The Speaking Stone
By Ratnadip Acharya
Review By Ila Garg
‘The Speaking Stone’, a novel by renowned author Ratnadip Acharya is published by Aksora Publications LLP. The cover is quite interesting. It shows some ancient ruins and a couple holding hands, walking in its direction. The dark colours used are apt to represent the book as a thriller.
It will be interesting to note here that the author's earlier book reviewed by me, Paradise Lost & Regained, had the same colour combination. The cover designer, Gokul Ram Singh, remains constant as well.
The book begins with a WARNING, insisting the readers to not flip through the pages beforehand as the pictures inside the book might kill the suspense. It's therefore, advisable to read the book page by page to stay with the plot and let the climax come through.
The blurb reads as, “Can a piece of stone reveal a great story buried in the heart of a forgotten history?
A young man found an ancient-looking piece of stone with strange images and Sanskrit inscriptions. A quest to know the origin of the stone brought him to the distant part of the country. Chandannagar, December 2016: A young vivacious historian woman read an old book on a century-old secret story about a little known part of the country. Her curiosity got the better of her as the book disappeared mysteriously before she could complete it. She reached a sleepy quaint state of the country to satiate her curiosity. Eventually they both met and their search began from the city museum to a far-flung rock mountain which revealed a century-old story of a seductive danseuse, her enigmatic lover, a string of her admirers, a painter with a photographic memory, a bird that could speak in many voices, a benevolent king and a gruesome conspiracy. And the most important clue to decode the final secret was with the missing part of 'The Speaking Stone'. But in the process of unearthing old secrets their lives were also in danger...”
In author's own words, it wasn't an easy task to weave this historical thriller. It required a lot of research and painstaking nights to bring this book to life. And it shows!
The two protagonists of the story are Saikat and Shuvashini. I loved the names. Saikat is the one who finds this ancient piece of stone and then decides to buy the stone after doing its inspection, which is a half piece only. He pays the vendor one thousand rupees for this stone!!! The book lets the readers look at this half piece of the stone from both sides, as if creating a visual imagery so that the readers are at once transported to the place and pick the stone to look at it themselves. The front of the stone had intricately carved images of gods and goddesses—a total of four images; the fourth one seemed to be the face of a woman with ethereal beauty. All these faces were only halves. The rear side of the stone has an inscription in Sanskrit. However, yes, you guessed right, every line written there was only half.
Shuvashini Guha aspires to do her PhD and has great interest in the field of historical and cultural studies. However, as luck would have it, she is snubbed by her mentor, who is a reputed historian. As Shuvashini's dissertation topic gets rejected, she visits library in pursuit of a new topic that would be approved. She comes across a book titled, Stories beyond and after Rajmala. The next day, she is unable to find the book and starts reading about Tripura. She is so intrigued that she finally decides to pursue her research by visiting the city.
Meanwhile, Saikat is also puzzled about the half stone and starts looking for the seller to help him unravel the questions bugging him. He is unable to find him, however, is led to an old Parsi neighbourhood where he gets some idea and decides to travel to Tripura to find his answers.
As if Saikat and Shuvashini were destined to meet, their common thread of thoughts led them to Tripura, where they meet and tread on the common path to discover the buried secrets and uncover some mysteries. Now, this journey is not ordinary as their lives are at stake in pursuit of the forgotten history.
The adventure begins with the coming of the two characters together and the extraordinary tale of love and betrayal begins as they continue to get one step closer to finding the truth. Will they reach the truth or will the truth remain hidden forever? Discover the layered history as it uncovers page by page with these two well-thought-of characters.
The most amazing thing about the book is its language. The author has made sure that the book is as error-free as possible. As a professional editor, it truly delighted me. It's such a respite to read error-free content. I have always loved Ratnadip's work but this book made me go bonkers! I loved it to the core. It took me time to finish the book as I didn't want to jump a single page, fearing what would I miss! And every page was worth it!!
This 296-page book is a wonderful read as it involves a lot of thrill and excitement. It’s compelling and captivating. The flow of the book is not disturbed by the fact that the book keeps moving from present to past and then back to present again. The descriptions are quite detailed.
The last page says 'End of Part One'.... Do you get the hint, readers? It's gonna be a series!! Yay!
Thank you, Ratnadip for writing the book. It was worth every second spent on it!
P.S. Akash, nice click! :) *wink*
Read the author interview here.
Ratings: 4.5/5
Buying Link: Amazon
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