Figmented Reality - Book Review

Figmented Reality
By Zuko
Review By Ila Garg

Figmented Reality, a novel by Zuko, is published by Frog Books which is an imprint of Leadstart Publishing. The cover shows shadows—one of them being more prominent while the other is blurred some more—depicting reality and virtual reality perhaps.


Siddharth Sabari (Zuko) is a blogger and writer from Chennai. Born in Mumbai and he spent half of his schooling days in Mumbai and half in Chennai. As a child, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and found it difficult to cope with language in his early years. In spite of his difficulties, and with support of his mother, he passed out from Vellore Institute of Technology in 2013 as a Mechanical Engineer with specialization with Energy, and worked for a public limited company for two years before joining business with his father in Chennai. He was awarded the First Indian Dyslexic Writer by K L University Vijayawada. He can be contacted at zukosid@gmail.com or at https://www.facebook.com/siddusa

The blurb reads as, “Addiction blurs our hold on reality; people say. But what if addiction becomes our reality? Siddharth had a fair few addictions in his wake. The challenge now was to differentiate between the ideal world and the real world. Will Siddharth be able to overcome his addictions and find true love. Or is it just another addiction?”

The book can be categorized under the psychological genre as it manages to unveil the darker shades of the human reality. The blurb throws light on the plot by bringing in the theme of addiction and subsequently overcoming it. Addiction can be tricky and not always an easy thing to give up, so it got me interested at once.

The protagonist is not only inclined to addiction but is also going through childhood traumas, sexual abuse by an elderly woman and a complex relationship. The author has shown light on the fact that life in big cities can be tough; it’s a rat race, quite maddening at times. Due to the sexual abuse, he becomes obsessive and keeps searching for elderly women who can give vent to his carnal desires. In his search, he comes across a divorcee named Veena and tries his best to have sex with her but all in vain. The relation that he shares with her is not an ordinary one. He has hallucinations about having sex with her. When his helplessness reaches to the max, he gets angry and takes it out by choking Veena to death.

The descriptions in the book are done in a hurry and therefore lack the details. As a result, the readers will feel very less connected to the events. The language is simple and easy to comprehend. The subject is unique, however, the book is laced with editing errors which are a major turn-off. The characterization is mundane but the mental state of the protagonist suffering from childhood traumas is rightly portrayed.

Who is Siddharth, how is he traumatized, how does the sexual abuse affect him, who is Veena, was killing her the right thing, was Siddharth’s act justified, what should be done to avoid such cases are some of the many reasons why you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens in Figmented Reality.

Further, this 157-page book is a good read if you are looking for something different to read. It’s a compelling book that gives you enough to reflect on.

Ratings: 3/5

Buying Link: Amazon

P.S. - I got the book from Cyclops Literary Services in exchange of an honest review.