Mukul Kumar

Book Title: Seduction By Truth
Author: Mukul Kumar
Format: Paperback

Book Title:
The title of the book ‘ Seduction By Truth ‘ is bold, exciting and contemporary.

Book Cover:
The cover image of the book is a golden apple trapped in a closed barbwire enclosure depicting the pain and pleasure one often experiences.

Plot:
There were times where I often used to wonder why Indian Authors and especially the new age authors only write more about everyday things or love stories or something that really comforts them. Few authors resort themselves in writing the out of box stories or bold stories with dark content by releasing those books in non-Indian places. It also pops in my mind if the pre-programmed notions of marriage as a divine thing entwined with ethics, tradition, religion and societal values often restrict the people to explore the darkest of the dark realities. Topics like adultery, blasphemy, and infidelity are dealt on the superficial layers in modern Indian literature as they are directly linked with religion that creates an ill effect. But, often people tend to forget compartmental thinking and form general opinions and try to force them against into society.

In the story, Shiva, one of the main characters faces 40’s blues and is married to Akriti. Loss of passion into the wedlock after a certain time creates a rift between the couple and also puts their sexual life in a distress. Shiva who is looking for a connect happens to meet three women and the story is about his relationships with them.

The author has tried to address man issues that are faced by a couple in the society and the aftermath consequences for going against the norms set up in the institution of marriage. As the story is a piece of fiction, Shiva is shown as a man with many abilities and apparently succeeding in framing other women.

What I like:
1. The storyline
2. Various taboos that are explained in an exploring way.
3. Woman’s freedom that is usually ignored here is explained in an appreciable manner.

What I didn’t like:
1. At some places, I found the story predictable and dragging.
2. The break rules thing could have been glorified in a different way because hardcore feminists may feel the portrayal of the other women in the story offensive.

Characters:
All the main characters involved in the story are resembling though at places they are found to be unimaginable. The actions by some characters are very pinpointing and accentuating towards the dark side of a human thinking.

Narration:
There is a huge scope of novelty in the narration. The author has impressed by creating a very dark plot with a good number of characters and sub-plots.

Language & Grammar:
When it comes to the point of language and grammar, the colloquial language with apt grammar is used for comfortable readability.

My Final Verdict: A perfect read for people who don’t roll eyes when raw reality emotions in relationships pop-up.

Book Title: 4/5
Book Cover: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Narration: 4/5
Language & Grammar: 4/5
Final Rating: 4/5… (más)