Book Review (Part of Book Club blog tours)
Blurb:
Ri- Homeland of Uncertainty is adapted from the National Award Winning Khasi film by the same name.
Trapped in the limbo between ideology and conscience, Manaba finds him himself part of a terror outfit. An unexpected opportunity, anger, squalor and disillusionment - followed by and armed combat and injury lead to soul-searching that form the substance of this moving tale.
My Review:
Ri-Homeland of Uncertainty is a fast, crisp and well written story about rebellion and conflict, set in Meghalaya, symbolic of all regional conflicts in India. The misguided youth feels that the nation doesn’t do anything for them, and their state, if run as an independent country would fair better. The title is apt for the myriad emotions playing in the minds of various characters.
The story is about a terrorist group planning an attack in Shillong around the Independence day, and how police officer SP Kyndiah tracks them down. Manbha is one of the protagonists and a rebel, who has been tasked to lead the mission. Emika’s character is mature and impressive.
Paulami Duttagupta has managed to bring out the conflict, confusion and hardships of the rebels successfully in the novella. The conflict in Manbha’s mind and his tussle to choose right from wrong, forces one to sympathize the disillusioned youths of the nation. The author has also shown us how these terror activities cripple the lives of people in all walks of life.
On the flip side; the past, whenever mentioned, was a bit rushed and I wasn’t able to get into thick of situation or understand the complete picture of the yesteryears. Also I would have appreciated a little more description of the settings, scenic locations to feel connected. Same goes for character’s back stories and physical attributes, which would have helped get emotionally attached to the protagonists early in the story.
A recommended read, for it gives a compelling picture about the reality of life.
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About the Author:
Born in Shillong, many moons ago, with schooling at Loreto Convent, and an English Honors from St. Edmunds College, Paulami Duttagupta started her career with All India Radio Shillong. She had written and also given her voice to a few shows there. Later she came down to Kolkata and got a post graduate degree in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University. She had also taken up a fancy to learning Spanish, but today confesses that she has forgotten most of it.
She has written for ‘The Times of India’ in the ‘Guwahati-Shillong plus Edition’ and also ‘The Shillong Times’. Television had always attracted her and was connected to the Bangla TV industry for about 6 years. She was associated with ETV- Bangla, Akash Bangla and Sony Aath in this period. Having left her day job in 2012, Paulami took up full time writing. Her first novel, “Pinjar” released in early 2012. Her second novel “Unplanned Destinty” released in 2014. She is also the screenplay writer of the national award winning Khasi film – “Ri Homeland of Uncertainty”. “Ri” has been adapted into a novel and was released on September 14,2014
She is currently working on her next project as movie script writer. Apart from writing full length novels, she has written several short stories and articles. She has also contributed to the “Minds@work Anthology” and the “Family Matters International Anthology” in 2013.
Recently she has contributed to the “Learning and Creativity Anthology” , “Her Story Anthology”, and “Celebrating India – Love across Borders Anthology”.
When she is not writing or watching movies, Paulami is either reading biographies or classic pieces of literature. Cricket, food, cinema, books and music are an integral part of her life.
You can stalk Paulami Duttagupta @
A Giveaway
The Prize
The Prize
Some extra Info on the book
This book is an adaptation from a movie. Why? The author will answer that in one of our blogs which we will post soon. Stay tuned !!!
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