with the multiple narratives make it a very interesting read.
The one thing that really impressed me is the way the nuances in the story can be captured differently by different people basis their perspectives and perceptions. Right from the title – Mistress, which could be taken literally as a human relationship, or Koman’s relationship with his art.
The character of Koman, his maturity, as reflected in ‘Shaantam’, ‘coming to terms with life’ moved me.
The kind of book you should savour multiple times.