A Wild Rose
By Uzma Jafri
Review By Ila Garg
A
Wild Rose, firstly,
the name of the book itself attracts the readers. It has kind of mysterious
touch to it. Secondly, the cover design is so provoking and kind of magnetising.
It somehow manages to indicate the
hidden miseries embedded into the story ahead.
The blurb reads as, “Ritu Anand. Vivacious television anchor envied by many, makes the biggest mistake of her life. A man is at the center of it all. Who is he? And why is he after her?
Ritu Anand
is a strikingly beautiful and wealthy divorcee, all of 25 years. None but her
parents and best friend in life, Sumbul, know the truth of her divorce. Her
career too, had gone to dust thanks to her failed marriage and traumatic
ill-health. To the rest of the world, Ritu maintains a façade of still being
married. In an effort to piece her life together again, she goes back to being
an anchorperson after 3 long years…
And a very
important part of this new life becomes the enigmatic Anshuman Sinha. Not
very tall and with an average physique, deep hazel eyes and sharp intense
features, Anshuman is dangerous and irresistible – he is the very picture of
'Ritu's Man'. The devastatingly dashing ‘casanova’ soon has the ‘love starved-
Ritu’ eating from the palm of his hand and dreaming of a picture perfect life
with him.
The
gullible Ritu is soon weaving the tapestry of a picture perfect life, of a
happily ever after with her lover. But there is her hidden past to deal with.
What was the truth behind her sordid marriage? And coming to the present, what
did she know about Anshuman at all?
Will this
new life be the chance Ritu was hoping for? Or is this some deep, dark hell?
Has she
fallen from the pan straight into the fire?
Is love
blooming or have the sinister thorns torn the petals to shreds?
Watch the
bookshelves for this fascinating book, a look at a different side to love.
After all, are there really any guarantees in love for a happy life ever after?
The
lyrical Urdu poetry of greats such as Ghalib and Momin adds an ethereal passion
to the heartfelt prose of Uzma Jafri. A truly spellbinding book, a truly
impassioned effort.”
Needless to say it is a story of love; a different
shade of love. Ritu, the protagonist desires her prince charming like every
other girl, but fate has only disappointments in store for her. She is gullible
enough to get into traps laid down for her.
Her best friend Sumbul stands by her through thick
and thin. Later, she helps remove the blindfold from her eyes. In the journey of the book, Ritu suffers and
is deceived despite of her intelligence and beauty (a rare combination). The
way Uzma Jafri has penned down this particular story is really appreciable. The
author has described every emotion very beautifully. There are episodes in the
book that make you feel so anxious for Ritu. You almost develop an unsaid bond
with her.
As evident from the title of the book, A Wild Rose, the Rose plays an important part in Ritu’s life as the story of her love life begins with the red, red roses. Love happens to bump into her life as Sarita Bai keeps getting roses for her every morning as per the instructions and ironically it disappears with the roses too. Uzma Jafri has skillfully used this element to create such a beautiful and heart-melting story. In between the story, the readers will find some really interesting Urdu couplets too.
The 264 page book takes you along with it and makes you realise that all that glitters is not gold after all. The story is quite meaningful and the main reason that I loved this book is the apt use of roses in it. They keep the reader’s interest maintained throughout! The narrative is tactfully written and the readers wouldn’t find it difficult to keep up with the pace of the story. The language is easy to comprehend and there would be no difficulty in understanding the various twists and turns in the novel.
One thing I exceptionally liked besides the already mentioned things is the ‘Editing’. Uzma Jafri has managed to give her readers a flawless book both in terms of vocabulary and editing. Plus, the emotions are intrinsic to the book.
The too many turmoil of Ritu’s love life is just one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens in A Wild Rose. To find out whether she survives the misery of love and after a failed marriage, will she be lucky with Anshuman, what role do roses actually play in her life, how a red rose can bring love in her life and a wild rose can snatch not only the love but the life out of her, how strong is her friendship with Sumbul, when the time comes who will she choose: Sumbul or Anshuman?, will she get her Prince Charming; you will have to read the novel, A Wild Rose.
For a debut writer, Uzma
Jafri has done it; she has proved her mettle and yes she is an excellent
writer. The way she has captured all the intricate emotions of a dejected
heart, kept me glued to this book till the end and also the added suspense in
the form of the roses.
The author Uzma Jafri,
belongs to an affluent Muslim Family, and brought up in the most cosmopolitan
way. She is a feminist at heart, which is reflected in this women centric
fiction, A Wild Rose.
Ratings: 4/5
You can buy this wonderful piece of writing, here:
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