Genre: Legal
thriller/ Social drama
Pages: 548
Edition:
paperback, Kindle
Publisher: Notion Press
Year of
publication: 2020
RATING: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2 (4.5/5)
“Any and
every aspect of a woman’s agency is feminism.”
Bidisha
Ghosal’s book ‘The Rape Trial’ is an excellent narrative that upholds the
injustice and biases which are prevalent in our society. Though the book primarily is
themed on rape—a word which already has a lot of stigma attached to it owing to
the current scenario; it transcends to be a story that speaks of the dark sides
of the legal system, the corruption present not only in the security forces but
also in our own guarded minds, and turns out to be an alarming account of the drama
and crooked stage-plays that goes on across the various strata of society.
A decade
has passed since Rahul Satyabhagi, son of a massive business tycoon allegedly
raped Avni Rambha. Amidst court hearings and accusations which had to be turned
down due to insufficient testimonials, Rahul had risen above the judicial system
and had successfully negated his guilt. But presently a sting operation brings
to light the actual truth-- he had indeed committed the crime years ago. Just
like that, a decade-old closed case stashed away in the corner, is brought out
to the tables again, and further investigation is initiated. What follows is a political
and social battle between the accused and the victim Avni, who had had to flee from
the country and settle abroad. The three protagonist friends- Rhea, Amruta and
Hitaishi—find themselves involved in the case from multiple directions. Rhea is
Avni’s childhood friend but she also is acquainted well with the Satyabhagi family,
who had scooped her out of disadvantageous situations many times. In this tug
of war between whom to favour and whom to sue, a horrid but accurate picture of
criminal cases comes up. The trio devise ways to come out of this impending
doom that is hideous and cruel—will they succeed?
The
answers lie in the book.
The author’s
narrative was gripping and meticulous—capable of holding the readers interest
right from the beginning. She weaved the plot keeping in mind the sordidness of
criminal cases which at times, made the writing raw. The descriptions and turnout
of the events weren’t sugar-coated or swerved from its harsh reality thereby
making the readers flip the pages with bated breath. The conversations between
the characters were very well crafted and it got represented just as a dialogue
would in real life. The vivid narration was equipped with details that made
the visualizations much more intense and set the tone for the incidents that
were taking place. The book holds the capacity to trigger various emotions
within the readers—sometimes we feel bone-shattering hatred, sometimes we feel
unwavering empathy and sometimes just pure pity not only for the victims of the
crime, but also victims of the several notorious chain of events these crimes
evoke. The characters were developed potentially
well, highlighting both of their white and black shades and even hovering
enough on the aspects where they were blatantly grey. Justified importance was
given to the explorations of each of the character’s own story and that facilitated
the understanding of what lied at their core.
One of
the most captivating trait that I found in the author’s writing is how cinematic
her descriptions are. The beginning and the endings of the chapters, have just
the right quantity of cliff-hangers and suspense elements which along with the
vibrant visual imageries, set up the scene of the drama so well that it falls
nothing short of a good cinema.
In all,
the execution of the book is spot-on. It is the kind of book which makes us challenge
our own perceptions of what is right and what is wrong, what is cruel and what
is kind, and what is justice and what is not. A very thought-provoking read,
the author’s courage and fierceness against the flawed judiciary leaps out of
each page: creating a very appropriate piece of literature for the 21st
century.
Title: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Plot: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Characterizations: ☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)
Overall impact: ☆☆☆☆1/2 (4.5/5)
Engrossing factor: ☆☆☆☆ (4/5)
❇ Want to grab the book? Buy it here.
❇ Reach out to the author at:@bidishaghosal .
Disclaimer: This review is in lieu of a review copy.
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